Ooo the Mix Mash Pool Party, my introduction to pool parties during Miami Music Week, and what a pool party it was. As the ticket suggested, my crew and I arrived at the National Hotel before 2pm, WARNING, never listen to the ticket because at much as you want to be guaranteed entry, no one really gets there at that time and it just makes waiting for night fall more exhausting. We walked through the main lobby of the hotel, which struck me as a bit odd and out the the back of the lobby through the restaurant where the pool area was revealed. The biggest portion of the pool was closest to the back of the lobby while the stage was on the complete other end of the pool and then some. As we walked the length of the pool, the pool began to be more and more populated. As we reached the end we put down our stuff, spread our towels out and got a few drinks to start off the day. As opposed to other pool parties that I attended that week, the Mix Mash pool party was less about the cabanas and the bottle service and more about just being on your feet and having a good time or being in the pool and socializing with your fellow EDM fans. The stage was fairly small, but the area surrounding it in front of the pool was fairly large and the floor was covered with sand, which added to the experience.
Now, for my highlights of the event. To start with, the first act that I saw was Chocolate Puma. Now, I didn’t really know much about them besides having heard a moombahton remix to a Missy Eliot song that I heard a while back, so I did not really know what to expect. To my surprise, they really set the mood, for me, by playing a very dope set, rich with deep house and a lot of techy beats. the set was not too over bearing and just allowed everyone to have a good time in the pool with your friends while listening to some great sounds.
John Dahlback was someone, that until that day, I was sleeping on. Not being too familiar with his productions, again I didn’t really know what to expect from him. Turns out, he is a great DJ and was playing one of my favorite sets from that day/night full of a lot of progressive and very heavy electro beats that had me in front of the stage jumping up and down, Officially putting him on my radar.
GTA, well I don’t know what I can really say about them. They are my favorite DJing duo, and as expected they did not disappoint. The Miami natives kept it very suave playing an eclectic set that was unlike anything else played during that pool party. Much like their mix “Death To Genres: Miami,” Their set has a little bit of everything for everyone. Of course they played their hits like “Booty Bouce” and “Shake Dem” but they also lit up the crowd with some heavy electro beats, awesome progressive stuff, a lot of VIP trap remixes, the moombahton, and a splash of hip hop to keep the crowd raging on the faux beach floor.
And finally the crown jewel of the event, did Christmas come in March this year? Is there a thing as too many DJs performing at once? Maybe, but this was totally worth it. As the sun is beginning to set, non other than Afrojack, Laidback Luke, Steve Aoki, and Calvin Harris decided to go back to back to back….. to back. To say the least, the crowd was on their feet and more than excited to see this event happen, everyone knew that this was going to be special. The 4 superstar DJs put on a great set together that had a little bit of everything. You had the loud synths of the Dutch sound coming from Luke and Afrojack, you had the edgier rock syths from Steve and the more mellow progressive stuff from Mr. Harris. Definitely something that will not leave my mind for a long time, I cant wait for next year to see what the National Hotel has in store for me.
**Photo Credit to Pacha and RPM
** Special thanks to Justin and Olyvia Salyer at Rephlektor