Hotspots at This Year's Winter Music Conference & Paul Van Dyk Interview

In its 23rd year, this year’s WMC was probably one of the biggest and greatest yet. For one week South Florida became the Mecca of Dance & Electronic music. Names such as Tiesto, Paul Van Dyk, Armin Van Buuren, Kristine W, Crystal Waters, Tony Moran, and many more were out and about showcasing their talents and promoting their new music. Many of these artists were more than glad to talk to me as they are looking forward to being featured in Hotspots Magazine. In the next few weeks I will be giving you some of the amazing interviews I had with some of the artists that week.

Everywhere you turned there was another party with a full lineup of artists and sexy fans waiting patiently to hear their music heroes. I made my rounds through some of the pool parties, club events, awards show, and, last but not least, the Ultra Music Festival, where I even had a chance to DJ myself. The Remix hotel at the National was probably the highlight of the pool parties for me. With legendary DJs like Francois Kevorkian, local favorites like Nick Terranova & Austin Leeds, and my favorite, DJ Team Deep Dish, made this 4-day party the place to be. They showcased all the new and upcoming gear from companies like Sony, Pioneer, Stanton and Korg. I also took part in their training seminars to learn new tricks in production hosted by one of my Favorite DJs, Paul van Dyk.

At the WMC I had a chance to sit through some of the panels and question my peers and to listen to all the advice they had for guys like me in the industry. During the Demo Listening Workshop I had the pleasure of being reviewed by Hazel B. Zoleta of Tommy Boy Records, Howard Kessler of HK Productions, and long time techie Jody Den Broeder. They all had great things to say about my production and asked me to send them more stuff, which made my week! The WMC was all about networking with the best of them all.

At the IDMA awards show I had the pleasure to be backstage and talk briefly to all the artists, as well as see some of the performances of this year's top artists. Blake from American Idol kicked off the performances at the awards show, but the two highlights of the show were Crystal Waters performing and Paul Van Dyk’s new artist, Rae Garvey, singing their new smash hit “Let Go”. You can check the list of winners and nominees from the awards show on the following website: http://wintermusicconference.com/events/idmas/winners2008.php

The Man, The Legend “Paul Van Dyk”
On Wednesday night of the conference I attended the VONYC Sessions hosted by the man himself, Paul Van Dyk. After some technical difficulties and a bit of a late start, I had the chance to speak to Paul and his gorgeous wife Natasha about the future of his career, his award nominations, and about Love Parade.

Hotspots: Well you been voted #4 in DJ Mag’s Top 100 DJs and nominated for 8 IDMA awards this year. How does this make you feel?

Paul: It’s been an honor, but a long stressful year for me. It’s all work and being recognized for it is great!

Hotspots: What new projects are you working on for this year?

Paul: Right now I am working on my new artist, Rae Garvey, and pushing his new single “Let Go” on Vandit Records. Also, just keeping busy with everything Vandit, VONYC and, of course, myself and my family.

Hotspots: Will you performing at this year’s Love Parade in Germany?

Paul: I have performed at many Love Parades throughout the years. Last year I had to take a break from it, but I promise to return and perform at this year’s Love Parade.


Much admiration for Paul Van Dyk as an artist and as a family man. I wish to thank everyone, including Jessica Cohen, Natasha Van Dyk, DJ Sama, Louis and Bill Kelly of WMC, and all the great DJs that rocked my world during this crazy week!

Cheers!
Ryan Morales
Ryan.M@HotspotsMagazine.com