Miami Beach, Fla. – The 2023 Electronic Dance Music Awards will return to Miami Music Week this Friday, March 24. Set to run at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach Hotel Arkadia Pool from noon to 7 p.m., the day-long event will bestow awards to luminaries from radio, club, and festival worlds.
Presented and hosted by iHeartRadio’s Sean “Hollywood” Hamilton, the event will hand CDJ-replica trophies to 38 winners in categories that include: Artist of the Year; Club DJ of the Year; Underground DJ of the Year; Producer of the Year, Remix of the Year; Label of the Year; and more.
Aside from a small handful of categories, EDMA winners are chosen by fans casting their votes from all over the world.
Previously known as the Remix Awards, the EDMAs will be handed out in-person for the first time since the 2019 Miami Music Week. Guests will include music-industry celebrities, influencers, and professionals who will enjoy DJ sets from some of the biggest names in EDM. In addition to the star-studded award festivities, this year’s event will feature a vastly expanded FM radio presence with the addition of “1 Music AVE & Radio Rd.,” produced by veteran radio promoter, Cary Vance, which will also set up at the Fontainebleau on Thursday, March 23.
Among the performers at the EDMAs is DJ/producer Tim Clark, whose latest single, “Forgiving Hearts” featuring Robin Vane on Tradebloc Music, is making waves. We recently caught up with the Las Vegas-based talent to preview the event and his week in Miami.
Tell us about your Miami Music Week.
I’m really excited to play the iHeartRadio event and I’m thrilled to get to play my music in front of the industry types and legends in the business. In Miami, I want to be the newcomer who shines and makes an impact. I want to make the biggest splash possible.
What drew you to music? What were your influences and how did you land on electronic music?
My mom told me that if I didn’t play piano, I couldn’t do sports. So, I was trained classically on piano for about 10 years, and even competed. I liked rock bands – Van Halen, Mötley Crüe – but I also began listening to William Orbit a long time ago. His music would be considered the progenitor of things like trance. But as for electronic-dance music… spending time in L.A., San Diego and Las Vegas, it just lends itself to the club environment. The first time I really fell in love with electronic-dance music was at Avalon in L.A., and it was Aly & Fila. That was a long time ago, but I was hooked.
What’s your songwriting and production process?
I usually think of a title, an idea, then I put down lyrics. I have a Steven Slate MTi CORE system [custom workstation], which is like a pair of big iPads, and I work with Ableton Live. I’ll start playing with those ideas and get as far as I can get with plug-ins, stems and things of that nature, then I’ll begin to work with a team, who will help finish it off for me. Of course, I’ll have final say. We go back and forth until it’s perfect. I have to say I’m very proud of “Forgiving Hearts,” but I have about 15 more tunes that haven’t yet been released.
Which DJs impress you?
I was always a Tiësto guy, an Armin van Buuren guy. I’m a fan of Oakenfold, Markus Schulz, and Ferry Corsten. But I also like Carl Cox, Sasha & Digweed, Richie Hawtin, and Solomun.
What is your DJ set-up? Have the gigs been picking up?
It’s all Pioneer DJ, rekordbox, and USBs. By now, I’m sort of against laptop DJing. But when I started, I tried all kinds of little controllers, but eventually went with Pioneer gear, everything from the DJM-750, the CDJ-1000s and so forth. Now I use four CDJ-3000 players and, of course, the DJM-900NXS mixer. Yes, I’ve played a variety of places in Vegas, of course, but I also played a desert rave, played clubs in Indianapolis and Austin. I just played four gigs in Thailand. Also, at EDC in May, I’ll be playing on the Parliament Art Car.
Musically, your tracks are heavy on melody with a real earworm quality. Are your DJ sets similar?
Yes, I play the music and sounds that I enjoy as a fan, and I enjoy that romantic, melodic feeling. DJing, I was born to play trance, but I had to teach myself to play house music – I guess they call that Future Rave now. So, you have house and tech-house over here, then trance over there – I’d say I’m smack in the middle.
For the latest on EDMAs, please visit www.edmawards.net.
Featured Photo: Winners at EDMAs: (L-R) Host Sean “Hollywood” Hamilton & David Guetta