behold the triangle

BEHOLD THE TRIANGLE
2
Flying Lotus
M
aybe it was crazy. But we believed.”
Out of nowhere in the summer of
2013, Miami’s David Sinopoli and ­Erica
Freshman unveiled their vision for
something called III Points, a sprawling
three-day festival that aimed to unite our city’s disparate
creative communities — and perhaps even help forge the
future of the Magic City’s cultural identity.
Over the course of a weekend in October, this enterprise would take over galleries, bars, and warehouse
spaces throughout Dade County’s hippest neighborhood,
­Wynwood. It would boast bold-name international DJs and
bands, alongside local musicians and noisemakers. It would
stage interactive exhibitions, graffiti seminars, and strange
happenings. And it would lure programmers, hackers, and
gamers to dark rooms for workshops and hangouts.
“Music, art, and tech — those were, are, and will always
be the core principles of III Points,” Sinopoli says, as if
repeating some mystical mantra.
No doubt this fest sounded awesome. But it also seemed
quite possibly overambitious. Yet, with only three and a
half months, the organizers spun the whole thing together.
“Last year, we were just catching up to our own idea,”
Sinopoli admits, recalling the 100-day scramble to sort
out the thousand details of III Points’ inaugural edition.
“But there was this moment when everything synced up.”
The most significant clinching factors for the debut
festival were commitments and support from a few major
players on the alternative music scene, including British
independent record label Young Turks and the Red Bull
Music Academy, as well as James Murphy, the DFA ­Records
cofounder and former LCD Soundsystem frontman.
“The first big score was Young Turks,” Sinopoli remembers. “We were at Coachella and we were hanging
out with them. They were just our friends at that time, but
they heard our idea, and they said, ‘Jamie xx is down.’ So
all right — we knew we had a headliner.
“Then the next development that made us say, ‘Wow,
this is happening,’ was Red Bull, and they brought in James
Murphy. Just like boom, boom. And it was on.”
Triangles, the event’s official logo, appeared on sidewalks. The streets of Wynwood were swarmed. The fest
was a success. And now, after a full 12 months of conscientious planning and intense prep, III Points is set to return
for another 72-hour blitz of music, art, and tech.
“It’s amazing to be back,” Freshman says. “Especially
since this is a homegrown venture that’s so carefully
curated and locally involved. We don’t book music, art,
or tech talent just because of the tickets they’ll sell. We
want to bring the world to Miami. And we want to bring
Miami to the world.”
Simpatico with those sentiments, the Young Turks crew
is back too. So are the Red Bull Music Academy folks. And
among the 2014 musical headliners playing III Points’ four
main stages at Soho Studios in Wynwood, there will be
the returning Jamie xx (Saturday after midnight, at 1:45),
Los Angeles experimental producer-rapper Flying Lotus
(Friday at 11:15 p.m.) Swedish indie-pop goddess Lykke Li
Timothy Saccenti
MIAMI NEW TIMES’ III POINTS FESTIVAL OFFICIAL GUIDE
III POINTS — THE MAGIC CITY’S MUSIC, ART, AND TECH FEST — RETURNS. BY S. PAJOT
(Friday at 8:40 p.m.), New York City neo-disco demigods
Hercules & Love Affair (Friday at 10:40 p.m.), and British
dance dynamo Duke Dumont (Friday after midnight, at
1:45), as well as notable locals like Jacuzzi Boys, Lazaro
Casanova, Austin Paul, Millionyoung, Krisp, Ketchy Shuby,
and Telekinetic Walrus and the Pride of Ions.
Meanwhile, Miami’s clubs will be overrun by satellite
parties, the galleries will be mobbed by artsy hordes,
and the warehouses will be invaded by computer nerds
in skinny jeans — even as uninitiated III Pointers squint
at surreptitiously scrawled triangles on city sidewalks,
wondering about the significance of three-sided polygons.
“We have consulted with many individuals who have
access to the spiritual realm, and they’ve spoken to
us about the meanings behind the triangle,” Sinopoli
jokes. “Everyone has a different opinion. And you can
dig deep into connections with pyramids or aliens or
messianic cults.
“But,” the III Points cofounder laughs, “we don’t personally subscribe to anything too weird. We just think of it
as a beautiful, balanced symbol of this cultural movement
in Miami that we, the festival, our collaborators, and the
attendees embody.
“Our triangle is all about connecting people.”
III Points Festival
Friday, October 10, through Sunday, October 12, at Soho
Studios (2136 NW First Ave., Miami; 305-600-4785;
sohostudiosmiami.com) and other venues throughout Miami.
Single-day tickets cost $55 to $65 plus fees, and three-day
festival passes cost $99 to $120 plus fees. Visit iiipoints.com.