Since moving to Dubai I have been happily surprised by the house music scene that is continuing to grow here. Of course one of the biggest reasons I love partying in Dubai is 360, which has become the weekly refuge for me and an amazing group of passionate house music lovers.

Now that the season has come to an end, because of the crazy desert heat, I want to share my feelings about the place I hate saying good bye to for three whole months.

My introduction to 360 came after meeting Mike Bufton, who immediately recognized our shared passion and allowed me to help out with his Audio Tonic Friday’s by booking some of my favorite DJ’s. I have never found a place where week after week I’m so excited to hear who is going to take over the decks. The Audio Tonic sound has been right in line with what we have been promoting on bringthebeats, so that makes me even happier.

After going over the DJ bookings with Mike and seeing so many great names on the list, I immediately had full trust in him. If there was a name on there that I didn’t know, I should have. People have come to realize that even if they’re not familiar with the name of the DJ (most don’t), they can be sure they’re going to hear only quality Audio Tonic sounds at 360. Building that kind of trust with a crowd is a great accomplishment, something we hope to see grow in the years to come.

I’m always looking for fresh new talent, so being a part of Audio Tonic has given me an outlet for that. In this past year I think my knowledge of the music and the people who make it has expanded a great deal.

I was introduced to many talented DJ’s and producers at 360 this season, but a few really made a lasting impression on me. Like Scope, the amazing Irish producer who was nominated for Beatport’s Best Deep House Artist of the year. And Dido and Miki, the incredible Macedonian duo of Latenta Project. After hearing both of these acts for the first time I knew I wanted to hear more. Leaving with a huge smile on my face, I felt as satisfied as a shopaholic who just finished a huge shopping spree (I often have that feeling too ).

We all loved Scope and Latenta Project so much we brought them back for encores. Other acts that came back on multiple occasions were Spirit Catcher, a live act from Belgium who always shake up the dance floor, as well as Steve Mill, who I managed to miss all three times he was booked… ahhh!!!

It’s so hard to say which party or set was the best because there were so many, but the ones that really stand out for me were, of course, the ones I had a hand in creating. The first being when Luke Fair came in February. Everything flawlessly came together that night. The dance floor was packed by 7pm, right in time for Luke to take to the decks and Radio 1 airwaves.

The thing that is difficult for a lot of DJ’s is playing to a crowd of people that are usually already drunk by 7pm… lol. The sun has just gone down and the evening is getting started, so the set can’t be too hard, but it also can’t be too soft or people won’t get the energy they need to carry them deep into the night. Playing that time slot can be challenging, but Luke read the crowd perfectly. He created madness on the dance floor that hasn’t often been replicated. I can’t wait till we bring him back again!

Another very memorable night for me was my second booking,  Gabriel Sordo. After having heard so many of Gaby’s mixes I was dying to hear him live. His set grew in energy with incredible build ups and a solid beat that had the crowd sweating like crazy. Gaby can perfectly adapt his sound to any atmosphere, which was very obvious from how he controlled the dance floor that night. Bringing him back to 360 next season is a must!

My final booking for the season was my good friend Fountain from Amsterdam. After knowing him for three years and never hearing him play live, you can imagine how excited I was. Although it wasn’t a very busy night, I think the people who were there loved his set, I know I did. I think Fountain would be perfect for a return; however, next time we should maybe have him play later in the evening so that he can play those heavy bombs he keeps stashed away for the perfect moment.

I think next season there are some DJ’s that were booked for the 7 to 10 to warm up that should come back to close out the party instead. An excellent choice for that would be Tom Morgan . Tom’s dedication to finding new music is always on display; his sets are consistently stacked with the best new beats of the moment. I’d love to hear Tom close out the night on an incredible high.

Other highlights of the season include Jody Wisternoff, who played one of my favorite sets; Sebastian Davidson who had me running straight back up the stairs, skipping my bathroom breaks because each track was so great; Add2Basket because he deserves to play to a packed dance floor; Daniel Kyo because I only heard the last hour of his set and it left me wanting so much more; Acos Coolkas because I loved watching his animated energy behind the decks; and Dana Bergquist and Neil Quigley who both need a second chance to get into the 360 groove.

What is so great about the 360 crew is that every event the resident DJ’s hold their own against these international talents, sometimes playing sets that outshine the guest. Michael Daniel and JC have played some incredible sunset sessions and between Mr Mr, Vas Floyd, and Raxon, the night always ends with some of the best music of the day.

I’m really looking forward to seeing so many of my favorite DJs come back again next year and to invite some new ones as well. If possible my top picks for next season would be  Ricky Ryan, Kosmas Epsilon, Lucas Abadi,  Holsound, Eelke Kleijn, bal Erik, Paul Trelles, Hernan Cerbello and Naveen G. Hehe, I want all the bringthebeats favs on the 360 bill!

I can’t wait for out 360 reunion this fall. Until then I leave you with one of the most memorable guest sets of the season from Latenta Project’s second Audio Tonic appearance in May and Raxon’s Audio Tonic 3rd Anniversary mix that totally proves that our residents are the absolute best!

Download (left-click and unzip):
Latenta Project – Live at 360, Dubai – May 29, 2009 – Part 1
Latenta Project – Live at 360, Dubai – May 29, 2009 – Part 2
Latenta Project – Live at 360, Dubai – May 29, 2009 – Part 3
Latenta Project – Live at 360, Dubai – May 29, 2009 – Part 4
Latenta Project – Live at 360, Dubai – May 29, 2009 – Part 5

Download (left-click and unzip):
Raxon – Audio Tonic 3rd Anniversary Mix

And please check out from on my favorite pics from the 360 season.  Have a great summer everyone, Lisa.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 24th, 2009 at 4:33 pm and is filed under WHAT'S GOING DOWN. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.