When you think of the Hampton's, I always think of several years ago with party scenes from the roaring 20's and The Great Gatsby. Newspapers would publish ingenious articles surrounding the parties that seemed so grand in fashion, that anyone who is anyone is there; there would be music, there would be art, there would be creation. Southampton, the most old-fashioned Hampton of them all, embodies a classic postwar freedom that you can't escape even if you tried. Approaching the long strip on Meadow Lane, you see perfectly trimmed green hedges hiding the grand estates and it finally hits you. Then, as you are rolling up to a modern day Gatsby party, you softly whisper to yourself, "I'm home" (well, at least for the weekend).
For four days in September, entrepreneurs and kiteboarder's abroad came together for a retreat in the Hampton's. They ventured from their respective homes from around the globe- San Francisco, New York, and all over Europe- to spend a weekend seeing old friends and making new ones, while learning about the current state of the music industry through the lens of artists and composers & tech entrepreneurs and investors. MaiTai Hampton's was wrapped around music; entirely and completely around music. Men and women were celebrated for their intellect and their creativity, but above all, their understanding for musics complexities and creating companies, approaches and a liberation of sorts, that is desperately needed in the space.
MaiTai has been privileged. From staying on Richard Branson's Necker Island to The Lodge, a Virgin Limited Edition resort, in Verbier, we've gotten accustom to extraordinary properties, so just any old- or new- hotel won't do. We require destinations and locales that have character and charm, delicious food, excellent service, an atmosphere that requires community building and of course, the ability to kiteboard. With that being said, Michael Loeb, co-financier of Priceline.com, hosted MaiTai Global at his incredible home for the weekend. The estate, located on Meadow Lane in Southampton, overlooks the beach on both sides and offers sweeping views of Southampton, which look especially stunning from the wraparound windows. We turned his estate into a club like cocoon of music aficionado's eager to express, collaborate and converse.
From fruitful brunches to yoga on the beach, we spent this MaiTai building relationships. We curated Tech Talks led by the incredible moderator, George Howard, who introduced the framework for the music industry and all the changes that are we are currently experiencing. We had an investor panel with Bill Tai from Charles River Ventures, Sacha Levy from New York Angels, and Patrick Chang from Samsung. We got to see what new music tech companies are coming to the space, as well as some that are currently doing in the face of these changes with Lars Rasmussen & Elomida Visviki of Weav, Nico Perez of MixCloud and Ritesh Patel of Ticket Fairy. Then finally, we had Artist Interviews featuring: Dave Kim, John Dill, Josh Royse, Alex Cruz and Awsa Bergstrom. A big thank you to Dave Kim Music for the electrical violin performance all weekend, DJ's John Dill and Alex Cruz for the beats, ImagineX for the Modular LED stage with 3D pixel mapping, Aloha for sponsoring cocktails and treats, Sierra Campbell for leading yoga, Michael Loeb for hosting us at his estate and of course, Susi and Bill for building this incredible network of folks.
All photography by Sarah Son and Peter Ruprecht. Here is a wonderful video to sum it up by Bootstrap Media.