Guy Gerber at Encore Beach Club.
It started on the beaches of Ibiza and quickly became a true global phenomenon, expanding to Mykonos, LA, New York City, Tel Aviv and more exotic locations. Guy Gerber’s Rumors is one of the most acclaimed dance music parties in any environment, and when Wynn Nightlife brought it to the Las Vegas Strip for the first time last year, it was only the beginning.
Gerber is back for this weekend’s second edition of Art of the Wild, and the Israeli DJ and producer has signed on as a Wynn Nightlife resident through 2020. He will create a series of Rumors events in Las Vegas before and after summer.
You’ve played a big role in the expansion of house and techno sounds at Wynn and Encore. How did that come together? It’s been years that [Wynn Nightlife executives] Alex [Cordova] and Zee [Zandi] have been trying to bring underground music to Vegas. There were times before that I was really loving the city, but it just didn’t belong here. I told my agents and managers I would really like to play more [in Vegas], and we had a few attempts that didn’t work out. But finally, after Art of the Wild, underground music has found a home in Vegas. I’m very happy about it.
Do you think the Vegas club audience has adjusted? There has been some change in the world, and a lot more people are into that sound. Being in Vegas is important today, because it’s such a great place, and to give it a so-called underground weekend of its own, people really get to see this music and see it can be a lot of fun. There are a lot of different artists coming too, and that helps create a bigger party.
And you get to continue to build Rumors in Las Vegas through your residency. It’s very exciting. I like residencies in general, because when you play the same place more than a few times it gives you an opportunity to get used to the sound and the people you work with and to really familiarize yourself with the fans there. I have a residency in Ibiza, in London and in Mykonos, and I feel more attached when I play there, rather than just coming in for one show and then going out. And I usually try to create certain visuals and décor to go along with the residency so people can see that this is something different from any other night, and it’s unique to that environment.
Were you happy with the first Rumors party at Art of the Wild in October? I think it worked out pretty well. It’s almost a movement. People feel free to be a little bit more festive, to take things less seriously. The music is not aggressive. You can see more smiling faces like I do around the world. It was really amazing, and I’m really excited about the next shows.
You’ve been in the studio lately. What’s coming up next for you? I’ve been working for about two or three years on an album that’s not so electronic, something I’ve always wanted to do with just guitars, drums and piano. Hopefully I will release a single from this project around May. Also, I’m going to release probably the biggest track I had last summer, “Mr. Nobody.” That one was kind of funny, because I made it just for myself, a quick song to play that I didn’t edit too much, but it became so big [everyone] was telling me I should play it out.
RUMORS WITH GUY GERBER with Bob Moses, DJ Tennis, Kaz James. March 22, 10 a.m., $20-$30. Encore Beach Club, 702-770-7300.