Amika Cd Release Party

April 21, 2005 2:11 PM
by

Since its inception, AMIKA has played host to arguably one of South Beach’s hottest parties in “Feelgood Fridays” with Shawn Rudnick. It didn’t come as a surprise therefore that a CD would soon be in the works.

With the impending release of AMIKA vol. 1, house music listeners across the country will soon be listening to the sounds that Shawn Rudnick has been imparting upon us South Beach denizens for so long.

The AMIKA CD release party was replete with some of Shawn’s favorite tunes, beautiful women (including a bikini fashion show), and plenty of energetic souls dancing about!

Blue and red sheets draped over the main room coupled with cd’s hanging throughout greeted me as I entered the venue.

Opening the main room for the evening was local favorite DJ Bruno.

Ranging from Progressive house to a more tribal and funky sound replete with vocals, Bruno played a little something for everyone.

From Felipe Salmon’s “Crazy Love” (progressive vocal track), to my favorite track of his set Florida Inc- “I Need Your Lovin,” Bruno’s set was indeed getting “some love” from the growing crowd.

At approximately 12:10 a.m., Shawn Rudnick assumed the decks.

The room at this point was already teeming with patrons. Nestled alongside the bars drinking and conversing, the atmosphere was relaxed…for the time being!

Blaze’s “Most Perfect Love” (Defected), and Chus Presents Groove Foundation –“That Feeling,” started Shawn’s set on a funky and uplifting note.

Scattered throughout the main room were plenty of TV crews covering the special occasion. From Mun2’s “The Roof,” A3 TV (as Buster was in the house) to “Deco Drive,” the camera lights were clearly shining upon Shawn Rudnick and the AMIKA family this evening.

Also on hand, (according to the folks at AMIKA) were six television divas including Model/actresses Ale G, Vanessa, Mireya, Chryssy, Natalia and Alba who have been featured in such publications as Playboy, FHM and Maxim.

Around 1 am, a sexy fashion show ensued. Modeling aerobic outfits and later on sexy bikini’s, scantily clad models made their way down the center of the VIP area strutting their stuff. The hundreds in attendance quickly huddled around to get the perfect vantage point.

Overhead dancing in two cages, the AMIKA dancers enticed the crowd with their seductive moves.

With the conclusion of the fashion show, Shawn’s set became more energetic and the crowd in turn reacted appropriately by jumping about amidst the bursts of smoke emitted from the roof.

From “Get Up (And rock da club)” by Rhythm Divine (which is also a featured track on the Amika cd), to “Frenchsleaze-Funk All Star” (DJ Pedro and Cedric Gervais mix), the party was in full force.

The most memorable moment of the evening though came when Shawn dropped a track that spouted the words “F$#@ You” as lasers spelled it out on the wall directly opposite the booth!

Some of the hottest women in South Beach were out and about at AMIKA as always. Whether dancing in small groups together in the VIP, on the bar or the DJ booth itself, wherever one looked a gorgeous woman would greet your eyes.

The remainder of Shawn’s set (while I was there), consisted of many of the well-known tracks played at AMIKA, most likely as a tribute for the cd release.

As “Feelgood Fridays” continues on course, the impending release of AMIKA vol. 1, will finally whet the appetites of the rest of the nation to some of the sounds of Miami courtesy of Shawn Rudnick. Though the cd cannot bring to you the full AMIKA experience (replete with gorgeous patrons and sexy dancers), it does offer a snippet of the kinds of tunes that Shawn has been playing the last few months.

Congratulations once again to Shawn Rudnick and AMIKA on the release of the CD.