Creamfields will feature eight hours of thumping sounds, spread across a main arena and two massive tents on December 7 this year. It’s going to be an epic party at Du Arena, with sets from some of the coolest names in electronic music – so get your glow sticks ready.
Two of the world’s biggest electronic acts have been announced to headline this year’s event: David Guetta and Armin van Buuren, along with AN21 and Max Vangeli, ARTY, Riva Starr, Aly & Fila, Genie, Stacktraxxx, Angelo & Asphyxia, Big AL, Ronin & Nesta, Mister Outlaw, Mark Pickup, Natalie Brogan and Immaculate Touch. And Lebanese DJ maDJam will be kicking off the whole gig. He told TOAD what to expect at this year’s festival.
What do you love about DJing?
Being able to meet so many great people that unite for the love of dance music is amazing. It’s like a constant sociology study travelling to different cities and experiencing new places. Since I started over 20 years ago DJing has been about making people enjoy one of the highlights of their life and I’m always honoured to satisfy them in my own way. DJing comes from the heart whether it be a small party with 200 people or a huge event with 20,000, I’m passionate about both.
How are you going to get the crowd going at Creamfields?
This is my fourth time being with Creamfields Abu Dhabi and depending on the schedule, I will play some of my favourite tracks to fit in with the energy of the venue. I’ve had so many great experiences playing the Du Arena over the last few years including the David Guetta warm-up back in March, and hopefully Creamfields will be as much fun or more.
How is playing in Abu Dhabi different to your home town of Beirut?
I’m always in a different city every week and collecting feedback from the crowd is how I determine what to play, it doesn’t matter where I am to be honest. In Beirut the crowd are 90 percent Lebanese and I know so many people personally at the club nights/events so it’s like a reunion every time. The cool thing about Abu Dhabi and the UAE in general is there’s no other place where there is such a diverse crowd from different backgrounds that all come together on one dancefloor.
Which other DJs do you admire?
There are so many great DJs I’ve met and supported at events across the Middle East and Europe over the years. Hands down my all time favorite person in the scene is Carl Cox. He has been in the business for over 30 years and he just turned 50 a few months ago yet still has a good time at every gig he plays whether it be at Space in Ibiza or some cool warehouse in Germany. He’s always positive, smiling and truly passionate about what he does while keeping it real. There’s no arrogance like some other big names and he’s friendly to everyone. I never really had a DJ idol until we toured together in 2006. You can’t not love Carl!
What do you think of the dance music scene across the Middle East? What is it lacking?
There are some great venues and promoters that are thinking about the future and planning the next big thing. However with the exception of the UAE there aren’t as many risk-takers as there were a few years ago. Countries like Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt have all hosted some of the biggest names in the dance music world over the last decade, but none have done anything new recently. I’m sure the political and economic situations affect their decisions, but everyday people need to escape the daily stresses of their lives and what better way than to dance it off? We’re here to help people enjoy life and hope there are more promoters out there like Flash that would continue to bring back the good times we all need to survive. I could go on for hours in more detail but would need a couple more pages and a lot of ink.
Tickets for Creamfields are on sale now. Go to www.thinkflash.ae or call 800FLASH (35274). General admission tickets will be available at Dhs275, VIP standing tickets (21+) at Dhs595.
