- Electronic music has a long history with exotic locations. When it comes to clubbing, Ibiza has been the premier destination for house and techno lovers since the early '90s, but every now and then a new spot pops up. A few years ago it was Croatia, and then, with The BPM Festival, Playa Del Carmen in Mexico. Now Saint Martin, a tiny Caribbean island with a population of less than 80,000, is staking its claim. It's doing it with the help of SXMusic Festival, a five-day event that debuted last week. Helmed by a team of Canadians who've been throwing parties in Toronto for the past few years, the festival utilised a variety of spaces around the island for a string of club shows and open-air events, soundtracked by sun-friendly selectors like Jamie Jones, Maceo Plex and Lee Burridge.
Once you get past Saint Martin's eerie colonialist vibe—it's mostly inhabited by people of Afro-Caribbean descent, but is a territory of both France and the Netherlands—it has a lot to offer. The island is relatively small and easy enough to traverse, with great weather and plenty of options for food and other activities (apparently it's a word-famous spot for windsurfing). SXMusic took place across a number of settings, including a beach and beach bar, a resort and several clubs. Just like Hideout and other Croatian festivals, it relied on pre-existing spaces, taking over venues more used to hosting middle-aged holidaymakers from the US and Europe. As such, most of the programme went off without a hitch. Throughout the weekend, the sound at the outdoor venues was crisp with plenty of weight down low. The same went for one of the clubs, Le Shore. That's where Apollonia, Adriatique and H.O.S.H. all played, and where, for me, most of the best sets went down.
The sound at Tantra, another club, wasn't as pleasant. For the one night I was there, it was sickeningly loud in both rooms, which meant catching Priku (one of the DJs I was most looking forward to seeing) was off the cards. It's not clear who was to blame, as the venue's sound team probably isn't used to hosting this kind of house and techno, but a little decisiveness from the DJs and festival staff wouldn't have gone astray. On a more positive note, the same night saw Jamie Jones and Paradise crew members Kenny Glasgow and Patrick Topping take over the main beach for a much-loved (and rain-battered) afternoon-into-evening session.
Lee Burridge's All Day I Dream was the weekend's most-attended afterparty. Held at a beach bar on the Sunday morning, it assembled a few hundred revellers for a sunrise session that was picturesque but, to my ears, musically bland. For many, it was the final act of the festival, and provided a fitting end. There were some issues, though: a few people who purchased the VIP package weren't happy with what was actually provided, and at one point the festival's Facebook page was littered with comments from punters complaining about the almost non-existent shuttle service. Aside from those hiccups, SXMusic was a clear success. It's going to be interesting to see how the next few years pan out, and whether they can turn Saint Martin into a destination for house and techno.
Photo credit /
Ded Pixel and Alec Donnell Luna (Ded Agency)