As for Phoenix? Eh, not so much. Although its been spun in clubs like Bar Smith and other venues stretching across the Valley, there hasn't been a entire night purely dedicated to moombahton.
It's a sad situation to say the least, considering that Pickster One and DJ Melo are not only some of the earliest adopters of the genre both locally and nationally, but are also two of the most talented cats in the moombahton game today. Thankfully, the duo remedied the situation this past Saturday night when they new moombahton monthly Piñata.
The funky digs of downtown Phoenix art space was shaking with moombahton's booming bass by both Pickster and Melo. Those that were in attendance for Piñata's launch party grooved to plenty of tracks filled with the signature sound of the EDM genre -- which was pioneered by Washington, D.C.-based producer Dave Nada in 2010 -- and even got to take a few whacks at the titular paper mache creation (in this case, a colorful bull) during the evening.
One lass was successful with her swings, causing Sweet Tarts and other candy to scatter on the dance floor. It was just as sweet as the moombahton sounds coming from the P.A. system. Pickster and Melo were also joined on the decks by hipster favorite Erik "Riot Earp" King and ETC! ETC! The latter artist, who was the featured headliner at Piñata, is an L.A.-based moombahton DJ/producer and member of the trendy Mad Decent record label.
Pickster One told us prior to Piñata's launch that each month's edition of the event will take place at a different venue around the Valley in order "to keep things fresh." He's quite ecstatic that moombahton will finally have a regular home so fans of the genre, which seems to seep into local DJs sets with more and more frequency.
"It's been popping up in other cities, it's over in Europe and the UK, so moombahton is popping everywhere. It's crazy man, hearing all there people talk about moombahton. All my DJ buddies like M2, Jonny Rogers, or Rani G, they all telling me their playing my songs," Pickster says. "So the vibe of Piñata will be a party dedicated to just moombahton, as opposed to hearing it everywhere else mixed in with everything else."
You can witness some of the fun that was had at Piñata for yourself by perusing this week's Club Candids slideshow.
