By Chesney Hearst, Senior Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Rio Music Conference (RMC), a major fourteen-day event for the electronic dance music (EDM) industry and lovers of the genre, returns this month for its sixth annual edition. Running from February 19th to March 4th, the conference, in addition to three days of workshops, panels, and networking events, will feature six nights of some of the biggest names in EDM, including Armin van Buuren, Fatboy Slim, Steve Aoki, Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike.
The conference officially gets underway on February 19th at Copacabana’s Hotel Pestana Rio Atlântica. From then until February 22nd, the action there will focus on purely on EDM.
Professionals, industry insiders and those interested in the business side of EDM will mingle and network during events that will include debates and panel discussions. The RMC awards ceremony, known as the ‘Prêmio RMC’ will also take place, honoring DJs from around the world for their work during the previous year.
The conference’s Club Week will also begin on February 19th. A parallel event, it will feature invited DJs playing in several clubs throughout Rio until the end of the conference on March 4th.
The six main nights of parties during the conference, which will feature well known international and national DJs in Rio’s Marina da Glória are dubbed the ‘Festival de Carnaval’ as they mostly run concurrently with the city’s Carnival celebrations.
“The event was really good. There was a friendly environment,” Emanuel Costa, an attendee to last year’s Erick Morillo show during the RMC, told The Rio Times. “Everyone was trying to enjoy themselves. I remember there was a spectacular laser show which put everyone in a great mood, lots of dancing.”
This year, American DJ Steve Aoki will kick things off the with a ‘Pré-Carnaval’ show on February 22nd. Known for his live set antics, including stage diving and riding inflated rafts held aloft by fans on the dancefloor, Aoki promises to kick of the set of live conferences shows with a bang.
On February 28th, the famed English DJ Fatboy Slim returns to Rio to take the Marina da Glória stage. Otherwise known as Norman Cook, the big-beat musician and producer has numerous hits under his belt including, ‘Weapon of Choice’, ‘The Rockafeller Skank’ and ‘Praise You’.
A veteran at the Rio Music Conference, Fatboy Slim has also played in Brazil numerous times, even releasing a 2008 DVD entitled ‘Fatboy Slim Incredible Adventures in Brazil’, which documented one of his many tours through the country.
Belgian Brothers Dimitris Thivaios and Michael Thivais, better know as Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike will play on March 1st. The duo are well known for the creation of several Tomorrowland (a Belgium electronic music festival) anthems and they have played in Rio previously at venues such as the Forte de Copacabana.
On March 3rd, the conference will host a ‘Gay Night’ with performances including
Ana Paula, Nacho Chapado, Tony Moran and Phil Romano.
Finally, Dutch DJ and music producer Armin van Buuren will close out the conference on the night of March 4th. Best known for his trance mixes, van Buuren is considered one of EDM’s biggest players. His 2013 hit, ‘This Is What It Feels Like’ proved to be an international success and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording.
For more information about the Rio Music Conference, parallel events and RMC Carnaval Festival see their website here.
What: Rio Music Conference 2014
When: February 19th to March 4th
Where: RMC- Hotel Pestana Rio Atlântica, Av. Atlântica, 2964 – Copacabana and the RMC Carnaval Festival – Marina da Glória, Av. Infante Dom Henrique,s/n – Marina da Gloria
Tickets: Available online here.