- It might not always be clear to those living outside of North America, but since its inception in the mid-'80s, the Miami Winter Music Conference has, despite the apparent commercialism and frivolousness surrounding it, created a sense of community between DJs, producers, promoters and record labels who live continents apart. Tiga has often stressed the conference's importance to him, especially since it allowed him to escape Montreal's closely knitted community, enter international networks that went beyond Canada's early rave scene, and develop working relationships that are still going strong today. In that sense, it's not really a surprise to see Turbo, Tiga's label, paying homage to the Floridian mecca with a compilation, unambiguously titled Turbo Miami Lifestyle.
Tiga apparently first met Finnish producer Jori Hulkkonen, who worked on his cover of "Sunglasses at Night," at WMC. "Trust Your Body," the duo's latest creation and one of this compilation's exclusive tracks, proves their relationship is still a fruitful one. Elsewhere, the kind of techno the label has championed over the last 18 months is surprisingly under-represented—Turbo seem to be opting instead for something more suited to sunny terraces and beach parties, like the quirky house of Shadow Dancer's "Day By Day" or the sleazy disco of In Flagranti's remix of the recent Borderline single "Make Me Crazy." The mood gets slightly more forbidding thanks to Locked Groove, who delivers "Keep Thorough" and teams up with Gingy on the album's closer, "Shores"—a similarly martial exercise in sub-aquatic bass and sharp synthetic pads. Next to this newer crop of producers, a veteran like Phil Kieran disappoints a little, his austere "Saturdays" sounding anemic compared to what comes next: Clouds' "NR-3 Verl," a bouncy slice of warehouse techno.
Harvard Bass's "Cream" is a peculiar inclusion, especially in the way its siren-like motif recalls electro house's most annoying and populist moments. But the collection's credibility is restored by DJ Sneak's muscular remix of Duke Dumont's "Street Walker" and Iron Galaxy & Sexlife's lightly acidic "One Of Us." In the end, Turbo Miami Lifestyle is similar to WMC itself: unchallenging but with peppered with interesting discoveries.
Tracklist01. Shadow Dancer - Day By Day
02. Tiga & Jori Hulkkonen - Trust Your Body (Danny Daze remix)
03. Locked Groove - Keep Thorough
04. Harvard Bass - Cream
05. Phil Kieran - Saturdays
06. Clouds - NR-3 Veri
07. Borderline - Make Me Crazy (In Flagranti remix)
08. Duke Dumont - Street Walker (DJ Sneak remix)
09. Sei A - I Know
10. Iron Galaxy & Sexlife - One Of Us
11. Locked Groove & Gingy - Shores