We got everybody's favourite Nicky Romero on the blog this week with his latest track "You Used To". If you, like me have been listening to podcast after podcast this lockdown, you'd know that Nicky's Protocol Radio has been one of the most streamed over the past year and with good reason too. The podcast is streamed live every week from his Protocol Studios and he keeps the hits coming but its lovely to hear his new work coming through. This track harks back to some of the early stuff Nicky used to make but on a much more mellow vibe. It has that great electronic beat to the track with a steady bassline which is assisted by the vocals. Overall, a very cool track to get the week going.
Italian producer trio Meduza have created quite a name for themselves this year, mainly with their hit track "Piece of your heart" shooting to the top of many charts around the world. Their follow up track which was released in early October "Lose Control" has the potential to do the same if not better it. Hence we decided to feature it today on the blog, it features the vocals of Becky Hill and help of the Goodboys, the video embedded is from their live performance at the Worx in London from two weeks ago.
In celebration of after hearing that Above & Beyond being announced in the phase 2 line up for Ultra South Africa next year, we decided it would be fitting to have one of their tracks as our featured song of the week. Always, with vocals by Zoe Johnston was debuted at ABGT 300 in the USA last year and has since become quite a favourite with fans of the uplifting trance genre, with it being quite a mellow track, the guys at Above & Beyond decided to up the bpm a bit by making a Club Mix just got ABGT350, the music video for the track is quite spectacular as its shot high up in snow capped mountains but we have the song live from their ABGT350 show in Hong Kong. Do enjoy!
Four years ago Above & Beyond, left their DJ booth and played a live acoustic session to a small crowd at Porchester Hall in London. The show was recorded and then uploaded to YouTube, I don't think they could imagine the type of attention it drew. With a full orchestra playing along to some of their classic trance tracks with live vocals left chills in the spines of many of their fans and made the hair on the back of you neck stand. Since then, people have been wondering if they would do it again, and last month they did. Above & Beyond Acoustic was back, this time playing at a much larger venue, the Hollywood Bowl. It's an open air amphitheater, keeping the trend from ABGT250 which they played at the Gorge Amphitheater. Today we bring you one of the tracks from this years session, a cult classic from them, Sun & Moon. Enjoy.
Festivals around SA are becoming a big thing of recent, whether it be Craft Beer Festivals, Street Food Festivals, Craft Gin Festivals and I could really go on, but you get the point. The locals have really taken to these and love spending the day out with friends and family, enjoying what that there is to offer at each of these unique festivals. With this in mind, it was only a matter of time before someone decided to combine all the favourite craft elements into one quintessential occasion, the organisers dub it "a vacation for the senses where one would enjoy everything from craft beer and gourmet food vendors, to thrilling live entertainment and music, to artisan gin and epicurean desserts."
For many, it ticks all the right boxes and there's a variety for everyone's taste so it is the perfect festival to attend, plus being on the public holiday weekend, there's no need to worry about the hangover the next day. Some of the listed attractions are a live music stage, loads of craft brewers, artisanal gin, scrumptious food vendors, secure parking, fully stocked bar for non-beer/ gin drinkers and the festival is for all ages, being a family friendly event with a kids area.
Catch live performances on the day from local artists such as Easy Freak, The Kickstands, Lubz (ECR) Catlike Thieves and Gavin Ferguson Music. Tickets are available online via Webtickets or at Pick n Pay. Note, Webtickets do add a small booking fee upon purchase. Prices for tickets are as follows.
Adults phase 1: R130
Adults phase 2: R150
Kids (ages 2-13): R60
Phase 1 tickets are currently 53% sold, so hurry up if you want that discount! The festival takes place on the Kings Park outer fields, with free on field parking allocated for the day, however, parking will be offered on a first come, first served basis as space is limited. Organisers encourage attendees to carpool or to use taxi services such as Uber or Taxify. Alternatively you can make use of parking spaces in Kings Park Stadium Complex or surrounding areas.
For more information, visit their Facebook page, or email them at info@tasteaway.co.za
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.
As you all must have heard by now, 5FM in conjunction with Metro FM are bringing the multi award winning Nicki Minaj to South Africa, and Durban has made the cut for a show! The Queen of Hip Hop will be gracing our shores in March and will be performing LIVE at Moses Mabhida Stadium on the 20th of March 2016. Tickets go on sale from 9am tomorrow morning on TicketPro
For more information, stay tuned to 5FM and Metro FM, also follow their various social media streams for updates on ticket sales and event information.
Probably one of the stand out singles of recent from Armin van Buuren is his track with Mr Probz which has hit most radio stations and top 40 charts. It's one of my favourites as well but as much as I like the original, one of the up and coming DJ's Mark Sixma whom AvB is a massive fan of has bumped up the track a bit. The video below is the festival version which AvB played live at Ultra Music Festival in Miami, enjoy!
