As the curators of cutting-edge sounds and experiences at The Groove Cartel, our annual pilgrimage to Dante’s HiFi during Miami Music Week has become a sacrosanct ritual. Last year’s debut was nothing short of an epiphany that’s been eternally etched into our collective consciousness.
From the moment we crossed that hallowed threshold into the soulful, intimate confines, an almost reverential hush fell over our crew. Dante HiFi is an audiophile’s sanctuary, meticulously crafted to immerse true believers in the highest caliber of sonic fidelity. The warm, LoFi aesthetic enveloped us, setting the perfect vibe to become utterly absorbed in the rapture of music.
Our minds were swiftly obliterated by the mítico talents lighting up the decks that first fateful night. Crate-digging shaman Rich Medina had us ensorcelled as he deftly stitched together an intoxicating voyage across the dusty grooves of his hallowed vinyl archives. And Danny Krivit’s eclectic, genre-rupturing selections cracked our third eyes wide open to dimensions previously unconceived.
But as spiritually elevated as we were by the talent, it was Dante’s HiFi’s sound system – a tactile, pulsating leviathan – that repeatedly rechanneled our brainwaves. Every DJ’s vinyl evangelism resonated with such surgical clarity yet velveteen warmth that we felt like we were experiencing our favorite albums anew as if our ears had merely been sleepwalking through them before.
This year’s programming during Miami Music Week has us practically vibrating at a primordial frequency. Circuit-shattering luminaries like Benny Benassi, Jojo Flores, and Marques Wyatt are all but certain to elevate the atmosphere into a higher stratospheric plane of existence. But truth be told, even the under-the-radar nights hold an undeniable allure for us music mystics.
Dante’s HiFi’s Transcendent Lineup of Audible Revelations
And this year’s program has us trembling with prophetic visions of the audible revelations to come. The opening salvo on Wednesday sees maverick techno druid Benny Benassi holding curia within the sanctum, while the courtyard plays host to the lush, sun-drenched vibrations of Rum & Coke.
On Thursday, the hallowed chambers welcome dueling grandmasters Danny Krivit and Rich Medina, their hallowed crates no doubt brimming with recondite salvos from the outer cathedral. Meanwhile, the courtyard transcends into a funkified dervish as Soul Clap and Tony Touch manifest the intergalactic hustle.
The vortex only intensifies heading into the weekend. Friday births the arrival of deep house warlock Jojo Flores to conduct mass within the nave, while DJ Spen‘s soulful sermons echo from the courtyard. Capping the evening’s convocation is a Saturday psychic cyclone featuring Jellybean Benitez, Kon, DVize, JT Donaldson and Karizma simultaneously manifesting raptures within and without.
But it’s the Sunday closing rituals that have us trembling in anticipatory bliss. House music high priest Marques Wyatt presides over the inner sanctum ceremonies, while the outer reaches bear witness to an unholy reunion as Louie Vega, Anane Vega and Rich Medina conjure an ecstatic ‘Flashback‘ to the primordial origins of our collective dancefloor devotion.
