WMC 2007 REPORT

WMC is over.... here are some of this year's uppers and downers!

America compared to Europe still has a long way to go when it comes to dance music, but that's a good thing! Clubbers definitely are more into it, which adds to the atmosphere and DJ Tiesto can still straddle along Miami's Collins Avenue without being recognized.

Dance music awards generally don't have it and the IDMA awards are no exception. Rewarding Madonna for "Best Solo Dance Artist" is just as ridiculous as calling "Hands Up for Detroit" by Fedde Le Grand the best underground dance record of 2007.

Madonna's status is way beyond being a dance artist and Fedde's hit record is way beyond being an underground track. Why not call Fedde "Best Dance Artist" and reward Madonna for "Best Underground Record" next year? Furthermore nothing much to mention. As expected Tiesto was rewarded for "Best Global DJ". Nuff said? None of them picked up their piece of fame in person...

Apart from silly awards such as "Best Turntable" and "Best Promoter" (to name just a few) it was really cool to see George Clinton's speechless appearance; and it was about time Giorgio Moroder's work was acknowledged for "Lifetime Achievement".

What we saw of the WMC discussion panels we must conclude the panels have gained a lot of quality over the years. If we were to be picky, it could be said that the quality of the audience hardly justifies panel members of such quality. We heard some complaints about panels assuming a certain level of knowledge from the participants, which in fact was what the participants expected to learn from the discussion. Well... chickens and eggs.

The producers panel seated some veteran producers knowing the tricks as well as the trade. They preached "basic music knowledge" and "trained ears" are more important that anything else, except for the use of Apple computers! Talking about mixing they made it very clear that frequency separation is essential for a balanced mix. Something - as we experienced later at Ultra - a band like The Cure very much better practices on stage than dance veteran Junkie XL. Compared to the sparkling openness of The Cure's sound, JXL sounded like mashed potatoes.

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