Roni Size
Photo: Island

MIAMI — In the era of MP3s, CD-Rs, iPods and the ubiquitous mix-CD, everyone from Starbucks to your parents has tried their hand at the DJ game, often with perfectly positive results. But after four arduous days of hearing dance music permeate every sonic inch of the Winter Music Conference, this cultural development bolstered the status of every DJ — the real kind — that performed, laying plain the artistry of their craft.

That said, the vast majority of WMC parties fell into the risk-free category of monochromatic, genre-based music, whether progressive house, tech-house or any other permutation in between. DJs who differentiated themselves from the pack — live performers were virtually nonexistent this year — dug deep into the roots of dance music, effortlessly incorporating soul that was intangible as well as unmistakable.

At what's become an annual treat, the cream of Chicago's crop, DJ Sneak and Derrick Carter, kicked it up a notch Tuesday night at a party announced solely by a handwritten cardboard sign outside the venue, with Sneak himself standing out front at 2 a.m. to dispel any notions of a scam. Faithful to the chunky, funky house music that made the Windy City scene famous, the turntable supermen matched rhythms and melodies with dexterity. For flourishes, Sneak dropped nasty piano and horn riffs from Latin and African palettes, while Carter snuck in a snippet of Oingo Boingo's goofy "Weird Science" and closed with Prince's "Little Red Corvette," complete with the song's extended coda jam.

Earlier Tuesday evening, a party thrown by the emerging record label Chez Music and its sister, Wave Music, transported the New York house scene's patented pancultural vibe to South Beach. In one room, Matty Heilbronn turned the crowd loose with a smoking track that combined a chugging house rhythm with James Brown's classic "Super Bad." Just a few steps away, Chicago veteran Roy Davis Jr. infused his energetic set with the warm analog synth lines indispensable to New York house since its early-'80s inception.

It was attention to this history that distinguished a Tuesday night set by 22-year-old drum'n'bass newcomer High Contrast as one of the conference's most innovative. By layering the same blanket of analog synths so intrinsic to house over complex but smooth drum'n'bass patterns, High Contrast (Cardiff, Wales, native Lincoln Barret) not only provided a signpost for a scene looking for new directions, he also revealed himself as a producer at a surprisingly advanced level. One track he spun symbolically appropriated the vocal hook from First Choice's disco classic "Love Thang," whose timeless lyrics and infectious rhythm have been referenced or sampled by countless house and techno artists over the years.

Roni Size also turned in a refreshing drum'n'bass set on Tuesday, albeit against the sunny 1 p.m. hotel penthouse backdrop of bagels, coffee and mimosas. The "early" start seemed aimed at people fresh from the tightly packed Space club, where Danny Tenaglia was commandeering the decks for 20 consecutive hours (from 11 p.m. Monday to 7 p.m. Tuesday) at his annual marathon. Aside from his typically broad breadth of styles, Tenaglia invited Yoko Ono to sing "Open Your Box" just after sunrise and had Deep Dish and Carl Cox cheerleading vociferously from atop the speakers.

Though overshadowed by the Tenaglian juggernaut Monday night, a diverse bill at Goddess included a technically impressive hip-hop set by Roots drummer ?uestlove as well as a slinky-smooth set by fellow Illadelphian Vikter Duplaix that touched on cornerstones of soul music ranging from the '70s Philly heyday to the "broken beat" style centered around West London and Berlin's Jazzanova collective.

Perhaps reflecting the troubling times of the past six months, many DJs returned to dance music's foundation as uplifting and empowering soul food. Dark, pounding beats were noticeably less common, and some artists spoke more directly through their record selection. Roy Davis Jr., a deeply spiritual man, was not alone in spinning tunes that emphasized self-confidence and peaceful coexistence in their lyrics, while Derrick Carter responded to a 5 a.m. cry for more by playing an emotional track with the chorus "No more pain, no more tears."

• Oingo Boingo
• Prince
• Derrick Carter
• Roni Size
• Danny Tenaglia

Moby
Photo: J. Tayloe Emery

NEW YORK — For some, the last two weeks have been a time when the role of music abruptly shifted from the indispensable rhythm of life to a frivolous, even annoying, specter of sound.

It was, therefore, with great expectation mixed with a bit of trepidation that dance-music fans in the New York area received the news of the all-star DJ lineup — which included Moby, Danny Tenaglia, Little Louie Vega and David Morales — assembled for a fundraising event Tuesday at the nightclub Centro-Fly.

The occasion was dreamed up on September 13 by the club's owners, Tom Sisk and David Baxley, when they learned of the loss of a police officer friend from the precinct near Centro-Fly. The day after the event, which attracted more than 2,600 people, Sisk called it "the most humbling experience of my professional life. Everyone responded to this."

Even though he and his partner had brought together the artists who have served as the backbone of the city's storied house-music community for the last 20 years, Sisk said the most difficult organizational task was getting through on the phone to the Widow's and Children's Fund of the city's police and fire departments, which was inundated with offers of charity.

The intentions of the jam-packed gathering were crystal clear: first, to raise money for the families of victims of the World Trade Center attack of September 11; and second, to help New York get its groove back.

With a $40 minimum donation required for entry and all proceeds from the bar — including workers' tips — earmarked for Centro-Fly's stated goal of donating $150,000 to the NYPD and FDNY, the first, more tangible goal proved no problem to attain, and was easily surpassed, according to Sisk. (Cash-strapped fans were offered a $20 discount in exchange for hugging a cop outside the entrance, while superstar DJ Timo Maas, who heard about the event by e-mail, called in a donation of $1,000.)

Although each of the club's three musical areas was overstuffed throughout the evening, the second goal — getting the groove on — required a bit more finesse on the part of the DJs and the folks on the dance floor. For many guests, Tuesday night was their first return to the nightlife world since the attack, which created a feeling of uncertainty that gradually dissipated as the hours of beats wore on. As Francois Kevorkian and Little Louie kicked things off in the downstairs Pinky Room, the soulful, optimistic rhythms of house music so familiar and even central to the lives of those in attendance sounded foreign, almost too positive for this sorrowful time.

But some dancers had no problem getting moving, and, judging by the ubiquitous patriotic fashion choices — flag doo-rags, entire flag ensembles, I [Heart] NY More Than Ever T-shirts — the night was equal parts celebration and contemplation. Each time, for example, a DJ dropped a classic New York house cut into the mix, a whoop from the crowd affirmed the renewed pride New Yorkers have tapped into over the last two weeks.

Upstairs in the Tapioca Room, when local-scene stalwart Matthias Heilbronn found his house rhythms were losing their way, he swiftly switched gears and flipped a set of crowd-pleasing hip-hop tracks by New York artists, including Q-Tip's "Breathe and Stop" and Mary J. Blige's smash "Family Affair," and the room responded in kind, with rumps shaking and smiles flashing.

Moby, who was listed as a DJ for the evening, was in attendance briefly but did not perform.

After New York veteran Junior Sanchez debuted a number of tracks from Armand Van Helden's next album, Gandhi Kahn (due October 2), the night's balance was turned over to the deft hands of Danny Tenaglia, who, despite his considerable skills, was never able to work the floor into the transcendent froth he normally does. It was no fault of his own, of course, and as dawn approached outside, it was enough simply to watch people moving in unison, enveloped if only for moments at a time by the power of rhythm.

For more information on and audience reaction to the attacks, including tips on how you can help, see "9.11.01: Moving Forward."

• Moby
• Danny Tenaglia

De La Soul
Photo: Mo Daoud

The Mekka electronic music tour has enlisted De La Soul and their Spitkickerroster to round out the hip-hop portion of the inaugural late summer blast, organizers announced Monday.

Common, Biz Markie, Talib Kweli and Pharoahe Monch, alumni of last year's Spitkicker Tour, will be performing on a hip-hop stage on Mekka that will also feature previously announced DJs including Mix Master Mike and DJ Craze.

In addition, the Roots' Black Thought and DJ Jazzy Jeff will be hitting select dates.

Mekka, which will also feature the Crystal Method, Paul Oakenfold, Danny Tenaglia, Armand Van Helden, BT and Roni Size, among others, kicks off August 4 in Detroit.

De La Soul launched the Spitkicker Tour last year to showcase their community of socially conscious hip-hoppers. All of the groups have collaborated on album and onstage.

Performances expected this year include De La Soul and Common's "The Bizness," Talib Kweli and Common's "Respiration," Pharoahe Monch, Common and Talib Kweli's "The Truth" and Talib Kweli's new single with De La Soul, "Soul Rebels," according to the tour's publicist.

All of the Spitkicker alumni now on the Mekka bill will also perform together on an as-yet-untitled Spitkicker single. Biz Markie will contribute his turntable skills.

An exact lineup detailing which artists will be performing on which dates is available at www.mekkatour.com.

The tour celebrates the official launch of Mekka, a global entertainment company focused on the promotion and development of electronic music culture, and will also include Deep Dish, LTJ Bukem, DJ Rap, Sandra Collins and Junior Sanchez (see "Crystal Method, Roni Size, BT Heading To Mekka").

Mekka will be held in outdoor venues, such as large fields and fairgrounds. Specific venues will be announced at a later date.

Updated Mekka Tour dates, according to the tour's publicist:

• 8/4 - Detroit, MI
• 8/5 - Toronto, ON
• 8/10 - Tampa, FL
• 8/11 - Miami, FL
• 8/15 - Dallas, TX
• 8/18 - New York, NY
• 8/24 - St. Louis, MO
• 8/25 - Chicago, IL
• 9/1 - San Francisco, CA
• 9/2 - Los Angeles, CA

• De La Soul
• Common
• Talib Kweli
• Paul Oakenfold
• The Crystal Method

Pet Shop Boys
Photo: Sire

Music fans wondering "What's a Wotapalava?" will have to wait until next year to find out. The gay-themed summer touring festival has canceled 18 shows this July and August because organizers were unable to find an appropriate high-profile headliner, according to the tour's publicist.

Originally, Sinéad O'Connor had agreed to take top billing, but on May 30 she dropped off the tour because of "unforeseeable family commitments." After spending a month searching for a replacement, Pet Shop Boys member and Wotapalava founder Neil Tennant postponed the event, which was suffering from poor ticket sales, until next year.

"We have made this decision with the greatest of reluctance," Tennant said in a statement. "But it seems impossible to proceed without a complete lineup of artists. We look forward to coming to America next year." In addition to O'Connor, the festival was scheduled to feature Pet Shop Boys, Soft Cell, the Magnetic Fields and Rufus Wainwright on its main stage. A second stage would have included DJs such as Junior Vasquez and Danny Tenaglia.

• Pet Shop Boys
• Sinéad O'Connor
• Soft Cell
• Magnetic Fields
• Rufus Wainwright

Roni Size
Photo: Island

The world's top tier of electronic music artists — including the Crystal Method, Paul Oakenfold, Danny Tenaglia, Armand Van Helden, BT and Roni Size — will gather in August for a 10-city North American tour called Mekka. The outing, which kicks off August 4 in Montreal and wraps up September 2 in Los Angeles, will celebrate the launch of Mekka, a global entertainment company focused on the promotion and development of electronic music culture, according to the tour's publicist.

Acts from various genres of electronic music will be represented, from hip-hop to techno to drum'n'bass to trance. Deep Dish, LTJ Bukem, Mix Master Mike, Sandra Collins and Junior Sanchez are among Mekka's other top names. Several hip-hop acts will be announced later this month.

Mekka will include a rare live set by Detroit techno legend Carl Craig. BT, the Crystal Method, the New Deal and Überzone will also be performing live. Working the many turntables on the tour will be DJs Jimmy Van M, Derrick Carter, DJ Rap, Doc Martin, Dave Ralph, Stacey Pullen, Christopher Lawrence, Dieselboy, Mark Farina, DJ Craze, DJ Dan, Terry Mullan, Bad Boy Bill, Misstress Barbara, Andy C, DJ Hype, Grooverider and Mr. C.

Halo and Hipp-E of the Chicago DJ collective H-Foundation, who will also be spinning at Mekka, and Sanchez will mix separate CD compilations in conjunction with the tour. Release dates have not been announced. The tour will be the summer's third major tour featuring electronic music. Moby, Oakenfold, Carl Cox, the Orb, Timo Maas and others will be part of the Area: One tour on July 11 in Atlanta (see "Area: One Festival's Details Come Into Focus"), while Perry Farrell's Jubilee festival, headlined by Jane's Addiction, is also expected to feature top DJs and producers (see "Jane's Addiction Touring In August"). Details for that tour have not been released, though publicists for several electronic music stars, including Size, have said they have been invited to join the outing. Mekka will be held in outdoor venues, such as large fields and fairgrounds. Venues will be announced at a later date. The artists will perform on multiple stages and in tents. Mekka, the company, will specialize in artist management, wireless applications, magazine publishing and music distribution and publishing.

Mekka Tour dates, according to the tour's publicist:

• 8/4 - Montreal, QC
• 8/5 - Toronto, ON
• 8/8 - Dallas, TX
• 8/10 - Jacksonville, FL
• 8/11 - Miami, FL
• 8/18 - New York, NY
• 8/25 - Chicago, IL
• 8/30 - Seattle, WA
• 9/1 - San Francisco, CA
• 9/2 - Los Angeles, CA

• The Crystal Method
• Roni Size
• BT
• Paul Oakenfold
• Mix Master Mike

Fatboy Slim
Photo: MTV News

Fatboy Slim's five nods tops the long list of nominees for the DanceStar 2001 Tiscali World Dance Music Awards, which were announced Wednesday (April 25).

Close behind are Sonique and Spiller, each nominated for four awards, which will be presented June 6 at London's Alexandra Palace.

Fatboy Slim, a.k.a. Norman Cook, is up for Best Club DJ, DanceStar of the Year and Best Breakbeat/Eclectic Act for "Sunset (Bird of Prey)," Best Album of the Year for Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars, and Best Video for "Demons" (featuring Macy Gray).

The other nominees for DanceStar of the Year are Timo Maas for "Ubik," Spiller for "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)," Craig David for "Rendezvous" and Sonique for "It Feels So Good." Sonique's Hear My Cry is also nominated for Best Album along with Daft Punk's Discovery, MJ Cole's Sincere and Bent's Programmed to Love. Fatboy faces stiff competition in the Best Club DJ category from Erick Morillo, Danny Tenaglia, Paul Oakenfold, Sasha, John Digweed, Seb Fontaine, Fergie, Carl Cox and Judge Jules.

Morillo, founder of New York dance label Subliminal Records, will host the awards along with Gail Porter and DJ Brandon Block.

Faithless, who occasionally feature founder Rollo's sister, Dido, are among the acts scheduled to perform. Others include U.K. garage duo Architechs, trance star Darude, Denmark percussionists Safri Duo and Jakatta, who will perform his hit European single "American Dream," a reworking of the title track to the film "American Beauty." Additional artists will be announced later.

Moby, Artful Dodger, ATB and Chicane (featuring Bryan Adams) performed at last year's inaugural ceremony.

DanceStar 2001 will be webcast live at Tiscali's music portal, www.musix.com.

A worldwide academy chose the nominees and winners are voted on by the public at www.dancestar.net.

In conjunction with the awards, DanceStar will release a compilation album featuring many of this year's nominees.

• Fatboy Slim
• Timo Maas
• Sonique
• Daft Punk
• M.J. Cole

Danny Tenaglia

MIAMI — If dance music can be said to have a Santa Claus, Danny Tenaglia proved himself as the dancefloor gift-giver Monday night at his annual marathon DJ set.

A highlight of recent Winter Music Conferences, Tenaglia, a Brooklyn native who is among house music's most venerable emissaries, holds court in the DJ booth of Miami's Space club beginning around 2 or 3 in the morning and doesn't stop until the next afternoon. This year, Tenaglia finally took the needle off the last record around 4:30 p.m., some 13 hours later, with those remaining — who had been treated to complimentary bagels, muffins, fruit and juice since dawn — receiving T-shirts as proof of their devotion and stamina.

For many in attendance at WMC this year, the question wasn't whether or not you were going to see Danny, but rather what time you were showing up. Monday was the peak of the conference's five days, with more than six-dozen events of various sizes and styles planned and 48 hours or more of solid partying already completed as preparation for another long night.

A third day of picture-perfect weather — 80 degrees, zero clouds, light sea breezes — transformed the daytime events into glorious platforms on which South Beach's many outdoor performance spaces could shine. Among them was Nikki's Beach Club, which featured a massive sound system installed on a sandy swath near the southernmost tip of the island.

Arriving in late afternoon at Nikki's to the sounds of a deep, minimal house set, it was something of a surprise to see none other than drum'n'bass mastermind Photek manning the turntables, a pair of blue-tinted shades above his big grin and a shag of his orange locks poking out behind his baseball cap. Formerly a somewhat reclusive and notoriously intense artist, Photek (born Rupert Parkes) had clearly made the full transition to the house realm on this afternoon, a direction signaled on his 2000 album, Solaris. About halfway through his set, the producer welcomed to the stage singer Robert Owens, who sang on several classic singles from Chicago's formative '80s house scene and returned to the fold last year on two songs on Solaris, "Can't Come Down" and "Mine to Give." The latter recently reached the top five on Billboard's Club Play chart, and Owens' live rendition of the track evoked a collective whoop from the growing crowd, many of whom were well aware of the special treat they were witnessing.

Within five minutes of Photek leaving the stage, Fatboy Slim had worked the "dance floor," now bathed in a sunset glow, into a frenzy. A true master of DJ skills, Fatboy nailed a chunky groove that gave way to the instantly recognizable filter funk of Madonna's "Music," which he modified with a banging beat. Like a master chef at home in his kitchen, he then stirred in the gritty synths of "Da Funk," the smash from Daft Punk's Homework, creating a mesmerizing swirl of resonating and discordant textures that placed the crowd squarely in the palm of his hand for the next two hours.

After Fatboy's hits were exhausted — "Star 69" and the epic "Song for Shelter," from last year's Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars, and "The Rockafeller Skank" all made appearances — London's Basement Jaxx took the reins for a slow-building two hours that jump-started when the duo, Simon Ratcliffe and Felix Buxton, dropped "Romeo," the opening cut from their upcoming second album (due June 26) and one of several new songs that incorporate a two-step rhythm.

Later that night, Fatboy returned to the decks with a midnight set in the upstairs room at Crobar, where a party presented by the leading New Jersey house label Subliminal was in full swing. The English duo Layo & Bushwacka!, one of 2000's hottest emerging acts, spun later for the champagne-and-sunglasses crowd (Fatboy pumped his fist in the VIP rafters), but didn't hold back, blending hard house and techno funk to the elated patrons.

By then it was pushing 4 a.m., which seemed about right for "Danny time." Upon entry into Space, the reverence for Tenaglia was palpable, and his party boasted one of the few elusive real "vibes" of the conference: Less an industry showcase, it was more a spiritual gathering. The club's three indoor rooms were all wired into Danny's domain, while the two outdoor patios were in the nimble hands of fellow New Yorker Jeannie Hopper, a fixture on the deep-house scene for the last decade and host of the weekly local radio program "Liquid Sound Lounge." As Hopper laid down a mellifluous groove that glided effortlessly through African, Latin and disco hues, with the sun shining brightly through most of her epic set (from the outdoor dance floors, Tuesday-morning workers could be seen traveling to work on the city's elevated monorail), Tenaglia relentlessly rocked the indoor crowd.

Over and over, he guided dancers up a mountain of rhythm with graceful ease, revealed to them the full vista of the expansive view, then slid them back down to the depths of the ocean. This is the style used by innumerable DJs, but none are able to exercise their mastery so precisely and with such consistency as Tenaglia, who maintained a packed floor at the sprawling Space into the afternoon hours: Each time a sense of lull crept into the collective mind — the party took on a religious air early on — a faint strain of captivating melody or beguiling texture snuck its way into the mix, acting to enliven, yet again, and inspire.

• Danny Tenaglia
• Photek
• Fatboy Slim

Fatboy Slim
Photo: MTV News

MIAMI — Sleep was nothing but an afterthought among the sonic smorgasbord of Sunday and Monday Winter Music Conference events that included live performances and DJ sets by, among others, Richie Hawtin, Roni Size & Reprazent, Danny Tenaglia, Fatboy Slim and Basement Jaxx.

Faced with the daily conundrum of five times the number of desirable events for the amount of real time in a day, what was the poor Winter Music Conference reveler to do? The answer for the last two days and nights of the annual global dance-music spectacle was the same as it has been every year: don't stop.

Whether that means don't stop dancing to the groove (at any of the dozens of glamorous shindigs at South Beach's clubs, hotel poolsides or exclusive boat cruises and mansion parties), don't stop workin' it (at the roiling, tireless shmoozefest that is the conference's social fuel) or don't stop the party (the decadence is awe-inspiring and seemingly ubiquitous), there has been enough fantastic music in Miami over the last two days to spoil even the most jaded dance-music fan.

One of the conference's most talked-about parties was the showcase for Detroit independent label Intuit-Solar (home to ghetto-tech/booty bass dons DJ Assault and DJ Godfather), though not necessarily for its musical aspect. Bringing the speedy, gritty beats and lewd, goofy lyrics to their seemingly natural home at the South Beach strip joint Club Madonna, Assault and Godfather provided a fitting soundtrack to the nude dancers with such hit tracks as "Ass-N-T--ties" and "Ho's in This House," with some music-industry members receiving complimentary lap dances.

A more conventional and typical WMC offering came Sunday night in the form of one of the week's premier lineups, at Decadence, a party sponsored by the leading American dance-music magazine Urb. Stocked with artists who normally pack venues on their own, the event's four sound areas provided as accurate a cross-section of dance music as any this year.

Size and his live drum'n'bass outfit Reprazent finished their U.S. tour in fine style at Decadence, tearing through cuts from last year's In the Mode and their epic debut, New Forms (1997), with an incendiary mix of blistering digital funk and organic, soulful grooves. Bay Area veteran DJ Dan followed with a solid if unadventurous set of breaks that warmed the largest room at the club, Space, for the night's headliner, Hawtin.

Simply by performing live electronic music in a week supersaturated with DJ sets, Hawtin distinguished himself from the rest of the techno class Sunday night. That he produced a chest-quaking, fiery ensemble of minimal, at times brutal, tracks with his signature getup — three turntables, a 909 analog bass synth and a bank of effects — established, yet again, that Hawtin is alone today in dance music's top tier in his ability to entertain while thoroughly challenging the listener.

Space's Red Room was given over to the Berlin-based Sonar Kollektiv, an affiliation of mostly downtempo producers influenced by jazz (especially Latin-flavored) and house music. Sonar artists Fauna Flash, Truby Trio and Jazzanova, who lead the collective, spun mesmerizing deep house and dubby techno sets that featured elements of Brazilian and African percussion as well as soul jazz and funk.

• Richie Hawtin
• Roni Size
• DJ Assault
• DJ Dan
• Danny Tenaglia

Paul Oakenfold

With more parties and more people expected to attend than ever before — again — the 16th annual Winter Music Conference for dance music of every kind is set to kick off Saturday in Miami Beach, Florida — its longtime, hedonistic home.

Some 6,500 people are expected for this year's conference, according to its official Web site (http://www.wmcon.com), and dozens of nightly parties (more than 50 on some nights) packed with all-star artists from every genre of dance music will overstuff the most dense concentration of nightclubs the country has to offer. With the pounding kick-drum as its perpetual soundtrack, the Winter Music Conference is dance music's premier gathering.

With virtually every top-tier producer and DJ from around the world performing during the conference's five days and nights — not including a healthy smattering of early-bird events Friday night — a well-placed explosive would leave the techno and house scenes stagnant for a decade to come. To wit: Beginning at noon on Saturday, Paul Oakenfold, Carl Cox, Paul van Dyk, Sasha & Digweed, LTJ Bukem and Richard "Humpty" Vission will all be manning the turntables in Miami — at the same event. Although that event, dubbed the Electronic Dance Music Festival — which, like the majority of shows at the conference this year and last, is not officially affiliated with the Winter Music Conference — it's the stuff that many attendees' dreams are made of.

In another trend that began last year and is moving to the fore this year, the party will take place during the waking hours, in an attempt to bypass the overcrowding and entry hassles at South Beach's terminally hip nightclubs. And like a healthy number of parties this year, the Electronic Dance Music Festival is being held outside of the glamorous glut of SoBe hot spots, at Bayfront Park in downtown Miami.

Also, many of the conference's best-known performers — including Danny Tenaglia, Bukem, Derrick Carter, Roni Size & Reprazent and Richie Hawtin (a.k.a. Plastikman) — will be spinning at locations in the city proper.

Some promoters are tapping into the frustration many attendees experienced at the 2000 WMC and taking it a step further by barring free admission for registered badgeholders. Infiltrate 3.0, a two-night event of experimental electronic music organized by the renegade Beta Bodega coalition, is charging $15 admission at its Saturday-night party, or $25 for badgeholders. Its shows, featuring artists such as Miami's own Phoenicia and Rice & Beans, Atlanta's Richard Devine and Prefuse 73 (a.k.a. Scott Herren), boast no guest lists outside and no VIP areas inside, both of which were the source of some distress last year.

Nonetheless, it's dance music's stars that draw the majority of guests to South Beach each year, and 2001 is no exception. Where else can you see Detroit techno legends Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson rock a tag-team DJ set; Fatboy Slim, Darren Emerson and Armand Van Helden on the same bill; Basement Jaxx debuting material from their next album — on the beach, no less; Sasha & Digweed on a sunset boat cruise; or Boy George, Gilles Peterson, Goldie, DJ Craze and MJ Cole in a film studio? Yeah, it's that time of year again.

• Carl Cox
• Paul Oakenfold
• LTJ Bukem
• Danny Tenaglia
• Roni Size

Two of the world's dancefloor deities, Danny Tenaglia and Carl Cox, will unite for a 13-hour DJ set on February 18 at New York's Twilo nightclub. Scheduled to begin the night before the President's Day holiday, the bill is the first shared by the pair in New York, and Tenaglia's first gig at Twilo since 1997. Cox, whose set will begin at 11 p.m. and end at 4 a.m., will be spinning at the club on every Sunday preceding a holiday in 2001, and Tenaglia, who will take the baton from Cox and run until noon, has a weekly residency at his Friday-night party, Be Yourself, at New York's Club Vinyl. Eminently popular Manchester, England, native Cox has been a cornerstone of dance music since he began DJing in the mid-'80s, rising to prominence with the birth of acid house in 1988. His mix-CD from last year, Mixed Live, was among the first live DJ sets to gain a wide commercial release. One of the most revered house emissaries in the world, having associated with every New York club legend from Larry Levan to Frankie Knuckles, Brooklyn native Tenaglia was a regular in the early '90s at the fabled Sound Factory, which preceded Twilo on its current site. Although he has released two solo albums, 1995's Hard & Soul and '98's Tourism, Tenaglia's reputation has been solidified by his all-star remix work — for Madonna and Michael Jackson, among others — and foremost for his skills on the deck. Tenaglia has released several successful mix-CDs, including two entries in the Global Underground series, London and Athens.

• Danny Tenaglia
• Carl Cox