"Got any E???" : Mother's Pride - Learning To Fly

Along with the reprise of Italo Disco, 1998 also saw the rise of Trance music in Miami. Trance ruled the city streets at every corner you turned. Just like nightspots were created in the early 80's to showcase the Disco sound, the late 90's also brought some infamous joints created to showcase the Trance sound. The most notorious of them all was a little hole in the wall we called The Mix Afterhours. 

Miami's very first official afterhours club was an instant smash amongst the Trance enthusiasts, and quickly became the only place to be. I spent numerous morning's staggering in and out of it's doors. Anyone who was a regular at The Mix will be able to back me up when I tell you that this place was just magical, drug use aside of course. 

Ocean Drive called The Mix, "a show". All sorts of people from all corners of the world would unite at The Mix and dance the wee-hours of the morning to some hardcore Progressive House & Trance. The master of ceremonies in this little show was the famed David Padilla. He was offered the weekend-residency and built a sound system that blew every other club away. The sound system at The Mix was ridiculously amazing. It towered almost 10-15 feet with cavernous spaces that you would get kicked out of should you have stumbled into them. A feature that many other clubs soon began to emulate. Alongside the massive sound system, The Mix was also known for it's chill out back room. 

The Mix prided itself not only on bringing the spotlight to Trance music, but also having a very fashionable concept. A concept that no club really achieved back then which was making every person feel like a part of their family. The Mix was so successful that they also released two compilations on Container Records that still bring chills down my spine when I listen to them. The first was recorded live at The Mix by Padilla, and the second was a dual disc set mixed by The Mix's manager who soon became an addition to the line-up, Gee-Ohh & DJNA. You can still catch Gee-Ohh throw down at America's Backyard in Ft. Lauderdale. 

Here is one of my favorite floor fillers from The Mix taken directly from Disc 1 of their first compilation. The system roared to this one when Padilla cued the first beat! LONG LIVE THE MIX AFTERHOURS!!!

Mother's Pride - Learning To Fly 

Hi NRG: Secret Ties - Dancin' In My Sleep

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!! Well I'm about an hour late, but I've finally managed to free myself from the chains of my crazy Cuban family. I hope you all spent the Holiday with loved ones, and got tons of cool shit!

Here's another "retro" re- hit from 1998. Secret Ties released Dancin' In My Sleep in 1986. A track you would think was recorded in Miami was actually done in The City of Angels. Although it was a massive hit down south. I'm telling you those calypso beats....they just do it for us Miamians. If there was a soundtrack of the Tropics, this track would be number 3! Enjizzoy! -- MikeeGB

Secret Ties - Dancin' In My Sleep

Secret Ties - Dancin' In My Sleep (Instrumental)

HOUSE: Space Frog feat. The Grim Reaper - (X-Ray) Follow Me

Come closer to the speaker!! You can have it all!

Follow Me was a frickin' MEGA HIT in 1998. A favorite of Roly's, this track was played at any night's peak. Our crew was SO obsessed with this song. Whenever we decided to stay in we would all rendezvous at someone's crib, play Follow Me among other classic dance tracks, and go glow stick crazy. What losers we were! LMAO

German troupe Space Frog released Follow Me in 1997. It hit the U.S. shores in 1998 and made a big impact on the SoBe club scene. I remember we had to place a special order for the Maxi CD at Uncle Sams because they didn't carry it. I also remember coming across the 12" at one of the Flamingo Plaza thrift stores, but only to find that the record was missing! The track was re-issued in 2004 with some slamming trance remixes, I've included my favorite of the bunch the D.E.R.B. mix below. Oh, I've also included the very rare Razor & Guido remix! Enjizzoy! -- MikeeGB

Space Frog feat. The Grim Reaper - (X-Ray) Follow Me

Space Frog feat. The Grim Reaper - (X-Ray) Follow Me (Razor & Guido Remix)

YouTube: Space Frog feat. The Grim Reaper - (X-Ray) Follow Me (D.E.R.B. Remix)

MIXTAPE MADNESS: Trip Hop Till You Drop on Power 96

A car ride to SoBe wasn't the same unless you had Power 96 pumping the jams out yo radio, or a mixtape you had recorded the night before while Zog was spinning live and you decided to stay home. Back in the days Power 96 was a bad ass little radio station. God knows whatever happened to it, I guess it's a simple sign of the times.

This mix was ripped straight off an old ass cassette, Gr00veMan was very good about keeping all his old tapes. I begged and pleaded that he give them all to me when he parted ways to the Big Apple, and thankfully HE DID! The quality of course is not 100%, but the music can be heard loud and clear.

"Trip Hop" to us Miamians was a mix of House and "Freestyle Breaks" with a dash of Acid sounds thrown in. Eventually the term resorted too "Trip House" which ended up being a much better way to categorize the sound as "Trip Hop" was actually already a completely different genre. Enjoy the Trip Hop Till You Drop Mixtape recorded straight off the Power 96 airwaves in 1998! -- MikeeGB

MIXTAPE MADNESS: Power 96 Trip Hop Till You Drop Mixtape(MP3)

Tracklist:

1. Rhythm 544 - Where Did Your Love Go (Trip House Mix)
2. Jaydee - Plastic Dreams
3. Sneaker Pimps - Spin Spin Sugar (Armand Van Helden Remix) / Angelina - Without Your Love
4. Unknown
5. Sash! - Encore Une Fois
6. Kr0mozone Project - Take My Love
7. Summer Junkies - I'm Gonna Luv U
8. DJ Boom feat. Nadine Renee - Take Me To The Top
9. Mon A Q - Stay In Love
10. Mix Factory - Take Me Away / Danny Tenaglia - Elements
11. Ultra Nate - Free
12. Sarah McLaughlin - Posession (Rabbit In The Moon Remix)

Italoness: Ken Laszlo - Tonight (Re-Remix)

I'm very thankful that I got the opportunity to start clubbing when I did. The late Nineties not only brought fabulous House music to the Magic City, but also classic disco tunes re-emerged and captured yet another generation of fans. "Retro" as we would call it was actually Italo Disco and High Energy music all mixed as one. The kids would pack the dancefloors and sway side to side as DJ Zog or DJ Percy would spin classics that were recorded before some were even born (like myself!)

Tonight was and still is an amazing track! A "Retro" set was incomplete unless one of Laszlo's tracks made an appearance either in the clubs or on Power 96. Ken Laszlo believe it or not is about the only Italo Disco artist to have sold over a million records. It's funny how time really does change things, no one would be caught dead playing these kind of songs at clubs now a days....unless you go to Alcazaba's or something LOL! Now, give or take a decade ago this music got the party started, and kept it going.....it was 1985 all over again! Enjizzoy! -- MikeeGB

Ken Lazlo - Tonight (Re-Remix)

HOUSE: John Creamer - Lift Up The Needle (Razor & Guido Edit)

Razor & Guido summarize what House music was back then, what it should be today, and what I hope it will be in the future. The duo is known for their inescapable build-up's that are down right hard and funky as fuck!

Their remix of John Creamer's Lift Up The Needle was indeed one of the best "blow-up" songs from 1998. By 1999 this song was a staple in any House DJ's set. This song got particular love from an old buddy of mine, the one and only DJ Percy who brought this out for the Up All Nite crowd. Someone hand me a glowband PLEASE! More Razor & Guido coming up...stay tuned!! -- MikeeGB

John Creamer - Lift Up The Needle (Razor & Guido Edit)

TO THE BEAT: Bass Trip - Break It Down

This track was actually released in 1996 on Pandisc Records. Bass Trip's ....Beat Planet X was one of my favorite CD's back in the hey day. Break It Down was a big hit in the rave scene, especially when the surge of breaks began. Not only was this track big in the underground scene but was given much love on both Power 96 and the 18+ clubs in SoBe in and around 1998. Ahhh...those were the days! Enjizzoy! -- MikeeGB

Bass Trip - Break It Down

LEVEL 2: Duke - So In Love With You (GB's Quik Colors Edit)

So In Love With You was a mega hit back in 1998.  I will always and forever love this song! DJ Zog would do a great little mash-up of Razor & Guido's Do It Again over this track. I was never able to find it on any of my old cassette's so I had to take matters into my own hands. Thanks to a new remix of Do It Again I found on YouTube, and my trusty Virtual DJ program...I was able to re-create Zogbi's magic. Enjoy my Quick Colors Edit of the infamous Duke classic, So In Love With You! -- MikeeGB

Duke - So In Love With You (Gayboner's Quik Colors Edit)

Design of a DECADE: M:G - Sweet Honesty

You know you're the shit if....

1. You remember the days when production companies battled it out for their glorious reign over SoBe nightlife.
   
2. You remember how club flyers were so incredibly well thought of and creative that they have now become your very own collector's items?
   
3. You recall when the gays and straights shared every dancefloor and danced to the same beat? 
   
4. You were a male that owned just about every YMLA shirt Burdine's sold? Or you were a female and bought your outfits at Sole 2 Soul and/or Wet Seal
   
5. You frequented such legendary nightspots like Warsaw, Amnesia, Shadow Lounge, Zen, Cream, Emerald City, Rick's Bar, Salvation, and The Mix? 
   
6. Your night was not complete until you've trampled over your 30" JNCO pants, and 4" Bedford Stu platforms to catch a purple glowband? 
7. You had to swoon the hottest and bitchiest drag queens to get into the club as they were the bouncers? 
   
8. You have or had a cassette tape with a Power 96 "Lunchtime Retro Mix"?
   
9. You went the Grove every Thursday.
10. You took ecstasy before it became all the rage.
    

If you have said yes to any or all of the above, CONGRATULATIONS! Pat yourself on the back as you were a part of one of the most vibrant and memorable era's of SoBe nightlife. The clubs would still let anyone who looked the age, or at least the part in (the age being 18!). Italo /Retro music was re-discovered and became an obsession of the Miami youth. House music was at it's best, drums were non-existent. Everyone was equal, unless you were a promoter. Times were just fine and dandy, and SoBe was the place, unless you were venturing off to a club somewhere in the suburbs.

The height of this era was 1998. Yes folks, it's been an entire decade since we all wreaked havoc on SoBe night after night. We would like to dedicate this final month in 2008 to all the good times that took place 10 years ago. We'll post some of the best tracks from that time, post some of the most obscure flyers we picked up off the floor, and tell some of our best stories from that era. Damn I'm starting to feel old!

I remember dancing on top of those speakers at Amnesia doing the little side to side retro dance to this first track. M:G released Sweet Honesty in 1998. With the tracks freestyle feel it became an instant summer classic in the clubs. The track has even take a spot on the Billboard Hot 100! M:G has since then released a slew of EP's of tracks with that same feel good vibe. Check her out on iTunes or Amazon! Enjizzoy! -- MikeeGB

M:G - Sweet Honesty (Planet Hype Mix)

YouTube: M:G on First Cut

www.mgfanclub.com