The Cape Town Electronic Music Festival which started off five years ago as a niche underground event has rapidly evolved into a renowned event on the international dance music festival calendar.
All over the world South Africa is starting to be seen as the Capital of House Music and has in fact evolved into one of the epicenters of Electronic Dance Music incorporating the vast array of styles that the genre incorporates.
In December 2015 a CNN article attempted to explain "How South Africa became the center of the house music world" and as far back as July 2010 already, The National from the UAE, which is Abu Dhabi Media's first English-language publication, declared "House finds a new home: South Africa, a hotbed of contemporary musical innovation"
The organisers of the 2016 edition of the Cape town Electronic Music Festival to be held at the Cape Town City Hall running from Friday 5th February to Sunday 7th February say that they continue to be committed to establishing the local scene on the international stage.
"From a genuinely 'underground' starting point, it has been slowly growing and has finally earned its rightful place alongside the dance capitals of the world, beautifully illustrated by South Africa being awarded Dance Nation of the Year 2015 at the recent International DJ Awards ceremony"
The DJ Awards which is an annual international showcase which has been running in Ibiza since 1998.
SA House Music DJ and producer Black Coffee who featured at the CTEMF2014 received the Dance Nation Award on behalf of our country was, also awarded the Breakthrough DJ Award at the same ceremony.
They continue: "The Cape Town Electronic Music Festival is the celebration of a scene coming of age. It marks the point at which the electronic music scene in South Africa has been globally recognized as an industry that has attained the state of being self-sustainable."
"The CTEMF is not about how many feet pass through the door, nor booking the biggest acts to ensure radio play or getting as many 'likes' on Facebook as possible. It's about communicating the ethos, passion and musical creativity that has driven the scene from its early days to its current position as a global player in the world of electronic music."
Do not be fooled into thinking that the CTEMF is simply a bunch of DJ's performing at an over- hyped event in a fantastically great venue.
Besides that many of the DJ outfits are veritable international entertainers and that their sets include live elements such as instrumentation and vocals, there are also a number of electronic music live bands on the line-up and even one of Cape Town’s best known Hip Hop groups, Driemanskap, who are considered to be the innovators of the Spaza style of Hip Hop.
Another live performance act we at bruinou.com believe will find mass appeal among festival goers is Crosby & Friends. Crosby Bolani who also goes by the name Digi Analog is an internationally acclaimed entertainer from Gugulethu, Cape Town, and he's fresh off yet another European tour. His combinations of Roots. Dubstep, Hip Hop and Dancehall makes for an energetic live set that keeps crowds hyped up right up to the last track.
Video of DJ Black Coffee CTEMF2014
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The festival has in the past, more as a matter of "default attraction" and not necessarily a case of purposeful exclusivism, seemed to cater for a predominantly white patronage but Dance Music was never intended to be pigeon-holed and it is now clear that as the festival is growing the organisers and promoters of the event are consciously aiming to not only reflect a diversity in their line-up but also to continue attracting a growing number of people from all the diverse population groups in Cape Town and indeed the country.
The is evident in their inclusion in the line-up of one of specifically Cape Town and indeed South Africa's iconic DJ's, the innovator DJ Superfly who took risks with different styles of EDM and was always introducing new experimental styles of electronic dance music that would later become staples. This was at a time when EDM was not yet even named as such.
Superfly who is featured in another current Bruinou.com article, and other long-serving icons like Vinny Da Vinci and DJ Kenzhero who all paved the way for many of today's top DJ's will share the stage with the mold-breakers like Okmalumkoolkat, DJ Lag and Rudeboys while the more established house and techno purveyors such as Terrence Pearce and Andi Dill are billed alongside fresh talent like Adam De Smidt and Kyle Roussouw and Robin Would.
We at bruinou.com are of course also really proud that DJ RealRozzano who is on the bruinou.com editorial content team, in his own right an internationally known Dance Music innovator as well as Hip Hop icon, has also been confirmed to be on the line-up.
There will of course also be deluge of international acts which include but is not limited to Boris Brejcha (Germany. Chloé (France), DJ Rolando (US), Goldie (UK), H-Bomb Harri & Domenic (UK) Nightmares On Wax (UK), and Ralf Kollmann (Germany). These international DJ's cover a range of electronic music genres, sub-genres and styles from Drum & Bass, to Hardhouse, to Techno, Trance and anything else in-between.
The CTEMF is not only an entertaining event but aims to actively contribute the growth of artists, DJ's and other practitioners in the Electronic Music scene by hosting a series of workshops from 2nd to 5th February 2016 which precede the actual festival from Friday 5th to Sunday 7th February 2016.
Tickets for the CTEMF are available directly from the CTEMF Ticket website and prices are as follows.
Online Full Price Tickets 1 Day Pass: R300 / Full Weekend Pass: R700
At the Door 1 Day pass: R300 / Full Weekend Pass: R750
For more info on the Full Line-up and for other info visit the CTEFM website.
Video of Mr Carmack doing a Trap Hip Hop set at CTEMF2015
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