WMC 2013, Day 4: Mikki Afflick, Patrick Bo and Lisa Shaw

Friday evening was a jaunt to three venues: Shore Club, Jazid and Chalk.

The contrast between the three spaces is pronounced. Shore Club's outdoor space is the most elegant venue I've seen: a wooded wonderland with clusters of lanterns at ground level. Comfortable seating (and a hammock) was situated in various coves for private conversations, with one side dominated by speakers and the DJ setup. Mikki Afflick was on deck, Unlike the rains that drenched SOBE earlier that afternoon, the weather was perfect and the hammock was heavenly. Afflick was every bit as wonderful as the venue.

Jazid, on the other hand, is a run-down place with an excellent reputation. Two DJs from Europe, Nermin and Patrick Bo, had their event there. I did not get a chance to hear Nermin, but Patrick was on while we were there, and indeed he was on, proof that venue is nowhere as important as sound.

Chalk, Miguel Migs and Lisa Shaw

Chalk was a wild card. We were not sure if we would get in. I had spoken to an intense and no-nonsense man named Jesse the day before who had assured us that there would be no problem, a promise that regularly gets broken in the rush of WMC. When we arrived, it seemed like Chalk would be off the table. Jesse was barraged by people clamoring to get in, and we were told to get in the back of an ever-increasing crowd.

Jesse came to play. He was dressed sharp as a tack, fit and retro-fitted with suspenders, slacks and a starched white dress shirt. Despite efforts of a different door person to herd us in with the masses, our perseverance paid off and Jesse came through.

Chalk was every bit as stylish as I remembered, with pool tables taking up almost half the space (hence the name). The ping pong area had been cleared for dancing, set off from the pool tables, VIP seating and the main bar by long metal-beaded curtains.

The groove was typical Salted Music, a classy, jazzy house sound favored by Miguel Migs and his crew. I saw singer Lisa Shaw come in, and bade my time until I could approach her. Lisa and I had not spoken for a couple years and I wasn't sure if she would be available for a quick interview.

As she was walking to a small stage and microphone for her in front of the DJ booth with Miguel playing, I maneuvered over to help her step up to the mike. She sang some of my favorite songs on the Salted label, including "Lose Control" (click here to listen to the song).

We spoke at length afterwards, and it was like catching up with an old friend. "I've been writing a lot," she told me. She has an album due in May called "Undetected" in collaboration with Victor "Ticklah" Axelrod. It is being produced, I believe, by Dave Warren, the same man who produced her last two albums.

With some regret, I ended the interview. Fans were lined up to meet her, and the pressure of their expectations was palpable. More of what we discussed will be featured in a future article: UDM Versus EDM.

Next: the sixth and final day of WMC.