Infusion #188: 25 Nov - 9 Dec '12

MUSIC • PEOPLE • LIFE Nov 25 — Dec 09 2012 l Issue #188 l www.infusion.ae l EST 2005

Viva Africa!

Dbanj, Freshlyground, Gossaye Tesfaye and more play the biggest African Festival in the Middle East Creamfields, Ron Carroll, Stone Roses, Chris Brown, Yoga & Music Festival and much more!

From the Editor’s Desk

Editor-in-chief: Talal Budebs Managing Director: Charl Chaka Editor: Andy Buchan andy@infusion.ae 055 882 5675

When I first started out as a fresh-faced journalist, magazines meant everything to me. I’d religiously run to the shop every Wednesday for NME, and on the first of every month to grab Mixmag, DJ Magazine, Select, Q Magazine and virtually every other music magazine worth its perfect binding.

Magazines still dominate, especially in Dubai, but the online world is slowly gaining traction out here (no thanks to du and Etisalat, it has to be said), which is why we’ve put a lot of time and effort into our all-singing, all-dancing website, infusion.ae. Set to launch very soon, it brings together everything Infusion does so well - we’ll be bringing events to life via our live streaming, our interactive Soundcloud app means you can listen directly to all the music we passionately write about, and there’ll be fresh daily content making it the one-stop-shop for all your nightlife needs. Alongside that, there’ll be up-to-date gig listings, the latest party pictures, and a full back catalogue of Angry Monkey rants and Pan-Arabia Enquirer musings.

Andy

Sales Director Vip Patel Vip@infusion.ae 050 169 8712 Contributors: Benjie Mar Jacobo GarethIsOnIt Georgina Enzer-Hennawi Lisa Sant Miriam Sweeney Nthayi Tshehle Pan-Arabia Enquirer Tayla Russell Design: Allan (Jmaxlolo) Tinsay Grown-up stuff: Infusion is published by Milehigh Media, llc. www.milehighmedia.ae PO Box 73310 Dubai, UAE Contact us: Tel/Fax: 04 368 8098

Powered by Listening with

Partying with

To do list Start saving up for your Infusion Christmas Learn the present, a set of Downward DJ dog at the Pioneer Nexus (probably) oga and CDJ2000s would first ever Y val this be nice…

Music festi Rave safe at the Rugby 7s. And if you can’t, at least try not to pass out by midday this year…

December.

Get your NYE plans sorted — check out our N radar listings in YE the gig guide fo r inspiration.

Up for grabs

Be excited: Tom Middleton, Maceo Plex, Goldie, Marcus Intalex, Metro Area, Lethal Bizzle,

Booka Shade and Macy Gray are all headed our way in the next few weeks!

Marcus Intalex tickets iLL Communications is back, and with something of a bang as Brit born DnB kingpin Marcus Intalex does the honours on Thursday December 6 at their new home, N’Dulge’s terrace.

And we have 2 pairs of tickets to give away, keep an eye on the fb.com/infusionmagazine page and answer this question: Marcus is from which country? a) UK b) Sweden c) California

Tickets to Creamfields It’s the biggest electronic festival in the region, and this year has pulled in Armin Van Buuren and David Guetta as headliners, with a host of local DJs in support. And we have 2 pairs of tickets to the December 7 event on Yas Island to give away. To win, keep an eye on fb.com/infusionmagazine and answer this competition: David Guetta’s first album was called? a) Just A Little More Love b) Two Blackbirds And A Dove c) Death From Above

Looking

BACK Retrospective on what’s been happening in our world.

> What we did > Say What > Photo Gallery

Looking Back

What we did

Sandance @ Atlantis In our over-crowded event market, you don’t always get time to improve your product. But Sandance, the behemoth festival on the Atlantis beach, has consistently reacted to any feedback over the past year, and striven to deliver better and better events. And that came to a head last week as an excellent event came together relatively seamlessly. Bar queues were minimal, there was enough space to dance/mosh and the food was better than most events this size. Musically it might not have been our favourite (although Stereophonics and Leftfield were worth the admission price alone): Krafty Kuts only found his groove halfway into his set, Labrinth was given an overly long set and Benny Benassi’s bosh-house set left us cold. But it almost didn’t matter as the atmosphere and first class organisation smoothed away our musical niggles.

Looking Back Lipsy presents Michelle Owens @ 360

More than in other countries, fashion and clubbing go hand in hand in Dubai, so it was no surprise to see Lipsy team up with the Infusion team for another packed out event. Not only did it guarantee one of the best dressed crowds in town, it also meant we had the chance to bring out another female DJ in this testosterone friendly business, with Australia via Berlin deckstress Michelle Owen headlining with a bustling deep and tech house set. Downstairs, the vibe was altogether more chilled as Schooly and Frak Fu dropped a trip hop, soul, funk and old skool hip hop mix, climaxing in Angie Stones’ ‘I Wish I Didn’t Miss You’ which prompted a DJ-led singalong.

Above and Beyond @ Nasimi

Nasimi might have lost its sparkle in recent months, with the mammoth Sandance events taking precedence, but the beach club still pulled in around 3,000 trance fans for Above & Beyond.

It might not have got the same mixed crowd as Sandance — it was a little man-heavy — but the reaction was raucous as at one point a 3-deep line of bouncers did their best to repel the crowd as they tried to get to the DJ booth. Musically, euphoric, melodic trance was the order of the day as A&B’s Jono Grant delivered the goods, with a rock-solid warm up set from Greg Stainer.

Mixtape Rewind @ Emirates Golf Course

The Pan-Arabia Enquirer ran a headline recently saying ‘Big festival announces new tagline: “And you thought they’d split up.”’ And while there might be a semblance of truth to their satire as always, you’d be hard-pushed to criticise the Mixtape Rewind 90s night, as they’d done their homework and pulled together a nostalgic 7 act line up including Haddaway, Go West and Ace of Base. But it was Snap! who provided the main highlight as they belted out ‘Baby Don’t Hurt Me’, forcing the 3,000 strong crowd to dance like it was ‘A Night At The Roxbury.’

Groove on the Grass @ Emirates Golf Course

Sometimes, you want something a little more than four walls, a bar and a banging soundsystem. And thankfully the Groove on the Grass team came up with a rather ace solution, creating a 500-strong party at the Royal Majilis at the Emirates Golf Course, with several of Dubai’s tech heavyweights on support, with Mobilee founder Anja Scheider headlining. The night started early at 7pm with Gabriel Green on the decks warming up things nicely as the early-comers got cozy on bean bags and some opting just for plain ‘ol grass. Next up at 10pm was Dubai veteran Raxon who took the party to the next level, by which point there was a full crowd of people. Since clubbers in Dubai are always late to go out, it was great to see people heading out early.

By 12am there was a full out rave on the grass as None Other and Adam played a back to back techno set to heat things up for the lady of honour. Miss Mobilee, Anja Schneider, finally arrived straight from the airport to close out the night with a two hour set of her best tech house. Everyone chanted ‘one more song’ as the clock pasted 3am and she managed to squeeze one more track in before we had to say good night, at this most unique of events.

Swedish House Mafia @ World Trade Centre

Say what you like about the Swedish House Mafia’s music, their event last Friday — which kick-started their 3 month long world tour — was a sell out event, and thanks to Peppermint’s usual high standards, was one of the biggest gigs in recent memory. The trio came on stage just after 1am (meaning that MaDJam’s excellent warm up got a peak time crowd) and quickly set about creating a rave-like atmosphere, dropping all their classic tracks including ‘Greyhound’ and ‘One’ to the amped up crowd. Sadly they had even more reason to be amped up as the token/drink system for the non VIPs proved to be an issue, taking anything up to 30 minutes to get served at one point. But come 3am, the trio knew they’d kick-started their one last tour in style.

Looking Back

Say What Dancefloor dictionary Glow job: What happens when you get manual relief from someone who’s been raving and accidentally broken a glow stick.

Not so stable business Word from the business community in the UAE suggests Frankie Dettori’s restaurant, Frankie’s, may be in for a tougher time, now he’s left the warm embrace of Godolphin, the stables of Dubai’s ruling family. Any mates rates for rent and supplier deals, granted as the Sheikh’s stable jockey, could be a thing of the past.

Spot the difference: One is much loved Dubai DJ Kristian Valdini, part of Schooly’s new Soulful Sessions, and the other is high-powered Hollywood manager Ari Gold, but can you tell them apart?

Short and tweet @swedishousemfia Holy f*cking s*it Dubai!!!!!!! What the f*ck!!! Next level!!!!!

We might not approve of their rather liberal use of the the !!! — not to mention their potty mouth — but there’s no doubting that the trio enjoyed the start to their world tour in Dubai…

Bubbling over

Good news pretensious readers of the magazine — the world’s largest bottle of Rose In numbers Champange, a 15 litre Armand de Brignac, technically called a the cost of adding 2,000 friends Nebuchadnezzar — is now on to your FB or Twitter profile from sale at, where else, one online company? Just $25. Cavalli Club.

Lipsy presents Michelle Owen @360

REFRESHED BY FIJI WATER

Pulse

REFRESHED BY FIJI WATER

DJ Competition @Chi

REFRESHED BY FIJI WATER

REHAB

@XL BEach

REFRESHED BY FIJI WATER

Swedish House Mafia

@World Trade Centre

REFRESHED BY FIJI WATER

audio tonic ft. Lovebirds @360

REFRESHED BY FIJI WATER

Looking FORWARD Where we filter out the best things that are coming your way...

> Local News > Cover Story > Metro Music > Cream of the Crop > Minister of the Funk

Looking Forward

Local News Stone Roses hit Dubai

With the Stone Roses now fully reformed and selling out gigs across Europe, it was only a matter of time before a Dubai promoter brought them out for the large expat crowd in Dubai.

The Manchester four piece have confirmed they're playing at the Dubai Media City Amphitheatre on Thursday February 21, with Done Events bringing them out. Half of the band are already familiar with the city, with Ian Brown and Mani both having performed here, but it will be the first time that the full band will have played tracks like 'Fools Gold' and 'I Wanna Be Adored' live in the city. stonerosesdubai.com.

The Good Life

Sunshine, sunset and good tunes - it's a simple formula, and one that's at the heart of new Saturday afternoon session, Good Life. Held at Shimmers at the Mina A'Salam, it's run by Trilogy's head honcho Buff Wise, and will feature a mixed, toe-tapping bag of sunshine funk, soul, disco and Balearic classics from 4pm, with the launch on Saturday December 1.

Soulful Session new home

It's been a nightlife staple for years, having rocked crowds at The Apartment (now Mahiki) and M-Dek, and we can now reveal that Schooly's Soulful Sessions will be taking up permanent residence at iKandy at the Shangri La on Sheikh Zayed Road. It will run every Thursday from 8pm-2am with Radio 2's Schooly and Kristian Valdini dropping funk, soul, disco and hip hop, while the venue comes fully equipped with shisha, adding to the night's laid-back party vibe.

PRE S E N T S

A NIGHT OF FUNK & SOUL

TUESDAY 4TH DEC 2012 SCHOOLY HAPPY HOUR FROM 7PM – 10PM

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DOORS OPEN 6PM – 2AM | FREE ENTRANCE FOR ALL | FOR TABLE BOOKINGS PLEASE CALL 056 734 1961 OR EMAIL INFO@INFUSION.AE | PREFERENTIAL ENTRY WILL BE GIVEN TO HOTEL GUESTS AND RESIDENTS | DRESS CODE: SMART CASUAL OR 70’S DISCO | NO ACCESS TO INTOXICATED INDIVIDUALS | MANAGEMENT RESERVES THE RIGHT TO REFUSE ENTRY TO ANYONE | +21 | WWW.INFUSION.AE | TWITTER.COM/INFUSIONMAG | FACEBOOK/INFUSIONMAGAZINE

Looking Forward Analog rules

For anyone who argues that we don't have an underground scene in Dubai, check out freshly launched new techno and tech-house night Analog Room, starting every Thursday from November 29 at a secret venue. Brought to you by the DJ and production duo Medhi and Salar, they've pulled in a diverse spread of international talent, including Detroit's Delano Smith, Guillaume & The Coutu Dumonts and Alexi Delano throughout December, while Move D kicks things off with the invite only party on November 29. For more info and venue details, check out facebook.com/analogroomdxb.

Circle of Life

Chris Brown

Good news metal fans: hard-rocking US band Circle II Circle have confirmed they're playing in Dubai at Chi's newly relaunched Domeland on Friday November 30. The Florida band were formed by former Savatage lead singer Zac Stevens, and play heavy, power and progressive metal.

Support on the night comes from Syrian band The Hourglass and Dubai based band Point of View. Tickets are Dhs225 tickets and available now.

Love him for his music or hate him for his checkered past, there's no denying that Chris Brown is one of the biggest global stars at the moment. And on Tuesday December 11, you'll find him playing at Meydan for the Atelier team in what must be one of the biggest ladies night bookings of all time. Added to that, ladies get their ticket cost (Dhs350) back in drink tokens on the night.

THE AWARD-WINNING SEE YOU NEXT FRIDAY TEAM PRESENTS

Friday November 30 A night of Indie/Electro + French House Casa Latina, Ibis Al Barsha FEAT. ANDY BUCHAN 9pm - 2.45am Dhs100 for 5 cold ones, AND LE JACKAL Dhs25 Bubbly 9 - 12pm Free entry all night MAGAZINE

Looking Forward Sandance NYE

After revealing that Paul Van Dyk was part of the Sandance line up last issue, we can confirm that he'll be joined by Rita Ora, Ellie Goulding, Roger Sanchez and Zane Lowe for their NYE bash at the Atlantis. Early bird tickets are on sale now for Dhs250, making it a very attractive NYE option. Head to our Gig Guide NYE radar for a full list of confirmed NYE events.

Rumours

One of the original DnB kingpins, Goldie is confirmed to be playing at Trilogy on December 13.

After a disappointing turn out last year, the World Top DJs is set to return to Dubai this December 21 on the Palm.

The Jackson 5 have confirmed they're playing for Flash on Friday November 30 on Yas Island, more details via thinkflash.ae.

Luciano is said to be close to returning to Dubai with two venues interested, while Maya Jane Coles has apparently locked down a date in Dubai.

Fun Lovin' Criminals are said to be heading back to Dubai for a DJ set.

Stranded, the day-time beach party on the Lebanon Island, The World has returned to action after the summer break, email stranded@themusthavegroup.com for more info.

Gilles Peterson and Tensnake both played within a mile of each other on the Palm last weekend, two most excellent bookings.

Dubai road builders seem to have ditched the Etch-aSketch format, with Tecom and JLT at long last finally coming together.

Sunglasses. Good for outdoors when it's sunny, literally no excuse for wearing them inside, in malls/supermarkets/at work.

Band/DJ groupies asking the wrong people for photos - first Chase & Status asking the warm up DJ for a photo, then a gaggle of groupies asked Benny Benassi's manager for an autograph.

freshly pressed by sho cho Finish your weekend with commercial house and nu disco mixed by Stephane Karl.

Fridays from 10.00pm to 3.00am.

Dubai Marine Beach Resort & Spa, Jumeirah, Dubai +971 4 3461111 Souk Qaryat Al Beri (Shangri La Hotel) Abu Dhabi +971 2 5581117

It's the most vibrant continent in the world, and arguably where music originated from. Which is all the more reason to celebrate the region's rich history, as 7 international acts from South Africa, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya and Ghana take to the Festival City stage on December 6 for a huge party.

D’banj

One of the biggest names on the line up, Nigerian born singer songwriter (and harmonica player, to boot) D’banj has won several accolades during his career, including winning the Best African Act at the 2007 MTV Europe Awards. His biggest hit is also his most recent, as ‘Oliver Twist’ dominated charts across the world with its fast and furious mix of Afro and electro while his 2011 signing to Kanye West’s G.O.O.D Music label helped raise his profile even further.

More recently, he’s shared the stage with Jay Z and Rihanna at the London Olympics, and will be the big name attraction at the Viva Africa festival.

Freshlyground

Gossaye Tesfaye

Red San

Castro

One of Cape Town’s biggest bands, this 7-piece Afro-fusion band blend blues, jazz and indie rock to create a truly unique sound, and one they’ve been playing around the world for the past 10 years. Their biggest claim to fame is playing alongside Shakira at the 2010 World Cup as they performed the official song ‘Waka Waka’ at the opening ceremony.

Kenyan star Red San provides the reggae swagger on the line up, and got his first touch of fame when he won the Star Search talent competition in Nairobi. Since then, he's released his first album in 2003, and has since had several chart-toppers, including ‘Malaika’ and ‘Step On It.’

One of the stars of Ethiopia’s music scene, Gossaye started his career as a singer in the Red Cross Music Society, before - thanks to his strong voice and African melodies - he made the move to become a full time musician, working at clubs across his home-town Addis Ababa. His big hitters at the festival are likely to be ‘Lebe Degmo’ and ‘Dire Dire.’

Blessed with the best name on the bill, Theophilus Tagoe to his parents, Ghanaian born Castro started singing at just 10 year’s old, but is probably most notable for having recorded upbeat Afro-pop tune ‘African Girls’ with Asamoah Gyan, the Ghana football player who now plays for Al Ain.

Leanne

The sole female artist on the line up, South Arican star Leanne is no stranger to Dubai, having performed here several times, while her 2006 track ‘Got Me Going Crazy’ received airplay across the city. In the live arena, she’s opened up for big name stars like Snoop Dogg, Sean Paul and Pharrell Williams, while she’s also been a guest judge on South Africa’s televised talent show, Idols.

Jose Chameleon

Hailing from Uganda, Chameleone is one of Africa’s best known hip hop and reggae exports, and has actually collaborated with fellow Viva Africa star Redsan on ‘Bageya.’

Musically, he blends Ugandan folk music, central African rumba, zouk and raggae, making him one of the more distinctive acts on the bill.

Viva Africa, Festival City Park, Thursday December 6, 4pm-2am, Dhs195, Dhs395 VIP, 04 334 4159, www.vivaafrica.ae

One half of iconic disco-house pioneers, Metro Area, Darshan Jesrani is a NY legend; a talented producer and a special DJ with excellent taste that crosses everything from disco, boogie, house to techno. Ahead of his return to Dubai to play DUST, we spoke to him in NY to find out how the city is recovering post-Sandy, the city's party scene and the his part in the rise of nu-disco…

How are things in New York right now, I hear there’s still a number of people badly affected by the storm? Is it business as usual for you in Brooklyn?

Yes and no, I guess. We’re fortunate enough to live in a part of Brooklyn not near the water, so we were untouched by the storm surge from the ocean.

Still, it created such tremendous flooding in so many parts of the city that it was impossible to not feel its effects. But yeah, oceanfront communities all over the NY/NJ area are totally wrecked and they’re not going to get over it any time soon.

What are you working on, production wise, at the moment?

I’m in the middle of a dub mix I’m doing for Permanent Vacation, and I’m doing the final bits of production on my first solo single, out early next year on my own label.

Are you still throwing your own parties with Citizen Kane? Do you guys play together often?

Yeah, we did a great one a couple of weeks ago here

in Brooklyn at a place called Bellwether, which is actually a restaurant, but has a great room in the back with two big Klipsch speakers and a Urei mixer. We hung a disco ball, aimed a spot light on it, filled up the smoke machine and got down.

Do you still dig for old records a lot, or do you tend to buy more new stuff?

Lately I’ve been buying less records and less often, but that’s only because I’ve been almost single-minded about studio work and haven’t been taking the time to find new (and new old) music for fun. That’ll change though. I really welcome both new and old music.

You have toured a lot this year, what have been the highlights for you?

There have been so many great nights. And so many in Berlin, now that I think about it! About:Blank, Weekend, Flamingo, Broken Hearts Club, Moodmusic Night @ Stattbad.

There was a really great gig in Geneva at a small festival downtown. I played the grand

opening of a really opulent rooftop club/lounge in Jakarta, that was nuts.

The direction and sound that Metro Area created and pushed so many years ago, seems to have heavily influenced a lot of recent dance music, especially as disco and nu-disco has had such a resurgence. What’s your view?

I don’t know, I think it was bound to happen. I think our thesis was (and I suppose, is) that tracks are not new anymore, and that dance music needs to go back and embrace at least the basic values of songwriting and arrangement. Our points of reference for doing that with MA were disco, R&B and synth pop. Still, as much as it has swayed in that direction, look at how resistant dance music has been. Even now, I think most contemporary dance music is tracky and beat-oriented and not really that much different from what it was in the 90s.

Morgan (Geist) seems to be really busy with Storm Queen right now, do you foresee the two of you playing or working together on new Metro Area material any time soon?

Nothing firm, but we’re talking about possibly doing something new with MA on the performance side this coming

year, maybe some new material will come from that, who knows.

You’ve been to Dubai a couple of times, can you tell us about your experience thefirst time you played here (at Ibo)? What can Dubai people expect this time round?

I remember iBO being a lot of fun, but it also seemed like another era for me, in terms of DJ’ing. I don’t think I was that great of a DJ when I first came.

Darshan Jesrani plays DUST @ The Music Room, Friday December 7, 8pm-3am, Dhs75.

C

ream of the rop

While the big hitters Armin Van Buuren and David Guetta will attract the thousands, the real music at this year's Creamfields will be supplied by the local DJs from Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Beirut. We caught up with Mark Pickup, Natalie Brogan, MaDJam, Stacktraxxx and Mister Outlaw ahead of the December 7 event to find out more…

Firstly, congratulations on being booked — what does Creamfields mean to you?

MP: Being a Liverpool boy, Cream used to be the epicenter of my week and I went to the club more or less every weekend from 1994-1999. I also went to the first 3 Creamfields in the UK many years ago so I’d say i have good knowledge of the brand and the festival. I was lucky enough to play the main stage at Creamfields last year in Abu Dhabi and am very excited to be back on the line up for 2012.

MaDJam: Creamfields is the only night in the whole region that brings together so many international and local DJs with a wide range of music genres.

I’ve been very proud to be part of the line-up since it all started and witnessed the annual event grow from strength to strength.

Mark Pickup

Stacktraxxx: My first introduction was a Sasha live set in 1998 at Creamfields which I listened to countless times, and as it was a live recording, you could hear the crowd in parts of it. In 2009, 11 years later I got the chance to open up for my all time DJ hero Sasha in Creamfields Abu Dhabi.

Armin Van Buuren

How do you view the dance music scene in your home country, and in the Middle East in general?

MO: I am a proud Emirati and have been playing dance music since 2004. A lot of great DJs have been flying over to spin in the last 4 years which is always a good thing to push the envelope and educate the crowd with what’s new.

MaDJam: I lived in the UAE for many years and have seen the scene there transform from small club nights to huge outdoor arena events. The whole Middle East is like my home as I’m in a different country almost every week and have made great friends at amazing parties in every city over the years. The Lebanon club scene has had great

moments and now it’s pretty much divided into two groups: very commercial and very underground. I’m right in the middle and adapt to where the gig is happening and what kind of crowd turn up. The variety of music keeps the soul happy and hopefully one day I’ll write a book telling you all the funny and strange stories.

NB: In the UK you have a divided split, commercial and non. The underground scene is still strong.

In the Middle East the pop charts have too much of an impact on the club scene which makes it difficult for most DJs to play without being told what to. No longer is Riva the DJ playing a Starr record that turns into a hit, it’s the chart music dictating what's to be played in a nightclub. There are still DJs/event organisers/ clubs/people wanting to stay underground and do their thing, but in the Middle East (and probably most places in the world) it can be difficult to keep these events running, hopefully in time the music scene will go back to how it was years ago where people went out to experience new music rather

David Guetta

Ali & Fila

Ronin & Nesta

than what they know or what has been brainwashed via TV/ radio etc.

MP: The Middle East has a bit of catching up to do to if it is to be on the global clubbing map on par with the likes of Europe. However we are fortunate, especially here in the UAE, to have promoters like Buff Wise at Trilogy and Mike Bufton at 360 who bring us underground internationals on a weekly basis and people like the Sandance crew and Flash who book the biggest mainstream artists on the planet, so I’d say the dance music scene in the UAE is certainly buoyant right now.

What’s been the biggest track in your sets this year?

MaDJam: There are so many good ones that keep coming out like Sebastian Ingrosso & Tommy Trash’s track “Reload” but the one that is played almost everywhere is Gotye’s ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ and specifically the remixes from Marco Farone or Siavash and my own mashup with 'Calling'. It’s a track

everyone knows and the updated versions have put the track on life-support for over a year now.

MO: There are many great tracks out there, but the best ones get the crowd involved with it. Off the top of my head I would say Chuckie & Gregori Klosman vs Red Hot Chilli Peppers, ‘Otherside Mutfakta’ and Swedish House Mafia’s ‘Save The World.’

DJ tech riders are getting bigger and bigger — what do you need? And what would your ultimate rider request be?

MP: I have seen some bizarre rider requests over the years, I have no problem with this if it something specific like a certain type of mixer (which is the norm) or keyboard etc but I have seen some very extreme ones. For example I was in Ibiza last year and I met the sound engineer at Ushuaia, he said to me that Danny Tenaglia had requested a certain brand of monitor speaker on his rider and so the engineer

MaDJam

had to take down the existing monitor speakers and install the ones on the rider as Danny won’t DJ with any other brand!

MO: A couple of years ago when I met Grand Master Flash he told me “It’s not the gimmicks and equipments, it’s the tracks and when and how you drop them.” I can be good with 2 turntables and a mixer. But I must have my Gatorade.

Stacktraxxx: Riders aren’t really my thing, it’s all about the music. In fact the ultimate would be for Creamfields to order cases and cases of whipped cream cans...

NB: My ultimate rider would be the Pioneer’s CDJ 2000s and their DJM850 plus my own dressing room with vanilla scented candles, 5 bottles of grey goose with Red Bull (sugar free) 1 bottle of Cristal Champagne. 10 large bags of chocolate Revels, assortment of sandwiches, 3 boxes of caramel cinema popcorn, a coffee machine with ground coffee. And Ryan Gosling serving me (if available).

MaDJam: I love the direction Pioneer has been going in which is to basically take the laptop out of the DJ booth and keep the DJ in control and focused on the crowd. With the latest CDJ2000 Nexus & RMX-1000, there’s constantly something different happening to the music. My ultimate rider would be to have my own VJ sync visuals and lyrics for tracks I’m playing, but I've still gotta find a way to get promoters to pay for all the additional work and person to fly around with me. Anyone interested?

Who are you most looking forward to seeing on the line up?

MaDJam: I’ve warmed up for both Guetta and Armin many times over the last 8 years in Dubai, Beirut & Bahrain, but never both on the same night. I’ve also got my buddies Ronin & Nesta coming from Beirut and they play my birthday party every year and always play upfront selection of music. I’ll be going around when I can to hear almost everyone at Creamfields Abu Dhabi this year.

Creamfields, Yas Island, Friday December 7. 8pm-4am, Dhs350, thinkflash.ae.

Reservations: +971551006555 Email: whitexbeachdubai.com BBM: 294E6393 Beach Use Price: ladies-50AED/Gents-100AED/Couples-100AED The Palm Jumeirah, East Crescent P.O. Box 18652, Dubai / UAE

Follow ‘White X Beach Lounge’

www www.r. rix ix os.co o s.com m

for forthe theelite elite

Minister of the

FUNK

US house star Ron Carroll returns to Dubai, bringing with him his huge soulful house collection.

Ahead of his return, we chatted about American politics, his proudest musical moment and copy-cat DJs… Welcome back to Dubai — how have your previous visits been?

Dubai is always an amazing place to me. It feels like a fairytale world here.

Itʼs so new and to see the architecture come to life is outstanding. The parties are something out of this world, and the vibe is full on fun, with sexy people everywhere.

You’ve been DJʼing for a long time now — what’s been your favorite time period during that for dance music?

My favourite time is back in the late 1980s into the early 1990s. This was a time when music expression was not forced. It was not full of copycat producers trying to sound like the last big hit. Everyone could express them selves in there own way and give major impact to the crowd. Also, the Radio was not the full driving force of the sound; it was each individual and what they felt.

And where do you see dance music heading at the moment, are you confident about its future?

I see dance music always surviving, just basically going back into a non-radio based existence. Right now the web has opened up a lot of places around the world to embrace the different genres of dance music. I also see it returning to the roots of people being able to self-express. Now, I see to many copycat producers, and itʼs driving me mad. No one is original anymore even while they DJ, it all sounds the same.

You’ve worked with a lot of big names — who would you still like to collaborate with?

I would honestly like to get back in the studio with Bob Sinclar, and make some unforgettable dance floor anthems. Not the Radio stuff heʼs chasing, but just a full album of serious floor stomping, hands in the air bangers that DJs will always support, people will always love.

Something that will never grow old, never become dull and always effective. Classics.

The American elections have just finished, and Obama is back in power - how much of a relief is that?

I have a deeper opinion on politics, not right for this interview. Let me put it as plain as possible without

offending people. I feel that the Presidential race is like a reality TV show. Itʼs to entertain us, and the actors already have their scripts. No more comments on that...lol, but Iʼm happy for Obama.

You’re from Chicago, which has a rich musical history — how’s the modern day version living up to its history?

Chicago has been re-building for some time now, and to me is a great place to enjoy dance music today. We have something for everyone each night of the week, from Big Room to Techno. From Deep House to Disco, there is an amazing moment here. Plus we here host some of the most massive festivals in the US: Lollapalloza, North Coast Festival, Spring Awakening Festival and many more.

What track are you most proud of during your career?

I can honestly say that it would be “Walking Down The Street” (Nike Song) because this was the track that I produced and rapped on. It was just a joke track that took shape, and became one of the most Youtube remixed joints 4 years ago. Iʼm so proud of this one.

Ron Carroll plays REHAB, XL Beach Club, Friday December 7. 12pm-3am, Dhs100.

ARTY GUIDE

We’ve tweaked the listings, and give one-off events preference.

For a full list of what’s on, please head to infusion.ae. Please submit your listings to andy@infusion.ae for possible inclusion.

ON THE THE RADAR ON RADAR NYE Radar Booka Shade, Trilogy, Nov 29 Chris Brown, Meydan, Dec 11 Laughter Factory, Various, Dec 12-14

Crazy P + Inland Knights @360 Harry ‘Choo Choo’ Romero @ Armani Prive

Goldie, Trilogy, Dec 13 Strictly Vinyl, 360, Dec 13 Keith Murray, Sublime, Dec 15 Luck & Neat, N’Dulge, Dec 28 Dubai Jazz Fest, Festival City,

Paul Van Dyk, Roger Sanchez, Ellie Goulding @ Sandance Snoop Dogg, Faithless, Gorillaz Soundsystem @ Atelier

Stone Roses, Feb 21, Media

Beach Club

Feb 14-22 City

Festival, Meydan

Yves La Rock @ Rehab, XL

Justin Beiber, 7s Stadium, May 4

Monday 26 Manic Mondays, Zinc

Greg Stainer and Andy Swift play old and new skool anthems, with a 10pm-midnight happy hour. 10pm-3am, ladies and couples free. Weekly.

Monday Night Funnies, Blends

Dubomedy host this weekly comedy night. 9pm, guestlist via lol@vivadubai.com Weekly.

RnB Mondays, Velvet Underground

No.1 Events presents Shero and Brooklyn on urban duties.

10pm-3am. Weekly.

RnB Anthems, Sensation Dev Master and DJ Badir are joined by MC Money Plus at this Urban weekly. 10.30pm3am, buy-one get one free bottles all night.

Tuesday 27 B:Lush, Media One

4 free drinks for ladies, with Da Sendri dropping funk, soul, disco and house. 7-10pm, free.

Barasti

Hugely popular ladies night, with the Dhs50 entrance fee getting you free flowing bubbly all night.

6pm-late, Dhs50.

Pure, Armani Prive

Darko De Jan takes control of this high class ladies night.

10pm-3am.

Shine, The Music Room Live music from one of the best local bands, with drink deals all night. 8pm-late.

The Social, Ruth Chris’ Steak House (Marina)

Buff Wise delivers the tunes, with Dhs20 cocktails from 7-9pm. 6pm-late. Weekly.

Uber Tuesdays, Sho Cho

Markii, Mike Daniels and more hold it down with deep house.

8pm-late, Weekly.

Wednesday 28 Diamond Wednesdays, Boudoir

ladies nights in town, with free bubbly for ladies before 1am, and house, electro and hip hop. 10pm-late. Weekly.

Ladies free, men Dhs75 after midnight.

Think Twice, Mansion

Afroboogie heads up this midweek shindig at the new Melia Hotel club. 10pm-late.

Thursday 29

INFUSION PICK! Analog Room, Venue TBC

Brand new weekly underground techno night with Berlin’s Move D headlining — the venue will be announced on the night, check out check out fb.com/ analogroomdxb for location.

10pm-3am, invite only.

Booka Shade, Trilogy

Gossip, Dek on 8, Media One

Boudoir

Free flowing cocktails from 8-11pm, with Shaun Somoro DJing at the newly refurbished venue. 8-11pm, Free.

Mingle, Left Bank (Souq Al Bahar & Madinat Jumeirah)

Dhs5 cocktails for ladies (no, really) from 8pm-late.

The Ultimate Ladies Night, Zinc One of the most popular

Blistering tech-house and techno from the German stars, with support from Ejaz. 10pm3am, Dhs150.

Free shots for ladies until 1am, and commercial RnB and house. 10pm-3am. Weekly.

Bollywood Party, Sensation

Desi and Bollywood hits all night long. 10pm-3am, ladies and couples free entry until midnight.

Club Anthems, Zinc

Greg Stainer and the rest of the Zinc crew drop chart bombs. 10pm-3am. Weekly.

PARTY GUIDE

Radio 1’s Brooklyn and DJ Shero on the urban soundtrack, with free Diamond cocktails for ladies until 1am.

9pm-late. Weekly.

ARTY GUIDE

Conan Manchester, Loca

Foot-tapping funk, soul and rock and roll from Conan at one of our favourite bars in town. 8pm-late, Weekly Thursday and Friday.

Deep Crates, Casa Latina

Excellent funk, hip hop and B Boy breaks night with free white wine for ladies before midnight. 10pm-3am, free.

Weekly.

i2, Habtoor Grand

Cheesy but fun 80s and 90s anthems from start to sweaty finish. 10pm-3am. Weekly Thursday and Friday.

iLL Communications, N’Dulge

Euphoric techno from the Cocoon Heroes’ Frank Lorber and Sascha Dive on the terrace, with Dany Neville and Emtee on urban duties in the main room. 10pm-3am, Dhs120.

Jamrock, Sublime

Reggae and Caribbean vibes from a revolving roster of Dubai’s best urban DJs. 9pm-3am, ladies free before 12am. Weekly.

Ladies First, Blends

4 hours of free Cosmos, and properly fun classic mix from Patrick Pereira. 8pm-3am free. Weekly.

MustHaveSoul Soundsystem, 360

Lost My Dog’s Pete Dafeet headlines this busy-busy

night, with support from Cory Centric, Jonny Thornhill, and Safet downstairs. 6pm-3am, free.

Pulse, Movenpick (Bur Dubai)

Energetic house and crossover tunes at this popular club. 10pm-3am, ladies free. Weekly.

Republique, The Address, Dubai Mall

Alternative party anthems at this perma-packed downtown club. 10pm-3am. Weekly Thursday and Friday.

What da Funk feat.

DJ Fudge, Chameleon

Deep, funky house with guest DJ Fudge headlining alongside resident Stu Laurie. 10pm-3am.

Friday 30 audio tonic feat.

Rodriguez, 360

Another 11 hour session, with deep house upstairs and nu-disco in the new below.

4pm-3am, free, guestlist only via platinumlist.ae between 4-8pm.

Bassworx feat.

Mistanoize, Catwalk

Dubstep and DnB monthly, with RAM Records competition winner Mistanoize from the UK headlining. 9pm-3am.

Brunch Beat Session, Bahri Bar Ambient and chilled out grooves from Jeli Maniago.

4-8pm. Weekly.

Connoisseur, Velvet Underground

Sophisticated urban soundtrack. 10pm-3am. Weekly.

AFROHEAT ft. DJ RU, Eurasia The Club

Floorplay by Jmaxlolo feat. DJ Ru plays Naija Flava, Hiphop, Reggae, Dancehall and the likes with ladies night drink deals. Carlton Tower Hotel, Diera. Weekly.

Loaded vs We Are Your Friends, Casa Latina

Indie/Electro/Nu-Disco and house from the awardwinning alternative night, with Dhs20 drink deals all night.

9pm-3am, free.

INFUSION PICK!

No.1 Fridays feat.

Lethal Bizzle, N’Dulge

Point of View, Nikotin and several other bands celebrate the end of Movember with a night of live music. 8pm-3am, Dhs60.

Rugby 7s, 7s Stadium

Intense action on and off the pitch at the annual Rugby 7s. 9am-9pm, Dhs300 day, dubairugby7s.com. Repeated Saturday.

Trilogy Fridays

Desi and crossover in the main room, with commercial hip hop on the rooftop. 10pm3am, Dhs130. Weekly.

Zoo Project, Nasimi

One of the leading Ibiza brands takes over Nasimi for the day with their animal-led house music party. 2pm-2am, Dhs100 after 8pm.

Saturday Dec 1

INFUSION PICK!

411 2nd Birthday, People By Crystal

The award-winning urban night returns with DJ Bliss and Shef Codes celebrating their 2nd birthday. 10pm-3am.

Weekly.

Cecille, The Music Room

Jamaican dancehall diva Cecille headlines, alongside DJ/MC Mados Jahsee. 8pmlate, Dhs160.

PARTY GUIDE

Grime and hip hop from the leading UK star and the man behind Dench clothing label.

10.30pm-3am, ladies free before midnight, Dhs100 after. Weekly.

Rockstache, Music Room

ARTY GUIDE

Destination, Zinc

UK Garage, Funky house and urban with Richie D and Mister Ash. 10pm-3am. Weekly.

INFUSION PICK! Good Life, Shimmers

Buff Wise takes control of this sunset party at the stunning Burj-side venue. 4pm-late, free.

Entra Mis Casa, 360

Funk, soul and Latin-flavoured house music at this bi-monthly wind-down. 4pm-2am, free.

Saturday Session, Amika

Sam Farsio drops deep funky nu-disco at this new Saturday night. 8pm-late. Weekly.

Tuesday 4

INFUSION PICK! MoFunk, Blends

The finest hip hop, funk, soul and disco known to clubbing man at our monthly ladies night, with Schooly in charge of the tunes.

6pm-2am, free cocktails till midnight for ladies.

Thursday 6 Analog Rooms, Venue TBC

More deep underground techno from the new night, with Alexi Delano headlining, check out fb.com/ analogroomdxb for location.

10pm-3am, Dhs70.

iLL Communications, N’Dulge

Deep DnB from Marcus Intalex, with support from Mach 4 and Somalie, while Dany Neville holds it down in the urban main room. 10pm3am, Dhs120.

INFUSION PICK! Maceo Plex, Trilogy

Trilogy’s huge bookings continue, with the man of the moment Maceo Plex headlining, with support from Mark Pickup. 10pm-3am, Dhs150.

MustHaveSoul vs Local Talk, 360

More soulful flavoured house from the MHS team, this time featuring a guest set from Sweden’s Mad Mats, with Tom Chubb, Simon Reid and Dan Chadwick in support. 6pm3am, free.

INFUSION PICK! Macy Gray, Irish Village

Live RnB, funk and soul from the quirky US star behind cult album On How Life Is. 7pm, Dhs175.

Yoga Festival, Westin 3 days of yoga lessons, music and meditation, with international teachers, DJs and musicians. 4pm-late, Dhs275 day pass, Dhs500 early bird weekend pass.

Repeated Friday and Saturday.

INFUSION PICK!

Viva Africa, Dubai Festival City

Huge line up of African artists, including D’Banj, Castro and Freshly Ground.

4pm-2am, Dhs195.

Yo Yo Honey Singh, Domeland

The Punjabi pop rapper performs live, with support from DJ Abhijeet and Tushar.

10pm-3am, Dhs100.

4Play, Nomad (Jumeirah Creek Hotel)

Creamfields, Yas Island

David Guetta, Armin Van Buuren and a host of support DJs take control for the 4th Creamfields.

8pm-4am, Dhs350.

No.1 Fridays feat.

Mims, N’Dulge

The ‘This Is Why I’m Hot’ singer performs live. 10.30pm-3am, ladies free before midnight, Dhs100 after. Weekly.

INFUSION PICK!

DUST feat.

Darshan Jesrani, Music Room

Excellent booking: Deep disco, house and techno from one half of Metro Area.

8pm-3am, Dhs75.

Rehab feat. Ron Carroll, xl

Soulful house from the Chicago-based DJ at this poplar monthly night.

12pm-3am, Dhs100.

Brand new night bringing together 4 floors and 4 different genres featuring some of Dubai’s best DJs. 3pm-2am, free entry until 10pm, Dhs50 girls and Dhs100 after 10pm.

Step On, Catwalk

audio tonic feat.

Tom Middleton, 360

INFUSION PICK!

Joyful, deep house from ‘The Jedi’ Tom Middleton from 8pm, with Mr Mr and JC on support. 4pm-3am, guestlist only 4-8pm via platinumlist.ae, free all night.

Indie and rock from Mark Evans and Rude Larry.

9pm-3am, free.

Saturday 8 Katy Perry & Usher, Meydan

The closing party for the World Parachuting Championships featuring ‘Teenage Dream’ star Katy Perry, and US hip hop star Usher. 6pm-late, Dhs450.

PARTY GUIDE

Friday 7

INFUSION PICK!

Look AND

LISTEN Music be the food of love, so read on...

> Music News > Tech Talk > Album Reviews > DJ Booth > Soundstage > DJ Top 10

Look and Listen

Music News...

New underground club in Beirut

As MaDJam summed up in our Creamfields feature, Beirut is either wildly commercial, or wildly underground. And joining BO18 on the dark side is new club Uberhaus, which is promising to bring out names like Claude von Stroke, DJ T and Soul Clap’ to the infamously wild Mediterranean city in the near future. Club promoter Romax Maurer said the club has been specifically designed to shift the emphasis from the table/ bottle service common elsewhere with ‘real music’ its primary focus.

“This is not where you are going to meet your future spouse.

And you’ll never tell these stories to your kids,” Uberhaus’ website promises. “Sounds like: Julio Bashmore, Eats Everything, Jamie Jones, Dirty Bird, Inner City, Donna, Mehdi, Michael and Bobby when he was still smoking crack.”

The uncompromising come-if-your-dare attitude was also reflected on the club’s Facebook page. “Reborn in the urban dark side of Beirut, in the deep end of Hamra, we are the all-dancing and all-punching social-faux-pas of this city’s nightscape. facebook.com/uberhausclub

MUSIC BITES Cocoon to close One of the stranger places i’ve played.

Luciano comments after he was invited to DJ at Ibiza’s Central Prison, as part of an exclusive charity gig for the prisoners as an incentive for being well behaved over the last year.

The brand might be very much alive and kicking — iLL Communications are hosting a Cocoon Hereos at N’Dulge on November 29 as proof — but Frankfurt nightclub Cocoon have confirmed they are closing permanently, in a statement posted on Sven Vath’s portal Cocoon.net.

“We are now planning our very last party on Friday, November the 30.” Boys Noize, MArkus Schulz, Alex Kenji, Extrawelt are amongst the last headline acts performing at the club, with no mention of Sven Vath or any other DJs for the final party.

Look and Listen RIP Martin Dawson

Acclaimed tech-house producer Martin Dawson died this week, 12 days after collapsing in his Berlin studio. Resident Advisor said the British expatriate was found on the floor of his studio after suffering a brain aneurysm. Hundreds of fans and friends paid tribute via Facebook and Twitter including his close collaborators Catz N Dogz.

“We are still in big shock and actually there are no words that can explain what we feel now,” they wrote on Facebook.

“Martin Dawson was one of the most important people we’ve ever met. If you have ever talked with Martin… you know….it’s very rare to meet somebody so honest, nice to other people and careful.”

Their words struck a chord with Martin’s own thoughts in his biography of his previous musical incarnation King Roc (2004-2007) in which he mused about his philosophy of life concluding ‘the journey, always, is as important as the destination…’

3 die at Steve Aoki show

Three women attending a Madrid Halloween rave headlined by Steve Aoki were crushed to death on Tuesday night, after a crowd stampede forced hundreds of revellers into a narrow passageway leading from the main dance floor. Press reports suggested the stampede happened after a flare was set off in the crowd, provoking panic from those close by. “There was a human bottleneck at the only exit, because all the others were closed, sealed,” a witness told Spanish newspaper El País. “There were people crying, crushed; security personnel dragging away those that were trapped.”

As people remained trapped in the passageway for over 30 minutes, the party continued in the rest of the 10,000 capacity arena, as safety officials feared further chaos. Writing about the incident on Facebook afterwards, Steve Aoki said he had no idea of the situation while he was performing.

“I was devastated to hear that three people had died during a crowd rush at one of the exits. The safety of my fans has always been my top priority, my prayers go to the families and loved ones during this difficult time.”

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E I C N Y A AN A T L H S NT RI ST T U J www.jumeirah.com/360

DOORS OPEN 6PM – 3AM WITH UPSTAIRS CLOSING AT 2AM l 360°, JUMEIRAH BEACH HOTEL FREE ENTRANCE l +21 l ID REQUIRED TABLE BOOKINGS : 056 682 6617 l INFO@INFUSION.AE l MORE INFO : WWW.INFUSION.AE TWITTER.COM/INFUSIONMAG l TWITTER.COM/360DUBAI

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Look and Listen

Album Reviews...

DJ Yoda - Chop Suey

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Do DJs make good producers? It’s an age old question — plenty of producers turn to DJing to make a living (Calvin Harris being one example), but surely DJs, who intrinsically know what makes the crowd lose it are in a good place to turn the (turn)tables?

Sadly in DJ Yoda’s case, his debut album is a mishmash of styles and influences, with little cohesive bond. Tracks are based on solid loops yet fail to progress or evolve: ‘Charlie Sheen’ for instance is a scuzzy DnB/hip hop track, but has little variation apart from a few tempo shifts, while some like ‘Barrier’ and ‘Sega RIP’ don’t even have that benefit, being an aimless march through funk and nostalgia territory respectively.

In bringing together so many different styles and collaborators — Roots Manuva, M.O.P, Scroobius Pip and more have all been roped in —Yoda has created an album that is far less than the sum of its part, ensuring a disparate, all-over-the-place album.

And while that’s the beauty of his DJ sets as TV theme tunes sit next to pulsating beats, it’s the downfall of this album.

Green Day - Dos

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They’ve done the seminal 90s album (Dookie), they’ve done politically motivated rock musicals (American Idiot) and they’ve done it all with a snot-faced, Disney-punk ethic that’s meant they’ve crossed the commercial/cool divide at ease, selling 65million albums, but never selling out.

And after their latest recording sessions blossomed, the band decided to release 3 albums consecutively. So following Uno!, comes Dos!, 13 tracks of frenetic pop punk. And while it doesn’t have the deep and meaningful message that’s driven a lot of their recent work, this is still Green Day employing all their resources, and most importantly, sounding like they’re having fun doing it. And that infectiousness spreads notably during the 90s guitar rush of ‘Wild One’ and the Blitzkrieg bop of ‘Ashley,’ which is a furious, pogoing pop punk tune. This isn’t a life changing album, but this is Green Day doing what they do best and that’s enough for us

Andy Buchan

Look and Listen ALBUM BITES Lindstrom - Smalhans



We’re not sure what’s in the water in Scandinavia, but Todd Terje, Prins Thomas and Lindstrom have all been supping from the same nu-disco meets deep house meets acid squelch cup. This six track EP finds Lindstrom in relatively experimental territory — EP closer Vafle-r (all the track titles are in Norwegian) could be on the soundtrack to a rebooted version of Sega classic game Out Run, all dynamic (and slightly cheesy) synths, while ‘Eg-ged-osis’ is the sort of strippedback euphoric headrush house that Deadmau5 tried so hard to conquer on his last album, and which Lindstrom makes sound so easy.

Bright Bright Machines - Theme From Bright Bright Machines EP

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The UK is, and we suspect, always will be a hotbed for electronic talent, and Bright Bright Machines - a meeting of musical minds of Guy Hatfield and James Cocozza - is another signpost that the UK knows where it’s at. The lead track on their debut EP is a pulsating, synth driven electrotech work out with a monster breakdown that you could see Fatboy Slim dropping while EP closer ‘Shining Lights’ is more scuzzy, driving electro reminiscent of Manchester noiseniks Autokratz. Big, loud and proud, expect to hear more from BBM soon.

MUSIC THAT MATTERS

Send tracks/edits/ remixes to andy@ infusion.ae

Chris Rayner - At-mosphere At-mosphere’s resident DJ drops a sky-high deep house mix. soundcloud.com/ chrisinhale Conan Liquid - Retrospective Backward looking house classics mix from the last 25 years by the Loca and Nasimi resident. soundcloud.com/conanliquid Belobrov - Give Me Vibes (Raxon remix) Another storming deep house remix from the audio tonic resident. soundcloud. com/raxon Snoop Dogg - Just A Man (Bassive remix) Big room electro remix of Snoop’s latest track from the French/Dubai producer. soundcloud.com/ bassivemusic Clarita - No Forever Polished piano pop from the Dubai singer-songwriter, in a similar vein to Leona Lewis’ power pop, out now on iTunes. claritadequiroz.com

PioneerDJ

Sennheiser

Amperior

A dream DJ set up would be 2 x Technics 1210s, 2 x Pioneer CDJ2000s an Allen and Heath mixer and a pair of ever-trusty HD25s. It’s not the fact that they’re lightweight, have a powerful output, fit snugly on your head, or that they virtually never break, the best thing about Sennheiser HD25s is that every single component in them is replaceable, meaning your investment will be going strong even when you’ve gone deaf after years of speaker abuse.

Put simply, any DJ worth his weight in vinyl will know all about the Sennheisser HD25s. So it was an obvious move for Sennheiser to adapt their winning product to the non-DJ market, hence the Amperior.

Now finished in aluminum, they have the same closed design which helps keep out background noise (and stops you annoying your neighbour with headphone bleed), and they still fit as comfortably as the DJ versions. Soundwise, it’s business as usual, with crystal-clear reproduction throughout bass, mid and treble.

They’ve also tweaked the design for the street, adding in an integrated remote control that you can

use to change the volume and select tracks, but also acts as a voice control feature. It was hard to see how Sennheiser could better the HD25, but thanks to these additions, they’ve opened up their industry standard headphones to a brand new market.

Highly recommended.

Sennheiser Amperior: Dhs1,399 from select Virgin Megastores and Jumbo Mall of the Emirates.

DJ Booth: Rone Jaxx

One of the most talented DJs in town, Rone is a hip hop DJ fast approaching his 3rd decade of DJing in Dubai‌

One thing you might not know about me is... I designed the Dubai Shopping Festival logo at the age of 16 for an advertising and design company and got Dhs300 for it. Then I saw it the next month on all the bags.

My worst ever job was... In a chemical factory where they made ink for pens. The new law closed down all teenage discos and the Above 21 law was initiated and I was under age, and limited to doing house parties and proms, so I needed the extra money.

My favourite ever record is... Frank Sinatra’s ‘That’s Life.’

DJing is much like... Being a Dr, the more operations you do, the comfortable you get and the more knowledge you gain, the more lasting your career.

Dubai’s clubbing scene is like... Herding, you have to make sure they stay in the designated area and follow your gestures, and if half of them go in one direction, the rest of the herd will follow.

I’m really proud of... Moments when people say I influenced them to be a DJ or follow their hearts and take up music.

I can’t live without... Obviously music, food, movies, family, loved ones, Technics 1210s or even 1200s.

My biggest DJ achievement to date is.... Being the most influential DJ in the UAE. I’m reaching the big 20th year of DJing, and the fact that I’m still around and people still consider me one of the best after all this time is achievement enough for me. Opening up for DJ Jazzy Jeff’s first Dubai show and opening for Kanye West would also be up there I guess.

If you could DJ in any decade which would it be.. Future wise, 2090. Past wise, in the late 1970s, or early 80s.

I’m not a politician but... I hate politricks? soundcloud.com/ronejaxx

Soundstage

Fatiniza

A well-established talent in Dubai, Colombian-born singer Fatiniza is currently working on her latest album

How would you describe your sound?

It’s best described as Pop/Rock. It’s too poppy to be rock and and too Rocky for Pop so Pop/ Rock. It’s a good mix of both so appeals to a wider audience.

Being a musician in Dubai is much like... Being a needle in a haystack! It is very difficult to get noticed and difficult to find.

My first musical influence was... Alejandra Guzman. She is a Mexican Pop/Rock artist. She has such strong vocals, she really is a great singer. She was big in Latin America in the 80s.

The best way to get noticed in Dubai is... This can take some time so be patient. It is easier to get a gig if you are different and I mean playing a different genre of music. Get yourself a good band together and rehearse so you are tight.

Get in touch with local magazines/newspapers and try to get some reviews or editorial. They are always looking for content so be interesting. As always work hard and keep at it. I believe nothing is impossible.

What’s the best gig you’ve played?

I would have to say the Formula 1 a couple of years ago. It was by far the biggest audience I have played for. There must have been 3,000 + people there all singing and dancing having a great time.

Artist motto?

Nothing is impossible. It is also the name of my new album, coming soon.

What’s the one thing you’d like to request on your rider?

The same thing I always request, a SM58 Beta wireless Mic with in ear monitors. But if we are talking about a wish list, the same Mic but Pink and studded with Swarovski crystals...

Talent shows are... A gamble. They are competitions and usually biased to what the judges like or dislike. You might actually be great at what you do but you might not come out on top so be prepared to be upset with the results. I am not a fan of talent shows especially in this region. fatiniza.com

Look and Listen

DJ TOP 1234 56 78910

To submit your Top 10, send in the below format to andy@infusion.ae

Carl

Trilogy Rooftop, Fridays

Da Sendri

Nasimi, Stranded, Media One

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Dirty Channels - On The Way (Original Mix) S.K.A.M., Hector Couto - Mantra (Original Mix) Amber Jolene, Nolan - Go Slow (Finnebassen Remix) Adana Twins - Everyday (Amine Edge & Dance Remix) Luca C & Brigante - Flash OF Light (Solomun Remix) Miguel Campbell - Not That Kind Of Girl Ben Pearce - What I Might Do (Club Edit) Rob Made - The Way I See (Havens & Hart Remix) Miguel Campbell - Flight School (Original Mix) Fritz Kalkbrenner - Get A Life (Original Mix)

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Sunshine Jones - Warm Sun On My Face (Dub) - Nite Grooves Alfred Azzetto - More Of you (Origional) - Purple Music Aki Bergan - Into My Soul (Copyright remix) - Papa Records Maceo Plex Feat Joi Cardwell - Love Somebody Else (original) - Ellum Audio AudioWhores - Trapped (origional) - Blacksoul ADE 2012 Sampler Franky Fresh, Billie Brown - Saying Nothing (origional) Maya Jane Coles - No Sympathy (Djuma Soundsystem Mix) Sonny Fodera - Someone To Count On - Cajual Records Bobby Caldwell - Do For Love (Get Down Edit) - Get Down Edits Jaimy and Kenny D - Keep On Touching Me (Noir Remix) Nightbird Music

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Felipe L - Go To Deep (Marco Grandi Remix) - Itom Records Johan Vermeulen - Outside In (Original Mix) - Dutchie Music Grant Nelson - Di5c0nn3ct (Original Mix) - Freeze Dried Hermit (Manuel Belgrano's Overdose Mix) - DeepWit Recordings Beat Factory Feat. Kamaka Pahinui - Meditate (BiG AL Dub) Baroque Records Highland Brothers Inc. - Easy Rider - Lens Media Side b.

Sebastian Davidson - Mijo (Edmund Remix) - Groovecollection Harlem Knights - Bad Boys (Onur Ozman Remix) – iRecords BiG AL - New York New York (Original Mix) - Oversized X Records The Disclosure Project - Swerve (BiG AL's Remix) - Apollo

BiG AL (Ready Mix, Haute Musique, Baroque)

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9.

10.

Smokingroove Nasimi/N’Dulge/ Illuminati

1. Smokingroove - I Don't Wanna Leave Here (Moodymanc Mix) - Gold Drama 2. Maya Jane Coles - Sick Panda - Dogmatik Records 3. Moby - Wait for me (Paul Kalkbrenner Mix) - Little Idiot 4. Azari & III - Manic (DJ Sneak Maniatico Mix) - Turbo Records 5. Jem Atkins - In At the Deep End - Gold Drama 6. Jay Lumen - Not Like That - 100% Pure 7. Smokingroove - Deep Lover - Illuminati Recordings 8. Hollen, Gonzalez & Gonzalo - Format it - Snatch! Recordings 9. Metodi Hristov - Quake - Bla Bla 10. DJ Sneak - Party of All - (unreleased)

Looking

GOOD Stuff to brighten up our world.

> Peace and music > Movies

Peace

and music

Finding sanctuary in Dubai isn’t always the easiest with its endless cycle of work, mid-week parties and a 24/7 lifestyle.

Thankfully the first ever Yoga and Music festival is here to help you switch off. We spoke to leading yoga expert Peewee Sanchez, who gives us the perfect yoga run down for the morning after the night before, while Pierre Ravan talks us through his headline set.

Yoga for Hangovers

One of the best excuses for not doing yoga on a Friday or Saturday morning is having had too many drinks the night before. Yes, after a little overindulgence the last thing you want to do is move around a lot, but actually yoga can make you feel better and even speed up the natural detoxification process that your body goes into. But what kind of yoga practice is suitable? It depends on how bad you feel.

First of all before you even think about doing any kind of exercise, you need to make sure you are properly hydrated.

My recommendation is that first thing in the morning when you wake up, have around half a liter of water.

If your hangover is mild, then I find the best thing to do is some hot, sweaty, brisk yoga such ad ashtanga (mysore style) primary series or even go to a Bikram class. “Lighting the Inner Fire” this way will burn out any toxins and the sweat

will eliminate them from your system, then drink even more water afterwards.

However if it’s really bad, including dizziness and migraines, then what you need is some gentle restorative work to gently ease the body to speed up the detox process and also to soothe your throbbing head. Here is a sequence of poses that can do just that: • Makrasana – lie flat on your belly with your legs wide apart and your feet turned outwards, upper chest lifted, head on elbows. Stay for one to two minutes, breathing into your belly. This massages all internal organs, stimulating them gently.

• Lie on your back and do Pavanmuktasana: hug one knee to your chest and take your forehead to your knee.

Hold 5 to 10 breaths, do the other side, then repeat one more time on each leg.

• Supta Virasana: still on your back, soles of the feet together and knees apart. Take both your arms over your head and grab your elbows, shoulderblades

resting on floor, chin slightly tucked in so

back of the neck is long. Hold 1 to 2 minutes • Virasana (hero pose): kneel down and sit on your heels, if you can’t do this comfortably put a rolled up towel between your sitting bones and your heels. Keep your back as straight as possible, and do some alternate nostril breaths (inhale thru one nostril, exhale out the other, then switch sides) Do for around 1 to 2 minutes.

• Bharadvajasana: from virasana, put one sitting bone on a block or the floor, and the other is on your heel, inhale lift your body tall and exhale turn your torso, twisting away from your feet. Twisting movements help stimulate liver and kidneys, speeding up the body’s natural elimination. Hold for 1 to 2 minutes per side.

• Ardha Matsyendrasana (half lord of the fishes pose, also known as seated twist): This is the best pose for stimulating liver, kidneys, and digestive system to start moving the alcohol out of your system.

Sit with one knee up, foot on other side of the opposite thigh. Inhale lift your body straight and exhale twist, trying

to get the knee and opposite

armpit together. Hug the leg as close as you can to your body.

Hold for 5 to 10 breath, repeat again for both sides.

• Savasana: lie flat on your back for 5 to 10 minutes of deep relaxation.

After your yoga practice is the best time to meditate. The best thing you can do after your yoga practice is to take some time and meditate on the reasons why you chose to overindulge if it makes you feel this way the next day.

Part of the benefits of a solid yoga practice is the increased awareness of yourself. You become more conscious of how your body feels, and gain more discipline over your senses. This means that there is hope yet that one day, you will be able to stop yourself from having that extra glass of bubbles or hops, and not have to feel like this anymore.

Tune in, turn out

Music can obviously enhance moods, how do you aim to chill things out at the Yoga Festival?

I wouldn’t call it chill but rather starting from chill and let them absorb what they have got during the day and then try to take the audience on a journey.

Can you give us an example of some of the music you’re going to play?

From spiritual Drum&bass, with an ambient feel to old down tempo remixes of artist like Nusrat fateh Ali khan progressing to a slower and deeper house music style. Maybe a less clubby music I use to play but it will still be my elements.

What does the term chill out music mean to you?

To me, chill out music style is not necessary for chilling out, but is rather a sound to let you be in a space where you can let it all go and be tuned with your self comfortably.

How do you switch off and chill out in Dubai?

I meditate every morning at 5:00 am.

Dubai Yoga Fest, Westin Dubai, Dec 6-8, 4-11pm Thursday 6, 8am-11pm Friday and Saturday.

1 day pass Dhs275, early bird 3 day pass Dhs500. www.dubaiyogafest.com

MOVIE Seven

Psychopaths Oddball underworld crime drama starring Colin Farrell in the lead as a struggling screenwriter who becomes embroiled in the LA criminal scene. If you liked In Bruges, you’ll love this.

Classification: 18 Director: Martin McDonagh Starring: Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, Christopher Walken

Twilight: Breaking Dawn 2

Vampires, blah blah blah, longing looks, blah blah blah, Werewolves!, ‘Did he forgive her in real life then?,’ more longing looks, epic CGI fight, and finally an EMO track to soundtrack the credits.

Classification: 15 Director: Bill Condon Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson

PREVIEWS Killer Joe

The re-invention of Matthew McConaughey continues as he stars in the hard-hitting drama that delves deep into family ties, and what you’ll do to protect them.

Classification: 18 Director: William Friedkin Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Emily Hirsch.

Cloud Atlas Recreating the sprawling novel of the same name in film form was never going to be easy, but the Wachowski siblings (behind The Matrix) have done their best to recreate the time-jumping drama, with strong performances from the stand out cast.

Classification: 15 Director: Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski Starring: Tom Hanks, Ben Wishaw, Hugh Grant

Looking

CLOSER Opinions, thoughts and jiberish...

> Weird News > Pan Arabia Enquirer > Cool Test > Big Q > Angry Monkey

Looking Closer

Weird News...

Is it a bird, is it a plane?

No, it’s a sky-diving cat

How do you stand out in today’s over-crowded advertising market? If you’re Swedish insurance company Folksam, you ask your customers for ideas and then take the best one and run with it. Or, in their case, fly with it, as the winning suggestion from Eva was for sky-diving cats to spell out her name in the sky while R Kelly’s ‘I Believe I Can Fly’ played in the background. Google skydiving cat and you’ll find the excellent video. NB no cats were actually hurled out of planes to make this slice of marketing magic.

WEIRD BITES It is possible to take DNA from the poo and trace it back to the dog and its owner A Kent parish council want to use DNA testing on dog waste in a bid go catch owners who allow pets to soil the pavement.

Sign of the times A US woman who drove her car on a pavement to pass a school bus has been forced to stand holding a sign describing herself as an “idiot”. The unusual sentence was imposed by a judge in Cleveland, Ohio on Shena Hardin, 32, after she was caught on camera trying to go round the bus as it unloaded children. The sign she was made to hold read: “Only an idiot would drive on the sidewalk to avoid a school bus.” Hardin stood for an hour in freezing temperatures at a busy road junction, ignoring passers-by and drivers honking their horns. Lisa Kelley, whose nine-year-old daughter uses the bus, said: “She’s an idiot, just like her sign says. She did this almost every day last year.”

panarabiaenquirer.com

Red Bull to sponsor US military drones WASHINGTON: The Pentagon has announced a groundbreaking sponsorship deal with Red Bull, which will see the US military’s fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles branded with the energy drink’s distinctive livery.

“Sponsorship is an effective and mutually beneficial way of supplementing America’s defense budget,” said the Pentagon’s Edison Parkfast. “Thanks, Red Bull, for giving real ‘wings’ to our drones!”

“We are delighted to contribute to the war on terror,” added Red Bull spokesman Max Heimler. “Red Bull always seeks to take life to new extremes – whether it’s on the racetrack, at the edge of space, or over remote Afghani caves sheltering suspected terror cells.”

The new Red Bull-branded drones will be deployed from the beginning of next month. Rumoured future deals with KFC and IKEA are yet to be confirmed.

The Pan-Arabia Enquirer is the Middle East’s premier source of satirical news.

This means that it’s entirely made up and not intended, in any way whatsoever, to be taken as factual.

Cool REFRESHED

BY FIJI WATER

KRISTIAN

SCHOOLY

They’re the two DJs behind the recently re-launched Soulful Sessions every Thursday at iKandy, but who’s got the minerals when it comes to our Cool Test?

Have you ever used your name or fame to get out of trouble?

My name is possibly the last one that you want to mention if you are No, But I have used David Craig’s. looking to stay ‘out’ of trouble.

My nickname at school was?

I wasn’t popular enough at school to Valders. warrant one.

Have you ever injured yourself at work?

Too many to mention, once on the No, but my suit jacket did catch board room table at my old Radio fire at the Christmas Party one Station after the Christmas party… year. I was wearing it at the time.

It’s not big and clever but…

Answer’s to the name Kristian.

I’m gonna do it anyway.

My best claim to fame is…

The goal I scored past ‘Minty’ in an episode of Eastenders (it took three attempts as he pulled off an Being me… amazing save by accident on the first take). Well ‘Ard (the dog) ran on the pitch at one point and bit a player… true).

Describe your best track in 5 words...

Mindblastingly seriously eargasmic It’s in the night life. aural musicality.

What’s the best insult you could give each other?

Schooly… NYE… Nasimi Beach…

Nice blouse, do they do them for men Setting up his Serato ahahahahaha! as well?

Your answer to everything is…

Yeah! Great idea, let’s have a Always the last word. meeting to discuss it

The verdict: Kristian by a nose, Eastenders fame is a hard one to beat!

Looking Closer

The Big Question

Conan Manchester: Justin Timberlake’s Justified album. It’s amazing, and I often use it as a reference in the studio for production.

Dan Fahy: The Corrs album Talk on Corners, absolute cracker of an album.

They’re like modern-day

Olly Wood: The Twilight Saga.

May Al Abdali: Zombies.

?

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?

Emily Kidmann-Lee: Pickled onions and/ or gherkins!

Serenella Ferraro: Ice cream!

Kate Turney: Music wise, probably the Bee Gees or Phil Collins - my secret is out!

Dave Spours: Jason Statham films, I’ll watch anything with him in.

Refreshed by FIJI water

ANGRY MONKEY The Monkey likes to party — hell, we’ve all seen the Gulf News front cover of me butt-naked playing pool with Harry in Las Vegas. I’ve been there, snorted that and lost the t-shirt at a 2 day long after-party to a light fingered Chimpanzee.

But The Monkey has to draw the line at getting Brit trashed. You know the sort: they’re the ones still wearing sunglasses at Sandance at 9pm, stumbling around like a concussed Bambi, spilling drinks, trying to snog palm trees and generally making Brandon Block look sober.

But worst of all, they then post it all over FB and Twitter the next day: ‘Oh God, so hungover, don’t remember a thing about last night, wow!’

So not only have you entirely wasted a night out, and have no recollection of that life-changing set/dancing like Peter Stringfellow, you’re now broadcasting to the world that you’ve just spend a small African country’s GDP on a night out and have nothing to show for it apart from frequent dry retching and a sense of guilt to rival OJ Simpson.

Well done you.

Monkey Out...

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