Monday Choon: ARTBAT - Dance

 

Ukrainian DJ and music producer duo ARTBAT who are mainly known for their kick ass remixes to already hot tunes have been around for a while, giving us their unique blend of melodic house and techno fusion which has taken to many over the last few years. Their remix of We Are The People of Empire of the Sun still remains one of my favourites to this day. "Dance" which is their latest offering was released on Friday last week so its hot off the press is a continuation of their techno/ house fusion and has a really upbeat and catchy bassline to go with it. It's already been gathering quite a few fans from their sets over the pass month so we're glad they dropped it this early. 

Monday Choon: Cara Frew - Dance

We're bringing some local flavour this week as apposed to International artist that seems to be the norm in this segment. Cara Frew's career has skyrocketed over the past few years, she's performed to some of the biggest crowds locally and in the world, including Coachella. I saw her perform live at Ultra and Corona Sunsets Festival, her energy she has on stage is mesmerizing and her voice is nothing short of beautiful. She currently is based in LA where she's signed onto Sony records and recently debuted her new single Dance. It has been played for about a month now on the local stations and has been received really well. It's currently one of my favourite tracks at the moment so it only fair that I feature it on the blog. Enjoy!

Mystic India comes to Durban - Competition

                  

After entertaining audiences around the world with electrifying and mind blowing performances to sold out shows, the much anticipated Mystic India in association with Zee TV makes it way to South African shores, to leave local audiences spell bound with brilliant dancers, breathtaking acrobats, renowned musicians, extravagant sets and stunning visual effects. 

Mystic India has been seen by over half a million people in it's world wide performances and tours. Critics have only spoken of high praise for the show which features a cast of 22 talented performers in a show that takes you through the journey of India and it's dance. This production intertwines a mesmerizing combo: Traditional India meets the urban streets of Mumbai and New York. The audience will be taken through a cultural expose' of the various dance forms through the many states in India, from Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat as well the evolution of Bollywood films via a visual display that fuses dance, theatre and special effects. 

It's like a Bollywood spectacular but live on stage, with 750 lavish costume changes, and a celebratory production which is directed and choreographed by the prominent choreographer and production master, Amit Shah, and produced by US-based AATMA Performing Arts, of which Shah is the founder and creative director.  Shah is no stranger to such productions as he has been known to have a critical eye and creative disposition with his many years of experience in the world of dance, theatre and media as well as working on Bollywood film sets and choregrpahing stage productions with top actor and former Miss World, Priyanka Chopra. 

"If you have ever wanted to visit India, this production is your direct flight there. Mystic Indian will blow you all the way to the small villages of India to the fast-paced streets of Mumbai and New York. Audiences will get it all!" - said Shah about Mystic India.

South African audiences can look forward to this spectacular on stage performance that features a female lead of Kruti Shah, an internationally distinguished dancer and choreographer who shot to fame as a Top 10 finalist on the dance reality show, Just Dance. She's trained in modern forms of movement, such as ballet, pointe, tap, hip-hop, jazz and modern. Kruti also developed an interest in more ancient Indian forms of dance, particularly Bharatnyatam and Kathak. 

This larger than life Bollywood extravaganza will be visiting Durban on the 23rd of April at Durban's ICC and then moves on to Johannesburg for 3 nights at The Teatro Monecasino from the 29th of April till the 1st of May 2016. Tickets range between R185 and R485 and will be available through Computicket and its various retail outlets. Bookings are now open so make sure you get your tickets now! for more information visit their website: www.mysticindiatheshow.com

Competition time! the Bucket in association with Mystic India is giving away a set of double tickets to one lucky reader for the Durban show on the 23rd of April 2016. All you have to do is Tweet me @AMG133 "I want to win with #MysticIndia and #theBucket". Competition closes on the 12th of April and winners will be notified by Twitter. 

Bucket Scene: The Dutch - ReImagined

Many a Durban night goer would be familiar with the Dutch in the Umhlanga Village, popular for it's classic 70's style decor, live bands and great bar but the owners of this fine establishment felt that it wasn't what they had envisioned for the place. After a brief shutdown in February, the Dutch reopened it's doors to the public and I was invited to sample what the new look, well rather "re imagined" Dutch is all about. 

I get asked all the time for popular night spots for people to visit and dine at, and also places that offer live entertainment, whilst there are plenty of places in Durban that offer great food, there was a gap in the market for a place that offered both. The Dutch always prided themselves in hosting some of the best local talents on their stage but their food menu was limited to tapas like variety but that has all changed now. The team has been working tirelessly behind the scenes to bring you a menu that takes your taste buds on a gastronomical adventure. 

The Dutch now operates as premium dinning and entertainment venue, with them operating from Tuesday to Saturday with live entertainment scheduled for Friday and Saturday. Unlike before, booking is a must if you want to visit the Dutch as the venue can accommodate 100 seated guest and a few more around the bar. Since the venue is now a restaurant, crowd control is paramount to ensure that diners have the best dinning experience. Whilst still enjoying themselves to the entertainment on offer.

The night of my visit, Durban's very own Gangs of Ballet were performing live. With their performance scheduled for 10pm it gave diners ample time to enjoy dinner before the show started, speaking of dinner, it's definitely not to be skipped, the menu is a mixture of local favourites with a twist only the Dutch could pull off. One does not have to do a full dinner as tapas and cocktails can be had either at your table or at the bar. 

For starters I opted for the Prawn Samoosa, which consist of a generous amount of prawns and yellow potato filling served in 3 golden brown crispy fried samoosa's served on a bed of cucumber raita and paprika oil. It's the perfect balance of hot and cool, with flavours to awaken your sense for the next course. 

For mains they have seven options to chose from, whether you looking for something light like a burger or sliders to a fillet steak served on cheese polenta and red wine jus. They even one of the few restaurants I know of that serve Norwegian Salmon that is specially imported and prepared in miso and honey glaze, accompanied with umami courgette stir fry, sweet confit cherry tomatoes and wasabi spinach mayo.

Whilst the first and second course might be quite a mouthful, be sure to save some space for dessert! With the Dutch being from the same brainchild as Remo's and Old Town Italy who are both renowned for their pastries and desserts, most particularly the ever popular cronut, you know the dessert menu is going to be good. While I opted for the lemon brulee, which was more of a deconstructed lemon meringue, a friend at the table went for the coconut macaroons. Both of which were exceptional and left us wanting more.

With our hunger satisfied, it was time for us to settle in and enjoy the sounds of the guys from Gangs of Ballet who took us away with their wonderful melodies in a great unplugged set whilst enjoying our drinks for the rest of the night. It was truly a great evening out and an experience that was missing in the Durban night. Whether you go for dinner or just for a quiet drink, the Dutch will certainly cater for even the most distinguished taste. 

For  booking inquiries and more information,

Telephone: 060 588 5674

Website: http://thedutch.co.za/

Facebook: Dutchism

Instagram: the.dutch

Address: Cnr of Chartwell Dr & Lighthouse Rd, Umhlanga

Monday Choon: Tiesto, Nari & Milani vs Delayers - Move to the rhythm

They expression says "too many cooks spoil the broth", well its a good thing these are DJ's and they ain't cooking, they just making good music. Tiesto, legend, does it again with this one, he gets the help of Italian duo Nari & Milani along with the Delayers of the USA. The song is kicking ass worldwide, with DJ's dropping it left, right and centre. It deserves all the play time its getting because its just one of those tracks that gets you going.

Monday Choon: One Republic - If I lose myself tonight vs M83 - Midnight City (Dr Pihl mashup)

Mashups are risky to do, there have been many done in the past and most of them end up being terrible and more of an annoyance than a pleasure to listen to. MTV back in the day did some decent ones but apart form that no other really strikes the mind till now. Dr Pihl...no not the TV Psycho...logist as @MishToTheD and @StephanieBe teased me about last week on twitter. Its pronounced "Doctor Peel", has taken probably one of the hottest songs at the moment and mashed it with one of my all time favourite tracks by those French guys M83. The two are extremely awesome songs but the production value of this mashup really stands out, anyone can make a remix but you need skill to make mashup of this quality.