Apologies for fanboying, but tonight will be the first time I’ve heard you live since a night at Pure, probably in around ’94…
Pure was the one! And the name says it all. The ’90s were just pure; there was no hype, there was no money, it was just if you wanted to go out for a good night and you liked techno music that’s where you found yourself. And that’s the beauty of the dance floor, right, in the perfect sense of how it should be. It’s where kind of weirdly like-minded people find each other and make connections. It can be a powerful experience.
How did you first find your way onto the floor?
It was the late ’80s and I was in Canada, just across from Detroit. So by the time I was 14, 15, I was going to the city for concerts and then I found techno—and some incredible dance floors. I found the music through Detroit radio, and started searching out record stores and clubs. I was a nerdy, introverted kid who was into music and computers, and then I found my freedom on the dance floors and a lot of other nerds like me.
The scene was so compelling that, of course, it quickly went from underground to overground and got commercialized. How do you read the culture today?
I think a really interesting thing is how welcoming and safe the dance floor was back in the ’90s, and how that was one of the things we kind of lost as it became bigger and bigger. But now there’s this kind of resurgence and a new generation coming in and once again, making the dance floor a place of unity again, and a safe space for all… Music should be a force that brings happiness and a way to escape.
So as well as headlining the party later, you are curating the lineup too. What’s the plan?
Well this is the third Prada Extends and the idea is that each night reflects the culture and the scene of its location. So here in Miami we want to explore and celebrate some of the Latin roots here, and consider the melting pot that Miami is. It’s going to be an evening of techno, house, vocals, and minimal beats… and going back to the power of the dance floor, I think that’s where music and fashion have a common mission—albeit via a different language—to give each of us a way to express who we are and who we’d like to be.
Source: Vogue
