MIKE SHANNON at CANNIBAL ROYAL

after spending part of our day trapped in the crowds at kool beach and mamitas, it was a relief to arrive at cannibal royal for mike shannon and the mole. the bpm festival in its entirety was composed of huge parties that hovered somewhere between commercial and underground, and we were lucky to take part in the latter. it was more intimate settings like this one that showcased some truly underappreciated talent (with, thankfully, enough room to boogie it out properly on the dancefloor). mike shannon, notorious for his rapidfire mixing and his chugging techno-fueled sets, knocked it out with clean, smooth beats and his charmingly shy demeanor.

DANNY TENAGLIA & ART DEPARTMENT at THE BLUE PARROT

this was the closing party of the festival, at the blue parrot, an open air club in the heart of playa del carmen. despite it being packed wall-to-wall, we managed to find our own little nook. i’ve heard both tenaglia and art department spin live before, and though both were great, i went into the event with low expectations, music-wise. i wasn’t blown away by either performance, but the party was one of those nights you remember forever. new friends, dancing, shots of cognac (apparently) and all the silliness. the awesomeness ended promptly when we had to get on a very turbulent plane ride the next day, on an hour and a half of sleep. it was not cute.

DVDOS at THE FAMILY TREE: CENOTE VERDE LUCERO

i know this doesn’t technically count since it wasn’t a bpm event, but thanks to a new friend, we discovered a really intimate little party in a cenote just outside of playa. a cenote, or a sinkhole, is a natural depression in the earth’s surface caused by something science related that i don’t care about at all. the point is, that typically these depressions catch surface drainage, which often results in the formation of a small lake (thank you wiki) in the jungle. probably not the actual jungle, but for the purposes of awesomeness, that’s what i’m calling it. the party was thrown by a couple guys that run a music imprint out of brooklyn and tulum called MNMLKTCHN, and it was definitely one of the trip’s highlights. an unbelievably beautiful landscape (we watched the sunrise over the jungle, and ziplined into the cenote) paired with the chillest group of people i’ve ever met, topped with one of the best sets of the entire trip. MNMLKTCHN boys santiago and daniel, also known as DVDOS, brought the house down with energetic beats and ineffable charisma, following up a solid set from lee jones, the event’s guest DJ. the vibes at this party were the icing on the cake: i’ve never met a more down to earth group of people. everyone was there with the same love of music and it showed in the way they moved, interacted, spoke, danced.