MUSIC • PEOPLE • LIFE
plays
Lord of the Trance Bad House Party, DJ Koze, Mr Scruff, Plus/Minus, Piknik Elektronik, Angry Monkey, Dubai Jazz Fest and more! infusionmag
infusionmagazine
infusionmagazine
FRIDAY|MARCH|13th
www.grooveon
EMIRATES GOLF CLUB DUBA
FRIDAY|MARCH|13th
LIVE - FALSE LIGHT ALBUM TOUR
nthegrass.com
AI. TICKETS: 180 -220 AED
A Note From The Editor
Publisher: Talal Budebs Managing Partner: Charl Chaka, charlchaka@infusion.ae Editor: Andy Buchan andy@infusion.ae Sales Director: Vip Patel Vip@infusion.ae / 050 169 8712 Online Guru: Chris Rayner chris@infusion.ae Contributors: Richard Perez, Sam Moult, Stephen Day, Finlay Lefox Design: Gustavo Cordeiro
One of the best parts of our job is interviewing people and getting a glimpse of their musical world, getting insight and tips, finding out new influences and learning from them. And we try to distill that into our magazine, so this issue we have a real spectrum of music – from our 3 page Jazz Fest feature, to our in-depth chat with alternative star Mr Scruff (along with some randomly fun reader questions) and our chat with indie/punk providers Bad House Party. Plus, we have event reviews, club reviews, all the club and live listings, music news and more to keep you entertained on our thriving music and club scene. Andy
Infusion is published by Milehigh Media, LLC PO Box 53443 – Dubai, UAE Tel/Fax: 04 368 8098 Never miss an issue, get Infusion delivered to your door for just Dhs100 a year. Email info@infusion.ae now!
Powered by
Listening with
Getting social with
Chillin’ with
LOOKING
BACK Retrospective on what’s been happening in our world.
> What We Did > Photo Gallery
Looking Back
What we did
BASEMENT JAXX & SIGMA @ NASIMI
February 6th saw the return of Basement Jaxx and Sigma to Nasimi’s first Nasimi Sessions. To the tune of around 1,000 people, the beach was lit alight by Smokingroove before the Basement Jaxx duo took to the decks with their own blend of groovy house, well-known hits and deep-cuts of their own productions. With a boosted sound system and a hint of CO2, Nasimi kept the energy up with the crowd bouncing with excitement. Although the Jaxx’s set could have been a bit more progressive-y, they knocked it up a notch for the second hour with ‘Do Your Thing’ before taking it back down again. Arguably the headliner, Sigma stepped up to the stage as if he had never left (hardly surprising since they was here a few months ago anyway) and jumped straight into the Drum & Bass vibe. Whilst an MC might be an integral part of DnB culture, their MC seemed to be stuck on hyper-speed, speaking after every beat and constantly reminding people to jump. MC grumbles aside, a welcome return to Nasimi’s big beach action, with more of the same lined up before summer. – Sam Moult
REDFEST @ DUBAI MEDIA CITY AMPHITHEATRE
With Sandance gone, there hasn’t really been a big event yet this year but Redfest has stepped up nicely and filled some of that void. Now in its 2nd year, the Virgin Radio festival kicked off over two nights starting with the all female four piece G.R.L, followed by Rixton, Tinashe, rapper Kid Ink and closing at 10.50pm with The Script who delivered a hit-heavy set. Our highlight was catching D&B star Wilkinson, who delivered a crowd-friendly selection of 170BPM monsters. Friday was a different story and the sell out show took it up a gear. Starting at 4pm with Two Tone, the beautiful Ella Eyre was the stand out afternoon set as the sun went down while Kieza delivered a solid performance including massive hit ‘Hideaway’. At 9.20pm the lights dimmed and the Twin Peaks theme greeted a triumphant Bastille to the stage, confident, self assured and with a big bag of songs to blow the crowd away. Which they promptly did, with set-closer ‘Pompeii’ stealing the show, but not before all 4 band members gathered around a massive synth and jammed to the jumped-up crowd. With something for everyone, Redfest impressed with Bastille the highlight – hopefully we’ll be seeing them on our sandy shores again before too long. – Stephen Day
feb 27th friday for reservations +971 50 9955400 or BBM PIN 2b0f32a4 doors open at 10:30pm, door policy applies reservations@cirquelesoirdubai.com | www.cirquelesoirdubai.com
Klingande
@Pacha Ibiza Dubai
Marcus Worgull @O2
Sunstroke
@360
House of Afrika @Dek on 8
Garage Nation @Level 41
DEEP-AFRO-SOUL-HOUSE-VIBES
ATJAZZ FRI 13 MAR I FREE ENTRY BIG BRUNCH AFTER PARTY ON THE DEK ON 8, 4-6PM BRING YOUR BRUNCH BILL FROM ANY OTHER BRUNCH THAN MEDIA ONE’S AND GET A FREE DRINK TILL 7PM 6PM–3AM I STRICTLY 21+ I FOR TABLE RESERVATIONS: RSVP@INFUSION.AE INFUSIONMAGAZINE
INFUSIONMAGAZINE
INFUSIONMAG
WWW.INFUSION.AE
ROLL MASTER
Rolled by sho cho’s renowned Roll Master with your own combination of super fresh ingredients. Simply design, order and pay online. Then our speedy delivery Ninja’s will suddenly appear at your door. Let’s Roll!
Call 800 SUSHI (78744) or visit chezshushi.com Eat or collect at our restaurant. Find us at Shop 18, Wasl Square, (opposite Safa Park) Al Wasl Road, Dubai.
LOOKING FORWARD Where we filter out the best things that are coming your way... > Local News > Cover Story > Mr Scruff > Jazz Fest > Bad | House Party > Dj Koze > Plus Minus > Corona Gig Guide
Looking Forward
Local News INTERGALACTIC ROCK’N’ROLL
Jared Leto and his band 30 Seconds To Mars are coming to town on Friday April 10 at the Dubai World Trade Centre Arena. The American rockers have sold over 15 million albums from 4 successful albums, including 2013’s Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams. Local rockers Juliana Down have already been added to the warm up, with tickets starting from Dh295.
PIKNIC ELECTRONIK
Daytime party Piknic Electronik launches on Saturday February 28 at Dubai Sports city with two international acts in Canada’s Maher Daniel and France’s Joachim Pastor (pictured) dropping a live set. Local support comes from Matthew Charles, Raxon and Amir Sharara. The family friendly party runs from 1-10pm, with advance tickets Dhs130, with kids under 13 free.
LUCIANO @ BLUE MARLIN IBIZA UAE It’s peak beach season, and it’s peak party time at Blue Marlin Ibiza UAE as they’ve signed up Swiss/Chilean DJ, producer and record label head honcho to drop a set on Friday March 6. As ever, get down early to catch the Vagabundos main man in action dropping his house/tech-house mix.
BASHMORE MAKES DUBAI DEBUT
Few DJs have grasped the dancefloor as firmly as Julio Bashmore in the last few years, with his updated take on house and bass music influencing countless producers. And the ‘Battle For Middle You’ star is making his Dubai debut for Warehouse Dubai as they make their debut at new home XL Beach Club on Thursday February 26. Tickets cost Dhs100 in advance.
SUNSTROKE GET SOME KARIZMA Funky, soulful house night Sunstroke is back in action at 360 once again on Thursday March 5, with maybe their biggest booking yet – US house hero Karizma. A DJ from the age of 13, he’s collaborated with house heavyweights like Osunlade, Atjazz and Deetron, and is set to release a new album later this year. As ever, it’s free entry on the 5th, with doors from 6pm.
KIKO NAVARRO AT PUROBEACH
An idyllic inner-city haven, Purobeach’s Saturday parties are back with a bang this March, with Spanish DJ and Dubai favourite Kiko Navarro heading up proceedings on Saturday March 7. He’s joined by resident DJ Sebas Ramis for a journey through Afrobeat, soul, funk and jazz influenced house music. The party runs from midday to 10pm at the Conrad Hotel, with entry Dhs200 for men and free for ladies.
Looking Forward BLISS BEATS
JBR’s beachside hotspot Bliss Lounge have Fabric resident Sefano Ritteri headlining on Thursday March 5. The Dirtybird and Defected signing has remixed for the likes of Underwold and Depeche Mode, and will bring his strong house and tech-house sound to Dubai, alongside residents A-Moralez, Mary G and Robert Walker.
IN THE BASEMENT Underground bastion of dance music The Basement is back in action with some big bookings at the end of the month. Shibuya return with a rock-solid double header of Circo Loco’s Clive Henry (pictured) and Just Be (AKA Bushwacka) on Thursday February 26, with long-standing house duo X-Press 2 playing a live set the following night.
Julio Bashmore on February 26, and Mr Scruff on February 27. Weekends don’t get much better than this… Big ups to our favourite dance-pop duo, as Hollaphonic’s debut album, Personal Space, is out now. Catch their full track by track run down in the next issue.
A big boo to the DTCM who have upped the costs of DJ licenses once again, making it harder and harder for smaller parties and promoters to have more than one DJ on the bill.
Lord of the Trance Pacha Ibiza Dubai’s big 2015 continues as they’ve landed one of the biggest electronic DJs in the world, Paul Van Dyk. We caught up with the German trance and electronic boss to ask about big bills, EDM and the rise of the celebrity DJ…
You’ve always been very well received here. Does that surprise you when you play in the same place once or twice in the same year? It depends entirely upon the place, but generally speaking, no it doesn’t really surprise me. It is always a big experience here, and the recent shows here were amazing with a very passionate crowd. You’ve played as the main headliner out here, and also as part of a larger festival bill – which do you prefer? Each provides an experience that, if not entirely different, then certainly comes with its own unique qualities. In clubs I am much closer to the audience and by that nature, there is a much closer and more intimate level of interaction. I love that. At festivals the audiences are bigger, so the music you’re playing has much further reach, which of course is a big positive too. Not to forget the growing level of stage production in regards of lights, visuals and special effects. At the bigger festivals, there has been a huge development in this sense during the last years. I think it’s safe to say I like them both equally, but for differing reasons. Germany really does seem to be the hub for dance music producers – why do you think the country is so strong in that region? I believe that’s down to its exceptionally long, strong history of electronic dance music here. Germany was a very early adopter – it embraced it right from the word go. The earlier the seed is planted, the more embedded it is and the greater a part of the culture it becomes. How has the American adoption of EDM helped or hindered your career? Have you adapted your sound? Electronic music started as a small subculture and developed into the biggest, most enduring music culture in the world. What is now widely called “EDM” has in my opinion not much to do with the ‘electronic music world’. Our music is about trying something new; it is about being creative and breaking boundaries. “EDM” is a repetition of the same sound effect over and over, on a rather cheesy level. Electronic music is about having fun as much as it is to keep the quality. This is the responsibility of a DJ at the end of the day. There is so much great music out there, and so many amazingly talented DJs and producers who will survive once the EDM hype is over. As such, I’d say EDM has neither helped nor hindered.
In your 20 year long career, the DJ has become a huge star, when before it might have been more about specific parties or promoters. Do you think this is a positive change? To me it’s not much different to how it was before the transformation of the DJ occurred. Then it was the bands and the venue names that were the stars. Now it’s the DJs and the clubs or festivals names that are famous and draw crowds.
Paul Van Dyk, Pacha Ibiza Dubai, Thursday February 26, 10pm-3am, advance tickets Dhs200 from Platinumlist.net, Dhs250 on the door.
We have a pair of tickets to give away, head to infusion.ae
MORE MORE LIBERTINE LIBERTINE LESS LESS CAFFEINE CAFFEINE If youIfwant you to want experience to experience freedom freedom welcome welcome to thetofeel-good the feel-good drink drink evolution. evolution. If youIfwant you energy, want energy, go back go to back school to school and study and study Alessandro Alessandro Volta.Volta. PIPERPIPER is a feel-good is a feel-good drink drink ( not an ( not energy an energy drink)drink) PIPERPIPER has nohas caffeine, no caffeine, no added no added sugarsugar and isand 100% is 100% natural. natural. Packed Packed with herbs with herbs that anhance that anhance your happiness. your happiness.
PIPER.PIPER. Your State Your State of Mind. of Mind.
If you want to experience freedom
welcome to the feel-good drink evolution.
If you want energy, go back to school
and study Alessandro Volta.
PIPER is a feel-good drink ( not an energy drink)
PIPER has no caffeine, no added sugar
and is 100% natural.
Packed with herbs that anhance your happiness.
Boost your mood not your sugar levels.
PIPER. Your State of Mind.
BoostBoost your mood your mood not your notsugar your sugar levels.levels.
WEEKLY DJ SHOW LIVE FROM THURSDAYS 4 - 6 PM
TA K
EO
VE
26TH FEBRUARY 2015
R
BUSHWACKA! INFUSIONMAGAZINE
INFUSIONMAG
INFUSIONMAGAZINE
WWW.INFUSION.AE
Keeping it unreal
Alternative hero, Ninja Tune star and tea champion, there’s no one else in the world like Mr Scruff. Which is why we got very, very excited when we heard he was finally making it down to Dubai thanks to the DUST crew to play Zero Gravity on February 27 A very warm welcome to the Middle East – we know a LOT of people have been asking you to play here, what made you say yes this time? Being a man who has great trouble ironing a shirt, I have always been a bit dubious of the over the top, bling aspects of Dubai, but I know that it is just a case of finding the right people to work with. James Locksmith (of DUST) knows his music, and he got in touch via a friend to ask me to play, so here I am! And what factors do you consider when deciding to take gigs? Mostly venue technical stuff, as it has to look and sound good. Flights too, for overseas gigs. Direct flights are best, so that luggage is less likely to go missing. I also have to make sure that the routing/travel etc enables us to get some sleep! What’s in a typical Mr Scruff set at the moment? Oh, all sorts. I never settle on one sound or style, and each set is different depending on the location and mood. That approach keeps it fun. Jazz, soul, funk, house, disco, reggae, afrobeat, latin, techno, hip hop… as long as it sounds good and works, then it goes in the box. Do you still take your own mixer and decks with you to gigs? If so, what are they and what makes them so special? The turntables are customised with Origin tonearms and external power supplies, but I only take them to a few gigs. I take my
Formula Sound PM-100 mixer, Isonoe phono preamps, Isonoe isolator, loads of cables and some stylii (AT440, which sound fantastic, but are very delicate, or M97xE, which sound pretty good, and are a bit less delicate). If it is difficult to source equipment, it is much easier if I bring my own. We read you have in excess of 20,000 records, all individually catalogued and annotated – how many weeks/months/years did that take? About 30 years. I started organising them very early on, so it was easy to keep them in check. Dancefloor requests – good or bad? It depends. In general, they are a good thing, especially if the people making the requests are really into the music. Some of my biggest tunes started out as requests from my regulars at my Manchester residency. There is a lot of musical knowledge on the dancefloor! And we’ve heard that you’ll call people out using their mobile phone during your set? I am not a fan of people playing with phones on the dancefloor, either when I am DJing or on the floor myself. I love that communal energy you get when everybody is on the same wavelength and in the moment, and people taking pictures, or standing still and texting just suck the energy out of the dancefloor. Phones in general in a social situation are just a bit of a turn-off, to be honest. It is easy enough to just step away from the dancefloor to take a picture or play with your phone, so everyone else can get on with dancing. Phones are very handy, but our instinct is to reach for them every 5 minutes. Good things can happen when we switch them off and pay more attention to the people and things around us. End of speech! Where do you stand on the educating/entertaining balance – 50/50? And where do you think Dubai will sit on that register? My job is to get people excited about the music that I play, and to thoroughly enjoy myself while doing so. I find that taking a lot of care with the sound, and playing a long set means that I can take my time to pull people in and build a good relationship and rapport with the crowd. I think the main thing is to take risks, and to never underestimate what people can deal with on a musical level. If you hold back, it becomes a bit two-dimensional and predictable. Reader questions (Stu Todd) What is your favourite blend of tea? I prefer straight-up single estate goodies of all styles.
(Finlay LeFox) What’s your favourite piece of classical music? Steve Reich, ‘Music for 18 Musicians’. (Ross Laing) Do you remember mixing DJ Shadow into The Specials to 50 drunk, but extremely appreciative, students in Derby on a Tuesday night? Yes, my only gig in Derby! I remember that the promoter was called Vuyani. Must have been over 15 years ago! (Grand Bishop) Who would win in a fish slapping contest between you and Mark Rae (Rae & Christian/Grand Central Records) and which fish would you choose as a weapon? I think Mark has a thing for cod. Mark would win hands down. He regularly handles large cod, and has the correct gloves for the job. (Gareth Davies) How did you come together with Floating Points at Plastic People? And are you doing anything with him now it’s closed? I met Sam a few years ago, he used to come to my night when he lived in Manchester. We played together in Manchester on NYE, and will definitely do some more gigs together. What a talented young chap! (Adil El-Aoud) What decade of hip hop resonates most with you and why? I would say early 1990s, a bit of a golden era for me, especially production-wise with Pete Rock, Primo, Large Pro... Also because it heavily influenced my early production. I like all eras though, each has their own sound and has influenced me in some way. (Dan Chadwick) 4 questions, completely unrelated of course: What is your full postal address? What is the alarm code? In which room do you keep your records? Do you have the number of a man with a sizeable van? That made me laugh out loud. Thanks Dan!
Mr Scruff plays Zero Gravity on Friday February 27, 6pm-3am, Dhs100 after 10pm, ladies free until midnight.
L Club DANCE TILL YOU DROP! Best Arabic Hits @ the most Luxurious Arabic Club in town Get your groove on with Micho every Thursday and Friday night Doors open at 11pm For reservations Call: +971 52 810 3333 or +971 50 226 6432 Mรถvenpick Ibn Battuta Gate Hotel, Dubai.
Jazz Fest Top Trumps It’s one of the strongest Jazz Fest line ups in recent memory, so we decided to celebrate the occasion by turning their 6 main headliners into Top Trump style cards‌
James Blunt
Wednesday February 25 Grammys – 5 nominations No.1 Hits – 19, spending 1582 weeks in the chart $ worth - $18 million Special skills – Twitter put downs Number of jazz tracks made – 0 Dodgiest collaboration – Sinik
Lindsey Stirling Thursday February 26
Grammys – 0 No.1 Hits – 4, spending 14 weeks in the chart $ worth - $2 million Best lyrics Number of jazz tracks made – Some Dodgiest collaboration – LMFAO
Esperanza Spalding Friday February 27
Grammys – 4 No.1 Hits – 1, spending 2 weeks in the chart $ worth - $4 million Special skills - Wicked with a double bass Number of jazz tracks made – Quite a lot actually Dodgiest collaboration – None, all really good
dubaijazzfest.com
Christina Perri
Wednesday February 25 Grammys – 0 No.1 Hits – 5, spending 565 weeks in the chart $ worth - $4 million Special skills – Vocal aerobatics Number of jazz tracks made – 0 Dodgiest collaboration – Jason Mraz
Sting
Thursday February 26
Grammys – 16 (including with The Police) No.1 Hits – 11, spending 1,107 weeks in the chart $ worth - $300 million Special skills – Tantric sex Number of jazz tracks made – 0 Dodgiest collaboration – Craig David
John Legend
Friday February 27 Grammys – 9 No.1 Hits – 18, spending 1,222 weeks in the chart $ worth - $20 million Special skills – Being very, very, very smooth Number of jazz tracks made – 0 Dodgiest collaboration – 2Chainz Dubai Jazz Fest, Media City Amphitheatre, February 25-27, tickets from Dhs295 from ticketmaster.ae
WEEKLY DJ SHOW LIVE FROM THURSDAYS 4 - 6 PM
TA K
EO
5TH MARCH 2015
VE
R
STEFANO RITTERI INFUSIONMAGAZINE
INFUSIONMAG
INFUSIONMAGAZINE
WWW.INFUSION.AE
Bad to the bone Since launching last year, Bad House Party have been flying the flag for leftfield indie and punk in the city, with a rotating cast of DJs and inflatable party animals (no, really). The monthly party has saved up enough money to bring over their first international act, Icelandic synth pop group Berndsen. We caught up with Mike Priest from BHP ahead of their March 5 date…
It’s been a good 15 months for you guys, and you’ve saved up some cash for your first international band – Ed Sheeran? Noel? Kaiser Chiefs? We gave those dudes a call but ultimately felt that they didn’t quite have the level of indie clout required to perform at such an historic underground venue as Casa Latina. Instead we chose to go with Icelandic synth-pop trio Berndsen, whom have the requisite level of dance-y vibes and exceptional facial hair to do our night, and our crowd, justice.
You’ve got a very distinct, and very eclectic sound that veers from nosebleed punk to modern electro – how do the crowd react when you change it up so fast in the sets? Surprisingly well. The range of music we spin is so diverse that we tend to attract a pretty mixed crowd. You’ll find the punk kids jumping onto the dancefloor for tunes they recognise and then tagging out to the indie kids when someone drops a Liars track. Basically, we’re the mid-90s pro wrestling tag team champs of the Dubai club circuit. And how alternative is the night, what sort of requests do you get? Oh, we get some crackers. Like the guy who stood in the middle of the dancefloor pointing menacingly at his Nine Inch Nails t-shirt because we’d politely advised him that we don’t normally play that sort of thing. Then of course you get the usual drunken requests for every variation of House music under the sun (tech, soulful, foreclosed etc) - it’s got to the point where we’re thinking about playing a DVD of that Hugh Laurie show on repeat on the bar’s projector and pointing at it every time someone requests some. Having said that, lots of people make intelligent, relevant requests on our Facebook page and we’re always happy to accommodate to the best of our ability. We’re not snobs after all, we’re just waiting for Trent Reznor to put out a minimal boat-house record to fully capitalise on the opportunity. You’re Bad House Party, so you’re not taking this too seriously we presume, but what lessons have you learnt from running a monthly night – tougher/easier than expected? So far so good – we’ve been doing this for a little over a year now and we seem to consistently pack out the place. I guess the biggest lesson we’ve learnt is that there definitely is a need for a night that plays punk and indie music that’s a little left of centre. We tend to shy away from the more mainstream definition of what Dubai considers indie in favour of stuff that’s more obscure and the crowd responds positively. Also, we’ve learnt that people will do some really wicked things to an inflatable giraffe if you feed them enough Jaeger.
What can you tell us about the band you booked, and why you booked them? First and foremost, they are awesome. Berndsen himself is a red-bearded tower of a man and their music has this fantastic 80s synth vibe but with modern sensibilities. If you’re looking for musical reference points imagine if Kraftwerk, Glass Candy, Chromeo and Michael Jackson had an Icelandic robot love-child who’s prime directive programming was to make you dance until you are enslaved by the inevitable robo-apocalypse. The similarities between that and our nights were a little too eerie to ignore and hence it was a no brainer to book them as our first ever band. Berndsen’s producer, and partner in crime, Hermigervil (who is also in the band) has also offered to perform a set of 60s and 70s Icelandic pop tunes re-imagined as modern electronic music using a theremin. Yep, that’s precisely as excellent as it sounds. How could we possibly say no to that? There are quite a few BHP Djs, can you introduce them all with a quick one line description to sum them up? The core BHP crew is myself, Jane (the Anchor Lady), Adam (the Repeater) and also our pal Moe who has been instrumental in helping us secure the Berndsen booking. We also have a revolving door policy of guest DJs every month who are made up of other local DJs, members of various local bands and our musically inclined friends. We like the way this mixes things up and means we’re not recycling the same tunes month after month. Bad House Party feat. Berndsen, Casa Latina, Thursday March 5, 9pm-3am, Dhs100.
THE LAST TIME DJ KOZE Gloriously eccentric DJ and firm Infusion favourite, DJ Koze tells us about the last time he…
The last time I loved my job was … Today. When I could continue sleeping after the alarm clock woke me up. The last time I complained about my job was… Today. When I listened to the stuff I was producing yesterday after I woke up too late. The last time I played Dubai I thought… Somehow you can´t compare this city to Rome. The last time I played somewhere for the first time was… In Dubai. Just to stick on the topic. The last time I dropped a non house track in a set was… Last month. The last time I paid for a night out was… Tomorrow. The last time I stayed up all weekend was… Tomorrow. The last time I lied was… Just. The last time I laughed out loud was…1996. The last time I embarrassed myself was…1996.
DJ Koze plays at Blue Marlin Ibiza UAE on Friday February 27
SUMTHING SPECIAL Cult house night Plus Minus are back in action this season with a string of monthly parties at Level 41, pushing the best in forward thinking live electronic music, with Diynamic’s David August first up. We caught up with Adrian Grech and Karim Jivraj of Blitz Productions ahead of their March 6 opener There’s so much competition now in the club scene, how are you looking to stand out? We always strive to create special environments for our events and are very focused on the quality of our artist bookings and crowd. We have been focused on bringing live acts as there are not many others that are bringing them and there is a big demand for this very niche market. There is so much going on within the genre at the moment that we are just focused on our own core values and accomplishing what we know best. We do not compromise on our production quality at all and we strive to deliver good quality events that leave our crowd wanting more and talking about it for days after. What can you tell us about David August, have you seen him before? And how live is it? We have been trying to book David for almost a year now. We
saw him in Ibiza in 2013 at Diynamic Neon Nights at Sankeys and again in Sonar in 2014 at the Diynamic Showcase in Teatre Principal where his live sets blew our minds. We knew we had to bring him and at only 22 years only, this is just the start of a very promising career. His setup involves 1 keyboard, 1 synthesiser and a lot of other gear so get ready for a very special live set from him!
We have a pair of tickets to give away, head to infusion.ae
What do you like about Level 41 as a venue? It’s a blank canvas and a raw space for us to work with. This enables us for us to put our own signature on the venue and project our own ideas in a way that we can’t in a typical nightclub. We are able to create a different environment, something more down to earth where people can come and be themselves and express themselves in the way that they want to. And who’s lined up for this season? We can’t tell you as yet but we have some more great live acts to come as well as a few artists that have never been here before. And what can live music give you that DJs can’t? What’s nice about live acts is the versatility that the artist has. The crowd also react differently to a live act – you hear a track that you think you know but it’s not quite the same and never will be… It will always be a little different and the artist can use that to play with the crowd! Plus Minus feat. David August, Friday March 6, Level 41, 8.30pm-3am, Dhs120 in advance, Dhs150 on the door.
ON THE THE RADAR ON RADAR
MARCH 12 Marshall Jefferson, Dek on 8
MARCH 19 Jack Dee, World Trade Centre
MARCH 13 Groove on the Grass feat. Ida Engberg, Emirates Golf Course
MARCH 19 Globalfunk feat. Randall, The Basement
MARCH 13 Atjazz, House of Afrika, Dek on 8
MARCH 27 Sven Vath, Blue Marlin Ibiza UAE
MARCH 14 Drake, International Stadium
MARCH 27 Culoe De Song, House of Afrika, Dek on 8
For a full list of what’s on, please head to infusion.ae
APRIL 3 Riva Starr, The Basement
APRIL 10 Paolo Nutini, Media City Amphitheatre
MAY 8 Jazzy Jeff, Barasti
MAY 15 Art Department, Blue Marlin Ibiza UAE
APRIL 10 30 Seconds To Mars, Trade Centre
MAY 15 Steve Bug, Eden Beach Club
APRIL 26 Robbie Williams, Yas Island
MAY 21 Globalfunk’s 12th birthday feat. Ulterior Motive, The Basement
We’ve re-worked our listings – one-off events will appear in the magazine, for everything else please check infusion.ae for our day-to-day listings. For inclusion, email andy@infusion.ae Pick up a copy from our Infusion Magazine stands at these locations and more across the city Every A+E outlet, Every MMI outlet, Double Decker, Media One, Zero Gravity, 360 club, Casa Latina, Barasti, Pure Sky Lounge, Beatz and Cuts, McGettigans JLT/DWC, Music Room, China White, Nasimi, Story Rooftop, El Fuego, The Basement, Bliss Lounge, Zinc, Pulse, Cinnamon - Raddison, La Terrasse, Fashion Lounge, OcactI, Serafina, Soul Al Bahar, The Scene
SUNDAY 22 DIRTY SOUTH, CAVALLI CLUB Big Aussie electro/house DJ Dirty South headlines at the popular Occupy Sundays night. 9pm-late.
his very cool rock’n’roll thing as he runs through his hits, with support from Lindsey Stirling. 6pm-late, tickets from Dhs395.
WEDNESDAY 25 JAZZ FEST FEAT. JAMES BLUNT, DUBAI MEDIA CITY AMPHITHEATRE Indie-pop from the ‘Beautiful’ singer, with live support from Christina Perri. 6pm-late, tickets from Dhs295.
THURSDAY 26 D’BANJ, DOMELAND (CHI) African star behind ‘Oliver Twist’ plays live, with a Sauti Sol on support. 10pm-3am, Dhs100. JAZZ FEST FEAT. STING, DUBAI MEDIA CITY AMPHITHEATRE Ex-Police frontman Sting does
SHIBUYA FEAT. CLIVE HENRY & JUST BE, THE BASEMENT Bouncy house and tech-house More underground house and techno, with Circol Loco’s Clive Henry and Just Be (AKA Bushwacka) trading 90 minute sets. 10pm-3am, Dhs100. SUPERHEROES FEAT. ATTS, DEK ON 8 More adventures through bass and house music, with Arrows To The Sky headlining, with support from Shlonk? and Terpit. 6pm-3am, free.
TONE OF ARC & SIGNAL FLOW, O2 CLUB Live house music from highly rated duo Tone of Arc, with international support from Signal Flow and local support from Matthew Charles. 10pm3am, Dhs100, Dhs150 on the door. WAREHOUSE DUBAI FEAT. JULIO BASHMORE, XL BEACH CLUB Bass and house from the ‘Battle For Middle You’ star as he makes his Middle East debut. 10pm-3am, Dhs100 advance.
6pm-3am, free before 10pm, ladies free until midnight, Dhs100. DJ KOZE & BLOND:ISH, BLUE MARLIN IBIZA UAE House from female duo Blond:Ish with DJ Koze supplying more alternative house and tech-house treats. 1-11pm. HECTOR, PROVOCATEUR Mexican DJ and producer Hector makes his Dubai debut at Dubai’s latest hot-spot. 10pm-3am. HOUSE OF AFRIKA, DEK ON 8 Charl Chaka, Cory Centri and De Caf step up to the mantle for a night long session of deep house and Afro beats. 6pm-3am.
UNITED AS EVERYONE FEAT. PAUL VAN DYK, PACHA IBIZA DUBAI The trance and electronic star returns to the UAE for another sold-out show, with support from Ejaz in the main room and Pierre Ravan on the rooftop. 10pm-3am, Dhs200 advance.
FRIDAY 27 AURORA FEAT. MR SCRUFF, ZERO GRAVITY Funk, soul, hip hop, Latin, Drum and Bass and much, much more from the Ninja Tune champion.
JAZZ FEST FEAT. JOHN LEGEND, DUBAI MEDIA CITY AMPHITHEATRE Sultry, smooth pop vibes from Legend, with Esperanza Spalding on support. 6pm-late, tickets from Dhs395. JUST BE & TIM GREEN, EDEN BEACH CLUB A tech-house double header, with Tim Green joined by Just Be (AKA Bushwacka). 10ammidnight. NIKO SCHWIND, AUDIO TONIC, 360 Conan Manchester, Jordan Sweeting and Mark Pickup
are the local DJs supplying the house music soundtrack, with Stil Vor Talent signing Schwind headlining. 4pm-3am, free. Weekly. SUGAR BEACH FEAT. HIDEO KOBAYASHI, BARASTI Japanese house star Hideo best known for his sumptuous house tracks headlines, with support from the Barasti all-star residents. 11am onwards, free entry. THE KILLERS TRIBUTE ACT, THE MUSIC ROOM The cunningly named The Fillers take on the Las Vegas’ bands hits, including ‘Somebody Told Me’ and ‘Mr Brightside.’ 8pm, Dhs100. X-PRESS 2, THE BASEMENT The duo behind huge house hits like ‘Lazy’ and ‘Smoke Machine’ return to Dubai for a live set, with Smokingroove on support. 10pm-3am, Dhs100.
SATURDAY 28 PIKNIC ELECTRONIK, SPORTS CITY The family friendly day party makes its debut in the region, with Matthew Charles, Raxon, Maher Daniel and Joachim Pastor among the acts. 1-10pm, Dhs130 advance. SOCIAL, 360 Audio tonic and Sole Agency
combine for this weekly night of live sunset music and house, with Somalie the guest DJ. 5pm-3am, drink deals until 8pm.
THURSDAY 05 BAD HOUSE PARTY FEAT. BERNDSEN AND HERMIGERVILL, CASA LATINA The alternative indie and punk night make their first foray into the live market, with Icelandic faves Berndsen and Hermigervill headlining. 9pm-3am, Dhs100. CAUSE WE LOVE MUSIC FEAT. STEFANO RITERI, BLISS LOUNGE Defected signing and Underworld remixer Stefano Riteri drops a deep, tech-house set at the JBR joint. 6pm-late. ED SHEERAN, DUBAI MEDIA CITY AMPHITHEATRE The ‘X’ album star plays live, including hit tracks from his number 1 albums like ‘The A Team,’ ‘Lego House’ and ‘Sing.’ 6pm.
SOMETHING BIG PRESENTS CRITICAL SOUND, DUBAI MARINA The Something Big team are back with a Critical Sound takeover for this month’s yacht party, with Enei and Kasra among the acts. 10pm-2.30am. SUNSTROKE FEAT. KARIZMA, 360 Deep, soulful house from the highly regarded Baltimore DJ at the monthly funky house party. 6pm-3am.
FRIDAY 06 AUDIO TONIC, 360 Mat.Joe headline upstairs, with support from Mr Mr and Russ Cooper, and Andy Buchan on deck duty Below. 4pm-3am, free. CEDRIC GERVAIS, PROVOCATEUR Main room house from the Grammy-award winning producer and DJ. 10pm-3am. COVERT DUBAI FEAT. HECTOR COUTO, THE BASEMENT Forward thinking house and tech-house from Hector Couto and Cristoph. 10pm-3am. Ladies free before midnight, Dhs100. LEE BURRIDGE, IRIS ABU DHABI Long-standing DJ and producer Lee Burridge drops a driving house set at Iris on Yas Island. 6pm-late.
LUCIANO, BLUE MARLIN IBIZA UAE A big month of bookings begins at Blue Marlin, with Chilean/ Swiss DJ, producer and party promoter Luciano headlining. 1-11pm. HOUSE OF AFRIKA, DEK ON 8 The residents drop deep, afro and tech house at the popular weekly night. 6pm-3am. PLUS MINUS FEAT. DAVID AUGUST, LEVEL 41 A welcome return for the Plus Minus team, with Diynamic star David August dropping a live set. 9pm-3am, Dhs120 advance.
SATURDAY 07 KIKO NAVARRO, PUROBEACH CONRAD HOTEL Laid back pool-side vibes from the Pacha regular DJ, taking a journey through funk, soul, and jazz influenced house music. Midday-10pm, ladies free, men Dhs200. REGGAE BEACH FEST FEAT. DIANA KING, XL BEACH CLUB It’s a Rep Your Flag special for the popular RBF team, with patriotism encouraged and Diana King jetting in for the occasion. 2pm-3am, Dhs100 before 7pm, Dhs150 after.
PLX-1000 BORN AGAIN High-torque direct drive system Removable power, ground and phono cables ±8%, ±16% and ±50% tempo control, and Tempo Reset Professional sound quality and build
youtube.com/pioneerdjglobal
PIONEER-MEA.COM cartridge not included
LOOK AND
LISTEN Music be the food of love, so read on...
> Music News > Music That Metters >Ticket Line New > DJ Booth
Look and Listen
Music News... IN THE GROOVE
If you’re truly a junglist, you’ll be bidding on this Amen break waveform. Texan artist Colin Hendee has turned the classic Winston’s 1969 tune ‘Amen Brother,’ which is famously sampled in hip hop, breaks and drum and bass, into a wooden sculpture, currently up for sale on Etsy.com
TO INFINITI AND BEYOND!
One of our favourite musical maestros has been working on a project with a definite twist – Megadon Betamax, one of DUST’s main men, was commissioned to create a house track made entirely out of car sounds. Sampling brake noises, tyre spins, gear shits, seatbelt clicks, internal alerts and more from the Infiniti range, ‘Chromatic’ by Infiniti is a stunning house track which has had almost 200,000 plays on Youtube already.
GROOVE SOCIETY FREE PIONEER MIX
Dubai-based record label Groove Society have teamed up with Pioneer DJ Middle East on their brand new mix, the Dubai Groove Compilation. Compiled by DJs PP and Dezarate, it’s been released through Sony Music, and you can get a free download from March 10 onwards through their Facebook page, facebook.com/thegroovesociety
both, u could be o y e c n e c li quor W ithout a li E THE RISK! K DON’T TA
The process couldn’t be simpler, just follow these 3 easy steps.
STEP 1 Complete the Application Form and get it stamped by your employer.
STEP 2 Attach copies of the required documents.
STEP 3 Visit any MMI shop to submit your Application Form and documents.
For more information please contact our Liquor Licence team on 04 304 0331/0332 or e-mail lipsadmin@mmi.ae mmidubai.com
/mmidubai
@mmi_dubai
MMIDubai
Look and Listen
MUSIC THAT MATTERS SEND TRACKS/EDITS/REMIXES TO ANDY@INFUSION.AE
Dubai Beats Authority Fast-rising bass and house DJ Finlay Lefox unleashes volume 4 of his mix series, featuring 83 minutes of dancefloor goodness. soundcloud.com/finlay_lefox/ dubai-beats-authorityvolume-4 Nader Razdar – Orgullosa Free download of this bouncing tech-house track from Story Rooftop’s resident DJ. soundcloud.com/naderrazdar/ nader-razdar-orgullosa 14 Flights – Storm Brewing (feat. Melissa Le Rue) Dubai songbird Melissa Le Rue guests on this chunky, downtempo number. soundcloud.com/14flights/ stormsbrewing David Newsum – Deep Progressive Mix Lovely deep to progressive mix from ex Dubai 92 DJ David Newsum, who’s back in
the game. Welcome back fella. soundcloud.com/davidnewsum/deep-progressivemix-by-david-newsumjanuary-2015 DJ Ray – Dubai Demo American DJ now based in the Middle East, DJ Ray turns in an ecletic mix featuring cuts from Drake, Umek and a fierce Michael Jackson remix. mixcloud.com/DJRAY5531/ dubai-demo/ Jay K – Breaking Walter White Minimal, glitchy downtempo techno with Breaking Bad snippets scattered throughout. soundcloud.com/jayk/ breaking-walter-white DJ Denero – Blue Mondays @ Longs Bar Longs Bar resident DJ drops a steadily building chill out to house set, with cuts from CeCe Peniston and Rhythm of House at the peak of the mix. mixcloud.com/djdenero/
JANUARY 29
Advertorial
Just the ticket Leading UK company Ticketline are launching in the UAE, and bringing with them their cutting edge systems designed to make your life a lot easier, allowing direct ticket access to the best gigs in town…
So, you’re an event promoter and you work hard to get your potential customers to visit your Facebook page to buy tickets for your latest event. The customer is sold on buying tickets, but you have to direct them, via a link from your site, to one of the established ticketing agents in Dubai. Once on their site (be it Platinumlist, Time Out, Virgin or whoever) your customer sees ads and links to all the other events your competitors are running at the same time. Maybe your “customer” sees something else they want to go to more than your event, and buys tickets for it instead. Great! You’ve spent your promo budget selling your competitor’s event. If only you could have sold your ticket directly from within your Facebook page you’d still have a customer. Well, now you can thanks to new-boys-onthe-block Ticket Line.
Advertorial “Ticket Line is the only ticketing agent in the Middle East offering promoters a plugin that allows them to sell tickets directly from their own Facebook page,” John Wallace, MD of Ticket Line told us. “We create the plugin for the promoters and it takes about 30 seconds to add it to their Facebook site. We give them a really powerful tool to allow them to sell on their page and keep their customers with them.”
Kit Kheedo, the main man of No.1 Events, is one of the first to see the benefits of this smart but simple way to sell. “We have over 23,000 loyal and engaged fans who use our Facebook pages to find out all about our events. Up to now we’ve not been able to sell tickets to them directly, but had to push them off to ticketing websites where competing events are promoted. We’ve just taken on Ticket Line to run our advance sales for our next major event, Craig David at Nasimi Beach in April. We’re confident we’ll generate plenty of sales directly from our Facebook site.” “There are a lot of promoters in Dubai who only really use Facebook and Twitter to promote their events,” Wallace told us “And now they have a way of turning promotion into immediate ticket sales. We provide them with live 24-hour access to sales info and of course all the customer data belongs to them too.”
Advertorial Kit Kheedo believes there are real advantages for clubbers and gig-goers. “If you buy your ticket in advance most promoters will sell you the ticket more cheaply than on the door. Also you get your e-ticket immediately by email. You don’t even have to print it if you have a smartphone as the barcoded tickets can be scanned on the door from your phone.” There’s also another serious benefit for Joe Punter. If you have your ticket in advance there’s no need to queue and if you are a group of lads you won’t be turned away by the gorilla on the door for not having a lady in your group as your name’s already on the list (quite literally) so you will be getting in. “We’ve been selling millions of tickets a year in the UK for around 20 years now, and since we introduced the Facebook plugin we’ve seen sales via Facebook rocket,” said Wallace. “Of course we provide a full ticketing service here in the UAE too, with our own site www.ticket-line.ae and its native mobile site featuring all events we sell on. In addition we can provide access control, that’s ticket barcode scanning, at events too. We are also fully integrated with the DTCM and one of their approved vendors.” If you want to find out how Ticket Line can help your event, contact John Wallace on 055 508 7650 or email sales@ticket-line.ae.
DJ Booth: Nick Hussey
Our hot seat this issue is filled by prodigious producer and remixer Nick Hussey, now a firm fixture at Zero Gravity One thing you might not know about me is... I’m a football fanatic. My worst ever job was‌ Working in an office at 18 years old with 36 women and me.
My favorite ever record is... ‘Finally’ by Ce ce Peniston. DJing is much like... Breathing, it’s second nature and I couldn’t do without it. Dubai’s clubbing scene is... Up there with places like Ibiza with the current crop of DJs that come to play here now. It’s so much more improved then when I first came here 5 years ago. I’m really proud of... Making records that mean something to people. I get people coming up to me telling me what individual tracks of mine mean to them and it gives me a feeling I can’t really describe. What track could you drop in every set? Sandy B, ‘Make The World Go Round.’ I can’t live without... Chocolate. My biggest DJ achievement to date is... Having 3 tracks in the dance Chart Top 10, including the Number 1, at the same time. What is your guiltiest pleasure? Food hands down. A good fillet steak followed by something sweet. If you could DJ in any decade which would it be... The next one, ha ha. If I could go back-to-back with any other DJ it would be... Shonky. I’m not a politician but… I would try to put across that as a race there is more that unites us than divides us. soundcloud.com/nick-hussey
LOOKING
CLOSER Opinions, thoughts and gibberish...
> Weird News > The Spin > Movies >Angry Monkey
Looking Closer
Weird News... HOP FEST
One American man has finally found a good use for pet rabbits after training him to bring him beer in a custommade delivery cart. Ben Ahles said it took 6 months to train him up, using raisins as treats and four different cart prototypes before he hit the jackpot. “As long as I give him a treat every once and a while, not only will he suffer my presence, he will also put in a minimal amount of effort to please me.”
WEIRD PIC This is a Women’s Right Conference in Saudi Arabia last year. But, without any women. At all. Obviously.
VERY TAXING BIL A 78 year old man from Derbyshire got the shock of his life when the HM Revenue and Customs ordered that he pay a direct debit of £950m a month to pay off his bill. The father-of-two told Sky News: “I was a bit shocked when I saw the amount, I’m used to hundreds not billions. “They probably got me mixed up with the Chancellor of the Exchequer or Richard Branson, I don’t know. I could manage the £255 if I sold my Peugeot 206 and I’ll have to cut down on my shopping at ASDA.” When Mr Yeomans got through to the Revenue they admitted having made a mistake. “You can get an interview with the Pope easier than getting through to them,” he said. A spokesperson for HMRC said they were very sorry for the error.
THE SPIN FEBRUARY 2015
PAGE 200
ISSUE 15
Saying nothing but saying it excitedly, enough to get you radio job in Dubai, experts say A new study has emerged in Dubai that sheds life on the city’s radio stations and their ‘disc jockeys.’ After listening to weeks worth of content, or to use the proper industry term drivel, the research team found the perfect formula for a Dubai radio DJ. ‘It actually doesn’t matter what you say,’ commented Chris Evans, ‘as long as you say it like an excited four year old. That perpetual excitement fools the brain into thinking that there’s something good coming up, but also turns your brain off effectively, putting you in the perfect radio mood. It’s really rather cunning,’ he said before humming the jingle to the RAK Bank advert. The report also found that station playlists were compiled by the station head’s daughter using iPod playlists, and that Four Non Blondes has been played more time in Dubai than throughout the whole of the 90s. Popular radio celebrity Kris Fade could not be reached for comment.
Coming soon: Ryder Van Romero exclusive interview...
*
These stories are not true, this is not a real newspaper. This is a parody/fiction/satire/joke. The Spin is not intended, in any way whatsoever, to be taken as factual.
MOVIE FOCUS A veteran grifter takes a young, attractive woman (Margot Robbie from Wolf of Wall Street) under his wing, but things get complicated when they become romantically involved. Classification: 15 Director: Glenn Ficarra, John Requa Starring: Will Smith, Margot Robbie
Chappie
District 9 and Elysium director Blomkamp takes control of this Short Circuit update. After being kidnapped by two criminals during birth, Chappie becomes the adopted son. Chappie is one of a kind, a prodigy. And a robot. Classification: 15 Director: Neill Blomkamp Starring: Hugh Jackman, Sigourney Weaver
PREVIEWS Cinderella
A live-action retelling of the classic fairy tale about a servant step-daughter (played by Lily James) who wins the heart of a prince. Classification: PG Director: Kenneth Branagh Starring: Helena Bonham Carter, Cate Blanchett
SERENA In Depression-era North Carolina, the future of George Pemberton’s timber empire becomes complicated when he marries Serena (Lawrence) and gets embroiled in a power struggle that threatens their existence. Classification: 15 Director: Susanne Bier Starring: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence
DISCLAIMER: Film release schedules are subject to change, please check reelcinemas.ae, novocinemas.com and voxcinemas.com for full schedules.
What’s your status? single
in a relationship
it’s not complicated
With our personalized dietary programmes, there’s no better time to start a healthy relationship with yourself and your loved ones.
Delivery available in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman & Umm Al Quwain For more information: Tel: + 971 4 3473808 / +971 4 3232400 E-mail: info@healthfactory.com www.healthfactory.com HealthFactoryDubai
HealthFactoryME
Health-Factory
healthfactoryblog.com
HealthFactoryAE
Epicure Catering
Health_Factory
A L S O AVA I L A B L E O N:
Venn in Dubai Dubai: a city where the rich get richer, the stupider get stupider and the arrogant get more arrogant. And sadly, if you drew a Venn diagram, right there in the intersection smiling out at you would be the rich, stupid and arrogant population of Dubai’s entertainment scene. This circle jerk of friendships ensure that the worst ideas in the world come to fruition, that people use and abuse their relationship. Like radio DJs getting their motor-mouthed nonsense released and signed up as a record (seriously), or the same average DJs getting booked for the same gigs every weekend and dropping the same dull doof-doof nonsense. Thankfully there is some variation coming into the nightlife gene pool, but for the moment all I can see is wall-to-wall Ahlan! poses as the stupid, rich and arrogant jostle for position.
Monkey Out... The Angry Monkeys’ views are his own, and don’t necessarily reflect the views of Infusion Magazine.
EVENT PRESENTED BY:
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28TH
JOACHIM PASTOR LIVE (FR) MAHER DANIEL (CA)
AMIR SHARARA
RAXON
MATTHEW CHARLES
SPORTS VILLAGE, DUBAI SPORTS CITY 1:00PM – 10:00PM Tickets AED 130 pre-sale + AED 150 at the door. Tickets sold on www.platinumlist.net MONTREAL BARCELONA MELBOURNE