Last March, attendees from 80 countries flocked to Miami for the annual Winter Music Conference. The legendary five-day event , which goes from March 23-27, will host some of the best parties of the year, informative panels with world-renown DJs, and of course, Ultra Music Festival.

The initial line-up for the music festival, taking place once more at Bicentennial Park, already includes A-Trak, Major Lazer, Steve Aoki, the Bloody Beetroots, and Pretty Lights. The added presence of Rusko, Skream, Bassnectar and Crookers is just another indication of how prolific dubstep has become in the music scene. Tiesto, Carl Cox, Dirty South, Rabbit in the Moon, Infected Mushroom, Deadmau5 and Armin Van Buuren were on the bill last year and will make repeat appearance in 2010.

A ticket to Ultra is included with the purchase of the Winter Music Conference badge, which is $325 if you purchase by January 6. On it’s own, a two-day pass to the festival costs $139.50.

Click through to view the complete list of the initial acts set to perform at Ultra, along with the official festival trailer. If the line-up wasn’t enough to get you psyched, check out photos from Ultra 2009 with Santigold, The Ting Tings, Armin van Buuren and Prodigy.

Stay tuned for our complete coverage of WMC – we’ll be posting info about the week’s best parties, panels, concerts, and more…

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As co-creator and weekly resident DJ of Girls & Boys, Webster Hall’s acclaimed Friday party, Alex English has shared the stage with some of the biggest names in the DJ world. In the past year alone, Girls & Boys has played host to Xavier de Rosnay, A-Trak, Boys Noize, Crookers, Steve Aoki, The Bloody Beetroots, MSTRKRFT, Deadmau5 and Chromeo, among others.

With over 20 years of DJ experience under his belt, Alex English has become a fixture in the electro scene in New York City. Apart from his residencies at Thom Bar on Thursdays, Webster Hall on Fridays, and the Tribeca Grand Hotel on Saturdays, Alex also deals with booking the all-star DJ line-up for GBH parties at Webster Hall, Tribeca Grand, and North 8th in Williamsburg.

Tonight, Alex English and Dan Physics will make their debut as Disko Dali when they open for Justice’s sold-out DJ set at Webster Hall. Though Alex came up with Disko Dali back in 2001, he and Dan didn’t start working together until this past summer. The duo writes and produces original dance music and has done remixes of artists like the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s, Dragonette, and Depeche Mode (check out some of their remixes on their MySpace page, or listen to their remix of “Plastic Caramelo” below).

Over the last few weeks, we traded emails with Alex to discuss his DJ career, influences, and upcoming projects. After the jump, read an excerpt of the interview that transpired.

We compiled photos documenting some of Alex’s exploits around New York City to celebrate The HiFi Cartel’s 100th Photo Gallery… click here to check it out. Be sure to listen to the Disko Dali remix of Plastic Caramelo’s self-titled track, streamed below, and check back soon for the Alex English edition of HiFi Essentials.

Plastic Caramelo – “Plastic Caramelo” (Disko Dali Mix)

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Featuring Steve Aoki, Classixx, Destructo, Alex English, Kids with Snakes, Gavin Royce, Rekles

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL ALBUM

Hold on to your hats, this weekend is shaping up to be quite the party marathon, with some of the biggest DJs in the world hitting our fair city.

GBH will be kicking things off tonight with Steve Aoki, Classix and Destructo at Webster Hall. Last time Steve Aoki spun at Webster Hall, it was pure mayhem, and we’re expecting tonight to be no different. Girls & Boys residents Alex English, Kids with Snakes, Gavin Royce, and Rekles will also be in the house

Saturday brings about a tougher decision: Hard is bringing the wobble wobble to Terminal 5, with a massive dubstep line-up; Crookers, Major Lazer, Rusko, Jack Beats and Destructo are all ready to bring some bass-heavy beats to NYC.

Saturday is also the one-year anniversary of Flashing Lights, brought to you by the good folks at MeanRed. Nick Catchdubs, DJ Ayres and Jubilee’s monthly party will be back at 88 Palace, and will feature a guest DJ set by Toddlat.

Decisions, decisions… but then again, we think we can cram it all in.

Be sure to check out previous photo galleries of Steve Aoki, Classix, Major Lazer, and Flashing Lights.

Its been over a week and we still haven’t recovered from the Electric Zoo music festival. For the first electronic music festival in New York City, we would say it was a success. With a great selection of music from DJs in house and dance, The Electric Zoo proved to be more than a festival. It was an event that gathered a dance and music culture from the tri-state area, and bringing along its taste-makers from parts of the world - including New York’s own Danny Tenaglia and Roger Sanchez. With four stages, there wasn’t a moment where a stage was empty, yet the crowds were manageable and one could move about with ease. With some sun, it seemed like an oasis on a playing field for dance and music lovers – made more apparent as the night fell and draped the sun underneath the city skyline to massive lighting effects on the stages.

Packed with an audience that knew their music, the DJs met them in return with their A-game – hooking the crowd along with every notch of beat thrown their way. Roger Sanchez, the Queens native, sent the audience into a frenzy with his rendition of Fat Boy Slim’s “Right Here Right Now.”  With a remarkable set list, English DJ, Ben Watt created some excitement with his take on MGMT’s “Kids” and Kaskade’s “Move for me”. Always a crowd favorite, Steve Aoki delivered by keeping the crowd on their toes and jumping throughout his set. Like the Rockstar-DJ he is, Steve commanded from the stage and fueled the audience with a barrage of beats combined with his touch of sound effects – all while making use of the great sound system in place by playing with the channels. With a vocal break in his hard set to The Bloody Beetroot’s “Warp”, Steve hopped on his table, and with extremity, screamed in tune with the track.

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In case you missed it, the masked Italian duo, The Bloody Beetroots recently unleashed their first LP, Romborama, a 20-track melting pot of arduous beats and synth. Artists featured on the LP include The Cool Kids, Steve Aoki, Lisa Kekaula (of the BellRays), Cécile and others. So, what does shrimp, lobster, shark and craw fish have to do with the Beetroots? It is simply a line from their track “Awesome” – which can single-handedly describe the album.

Hard Fest describes them as the love child of the Misfits and Daft Punk, but the Bloody Beetroots are nothing short of “bloody” fantastic. Perhaps its the Venom masks and their subtle play with the Comedy of Art of Venice, but there is a mad brilliance underneath the noise and mask that conjures a contemporary orchestration of music -  dramatic with so many layers of sounds, the album could be the work of a musical ensemble. Artfully influenced by opera and infused with electronic media, their collaboration with the featured artists takes this vacillating album (in a good eclectic way) and makes it a titillating experience.

Check out the “Awesome” track below and click through for the video to another recommended track from the album, “Butter.”

Click here for photos from our last encounter with the Bloody Beetroots at Webster Hall by Oliver Correa.

Bloody Beetroots featuring The Cool Kids – “Awesome“

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Dim Mak recently released “I’m In The House”, a new video from Steve Aoki featuring Zuper Blahq (yes, we know, who???). The house behind MSTRKRFT, the Bloody Beetroots, Dim Mak seems to have acquired a new member to the family. The video and single with Zuper Blahq is Steve Aoki’s first foray into production.

Under the guise of a mask, the mysterious Zuper Blahq fits the lyrical profile of someone very familiar. We have it on good authority that Zuper Blahq is comprised of Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am and the Peas’ DJ/Producer Poet Name Life. Will began exploring electronic music on his 2007 solo album, Songs About Girls; given the electro stylings of BEP’s latest album, The E.N.D., Will and Poet’s Zuper Blahq doesn’t come as a huge surprise.

Click through to watch the video for “I’m In The House”. For those in town this Labor Day weekend, Steve will take the stage tonight (Saturday) on Randall’s Island at the Electric Zoo Festival. Also, check out photos from our last encounter with Steve at Webster Hall by Oliver Correa and Kenroy George.

Click here for pictures of Steve and others from the first day of the Electric Zoo Festival.

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If you’re looking for one last hurrah this summer, look no further than the Electric Zoo, New York’s biggest electronic music festival happening this labor day weekend. The massive line-up of over 50 artists includes Armin Van Buuren, Steve Aoki, Danny Tenaglia, Ben Watt and Deadmau5 on Saturday; David Guetta, Richie Hawtin, ATB, Steve Bug and Markus Schulz are playing on Sunday.

The festival, which will take place at NYC’s own Randall’s Island Park, is easily accessible by public transportation. Tickets are still available, $70 for single day passes and $130 for both days. For more information or to view the set times, visit the Electric Zoo’s official website.

Experiencing Ibiza is one of those thrills that can not quite be illuminated with words. After all, it’s all about losing one’s self to the dancefloor, so if you are not familiar with this sort of daft idealism then I’m afraid this post might be a bit worthless. The island always provides this opportunity at the hands of arguably the finest DJs in the world, yet I’ve always been left sensing something was lacking from my soundtrack. This is where Ibiza Rocks’ Reclaim The Dancefloor shakes things up.

Every Tuesday for the past two months, artists like 2 Many Djs, Skream, Steve Aoki, Pendulum, &  Boys Noize redefined the perception of what a Balearic summer should sound like. Paired with rock acts MGMT and Vampire Weekend, the island’s non-stop party never looked so good. If you haven’t made it out to Ibiza yet this summer, pack your bags now as there are just three of these parties left with the closing night bringing you The Klaxons and Digitalism.

Since we have arrived at the climax of these events, we want to shed some light on Doorly, the unsung hero who holds the resident honor at every single Reclaim party. Remixing everyone from Dizzee Rascal & Calvin Harris to Kanye West & Major Lazer, this man inflicts rhythms that switch across filthy dubstep and banging electro. Before the summer began, he put together a warm-up podcast which he dubs “the 1am to 2am warm up set” and we believe it’s still pretty hot. Judge for yourself.

Doorly – Reclaim The Dancefloor Warm-Up

Hit the jump for the full tracklist, an interview with Doorly & Steve Aoki, and a bonus Doorly track.

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