Les dejo esta nota que encontre.. me parece muy buena, y dice un par de verdades... disculpen pero está en inglés.
South American Music Conference La Rural, Buenos Aires, 14th and 15 October
Words and photos: Planetkat
Nowhere in the world do people dance and party as much as they do in South America.
However, following last year’s club blaze in which 500 people died at a rock concert hall named Cromañon, most of Buenos Aires’ nightclubs remain closed having failed to meet strict new fire regulations.
Buenos Aires Baila!
Not all is lost. Buenos Aires baila todavia – Buenos Aires is still dancing!
The second South American Music Conference took place on October 14 and 15 2005, marking the start of summer.
Argentina’s die-hard party people finally had somewhere to let their hair down after a long and dreary winter.
And this was only just the beginning, with BUE Festival and Creamfields following swiftly.
With headliners like Tiësto, Ferry Corsten, Richie Hawtin, Marco Bailey, Adam Beyer, Judge Jules, Misstress Barbara, Christopher Lawrence, Benni Bennassi and local heroes such as Dero, Ricky Ryan and Diego Ro-K, the SAMC organisers chose to stay on the safe side this year by not being too cutting-edge.
It’s an understandable move after last year’s miscalculations.
SAMC 2004 was a financial disaster but brilliant for clubbers who could enjoy sets from some of the world’s biggest and finest DJs, amongst them Nick Warren, Tiga, François K, John Acquaviva, Lucien Foort, Christian Smith, Chris Liebing, Derrick May, Green Velvet, Richie Hawtin, Danny Rampling, Smokin Jo, Way Out West, Bad Boy Bill, DJ Dan, Magda, Misstress Barbara, Marco Bailey and Tall Paul to name but a few.
A Clever Move
In general, the change of concept – a smaller, more central location, fewer rooms and a concentration of mainstream club sounds instead of pushing into underground directions – seemed a good move.
The media get-together attended by a business-savvy crowd on October 14th, was followed by a mega party on the 15th.
Both were a huge success for the organisers as well as their associates, D-Mode Magazine and media agency Bridger & Conway.
At first, things didn’t look too good as it has become increasingly difficult for the promoters to put on big events here because of the authorities deeming many clubs unsafe since they don’t meet the new fire regulations.
Many recent gigs with international guests such as Sven Väth, Paul Arnold and Paul Woolford have had to be cancelled at the last minute as promoters struggle to regain their licenses.
Small independent club ventures as well as big players (such as the local Pacha) have all been forced to call off events because they didn’t get licenses.
It has been a disastrous situation, not only for the people who work in the nightlife industry, but also for clubbers, as there is fuck all going on for the seven million people in the capital of Argentina on most weekends.
Tough Times
The SAMC organiser, a well-known Argentinean, has had tough times recently.
The media mogul, who is the son of a legendary television comedian, hopes to remodel the local electronic music scene by creating an event that puts the upmarket local scene on the map.
His idea is to unite all the South American countries, such as Chile, Columbia and Brazil, by putting on the only event that brings together all the South American “record labels, websites, producers, agencies, communication companies, media entrepreneurs, marketing people, radio stations, DJs and electronic music lovers”.
Of course, there is still a long way to go, but overall the concept of organising a conference with key figures who give away their ‘secrets and tips’ is a good idea.
Trying to establish a flourishing local scene would be a move in the right direction, and everyone involved is exited about the possibilities.
South America in general is home to many incredibly talented musicians and producers.
Unfortunately, the electronic music circuit is dominated by First World economic forces, so people here have a hard time breaking into the market; booking international DJs here costs a small fortune.
Dominating The Circuit
Uniting the continent is a great idea, but things are not as easy as they seem, especially for the SAMC creator who is a new player in the dance music circuit, trying to break into an already saturated market.
Although the Argentinean scene is still in its infancy, the cake has already been divided up.
Two big booking agencies dominate the scene here, effectively holding a duopoly on foreign DJs, as they exclusively book many a DJmag Top 100 DJ on the South American continent as well as having all the local talent in their rosters.
But – especially in Argentina – big stars and well-known names are necessary to get the press coverage that is required to create a media hype and therefore attract the attention of the public who are not particularly clued up about electronic music in general.
A difficult situation but not mission impossible.
Almost all South American publications present electronic music as a glamorous lifestyle choice.
Dance music parties are seen as something fashionable and are therefore almost always attended by the country’s top models like Pampita and pin-up celebrities like Luciana Salazar who are not particularly knowledgeable about music or the global movement behind it.
No one is particularly knowledgeable, but the people really love to party hard and that makes up for all the fashion victims and wannabes.
A South American Job
Everything came together for the SAMC in a typical South American manner: last minute, and without anyone losing their cool.
The congress consisted of a trade fair and talks as well as a discussion forum and a media get-together.
The small trade fair entrance hall of La Rural that served as the location was quickly packed with eager youngsters, checking out the stuff on offer.
There was a medley of music schools and web-based party forums offering to give an insight into their activities which made the fair a lot more diverse and interesting than last year.
A cluster of just about everyone who moves and shakes something on a more profit-orientated level here in Buenos Aires – or hopes to do so – was shuffling along the corridors when Judge Jules arrived, spontaneously agreeing to be one of the speakers on the panel.
The Importance of Being Comfortable
Just to stand at the side and watch the whole game of potential business making going on was a highly amusing thing to watch, with just about everyone trying to get a piece of the action.
At the same time, there were some serious theories thrown into the room, with music journalists from Mexico, Brazil and Argentina discussing the future of electronic music in South America.
They outlined the necessity to promote and nurture the region’s own talent and not to just think about profitability.
They emphasised the importance of a cultural interchange without being completely focused on First World activities, and named fresh and innovative artists that deserved more attention.
Were their pleas were heard? It’s hard to tell.
In the meantime, the eager D-Mode crew dragged Judge Jules in front of their cameras, urging him to look more comfortable. “Yes, of course, but how?” was his polite and at the same time painstakingly honest reply.
Get Your Freak Out
Twenty-four hours later at the same location, big bass drums blasted trancey tunes into the summery spring night.
Entering the trance floor felt like entering a swinger club.
Sound ricocheted off the naked walls and morphed into a mushy background tapestry, making it absolutely impossible to talk – ideal, because most people just wanted to get it on with it.
After a long hibernation, the clubbing monsters of Buenos Aires got the chance to get their freak on.
Getting it on in the middle of the dancefloor is the thing to do here.
Both the girls and boys are really hot, and electronic music parties are also the place for people to act out their homosexual tendencies (that are usually suppressed).
Locked into their catholic parents’ houses until they get married and raised on a steady diet of traditional values – fashion magazines and football – many of the clubbers here only pull when they’re clubbing, which creates a very heated atmosphere.
Sometimes, a glance and a wave is all it takes, before you find yourself escorting a person to the bathroom or to one of the ‘albergues transitorios telos’, where well-equipped rooms can be rented for hourly rates as low as a fiver.
The Music Is The Key
Back to the clubbing.
There’s a giant dancefloor, and three nicely dimensioned VIP stages, completely filled with football-bosomed fake blondes. Ahhhh, the high society, live and uncut!
The techno room was a guaranteed VIP free zone.
Every single B-movie starlet and porno actress in Argentina found some space somewhere on the balustrades to swing around, and every somewhat “important” single male between the age of twenty and forty five was there to watch closely and hunt down their prey at the right moment. Tiësto’s set culminated in a rather obvious big hit climax, celebrating himself with his trance interpretation of “Adagio for Strings”, a piece that is traditionally played at the funerals of American presidents.
Not that that matters.
The people on the dancefloor were ecstatic. If there is one positive thing to comment on it’s the Argentinean party crowd that seems to celebrate the old rave virtues without being aware of them. Sharing water and energy supplies with the most innocent sweetness, dancing to the worst mixes and blends like there was no tomorrow, living in the moment and loving every second whilst paying a bomb for hotdogs and ice creams that would not get past quality controls anywhere else.
Because people here aren’t knowledgeable when internationals play here they’re more relaxed – a very celebrated techno star fluffed half of his mixes, and the big trancer DJs played records that were older than half of the audience.
If they were in the UK, the crowd would have thrown rotten eggs – the people here enjoy dance music, without prejudice.
It ended at 8am.
No one really noticed the third room where all the South American DJs were playing, amongst them Udolph, Franco Cinelli, Nico Purman and Boeing from Argentina, as well as Eliana Iwasa from Brazil.
They unfortunately spun to no one.
Link: http://www.djmag.com/newsfeat206.php
