RIYADH: Following the success of 2019’s inaugural MDLBEAST SOUNDSTORM festival, it’s clear that organizers MDLBEAST haven’t rested on their laurels. The 2021 version of the music festival promises to raise the bar for Saudi’s nascent live entertainment scene still higher, with a stellar lineup of EDM talent that ranges from crowd-pleasing mainstream superstars, through an assortment of seminal OG pioneers that will have even the most precious of hipsters tipping their (on-trend) hats to the programmers, to local talent getting the opportunity to perform on the biggest stage of their lives. On top of all that, there will also be performances from 11 of the Arab world’s biggest pop stars, from Nancy Ajram and Elissa to Tamer Hosny and Amr Diab.
On top of all that, there will also be performances from 11 of the Arab world’s biggest pop stars, from Nancy Ajram and Elissa to Tamer Hosny and Amr Diab. (Supplied)
This year’s event is preceded by a three-day music conference, called XP, which aims to “drive cultural and economic change in the Middle Eastern music industry.” That’s something regional musicians have heard countless times over the past 10 years, with little actually improving for them, so skepticism is understandable. But XP is certainly pulling out all the stops to try and ensure that there’s a different outcome this time around, with major industry players drawn from the region and internationally contributing their expertise in “workshops, panel discussions and roundtables, networking opportunities and music activations.” As promised, the conference will also address cultural topics, including how to tackle the widespread societal perception, regionally, that music isn’t a ‘real’ career.
“We are entering the most exciting time for the music industry in the Middle East, ever,” XP program director Nada Alhelabi said in a press release. “The opportunity is enormous, the potential is being unlocked, and what we need is a moment for the industry to come together to seize this chance with both hands. XP is that moment.”
Exciting though XP is for the industry, it’s SOUNDSCAPE that will be the main draw, of course. Here, we run through our picks of the performances you shouldn’t miss in Riyadh this week. With over 150 artists performing this is just a small selection, but even if you don’t catch anyone else over the three days, these sets will guarantee you a good time.
SUPERSTAR DJs
The seemingly omnipresent David Guetta (pictured) will, of course, be performing in Riyadh (and probably every other dance festival organized around the world for the next five years). But there’s a reason Guetta features on so many lineups; love him or hate him, there’s no denying the French DJ-producer’s uncanny ability to give the public what the public wants. He’s been straddling the dance-pop divide with unerring skill for well over a decade now, and shows no signs of slowing down, having been named the number one DJ by DJ Mag in both 2020 and 2021. For pure pop thrills on the dancefloor, Guetta can’t be beaten. Dutch trance legend Armin van Buuren has actually topped the DJ Mag annual poll more times than Guetta, with five number one positions to his name, while his compatriot Afrojack (real name Nick Leonardus van de Wall) is one of the most high-profile (relatively) young pretenders to Guetta’s throne. The Dutch dominance of EDM is on show at SOUNDSTORM, with Tiesto (Tijs Michiel Verwest) — often cited as the “Godfather of EDM,” for his mastery of house music — and Martin Garrix (who topped the DJ Mag poll in 2016, 2017 and 2018) also performing. There are big names, too, from the other side of the Atlantic on the bill, with US superstars Steve Aoki and The Chainsmokers, and Canada’s multi-Grammy nominee Deadmau5 (Joel Thomas Zimmerman) all featuring. Someone who doesn’t quite qualify for superstar status yet, but is definitely one to watch, is Russian DJ-producer and singer Nina Kraviz. In a heavily male-dominated scene, Kraviz has made waves with her pristine-but-energetic take on techno and house music.
OLD-SCHOOL LEGENDS
In a region that doesn’t always demonstrate a full appreciation of its cultural imports, it’s refreshing to see that the festival’s programmers have found room in the SOUNDSTORM lineup for a number of DJs widely recognized as pioneers of the dance music scene, and without whose efforts today’s superstars would likely still be playing underground gigs in warehouses, rather than earning millions of dollars a year. Groundbreaking UK DJ-producer Carl Cox (pictured), for example, whose method of three-deck mixing made him one of the figureheads of the British rave scene, in which he became one of the first ‘celebrity DJs.’ His career began in the Eighties, around the same time that — over in America — Kevin Saunderson and Jeff Mills (who became known as The Wizard for his technical skills) were helping to establish Detroit techno as the dominant sound in dance music. Joining them on the SOUNDSTORM roster is Germany’s Sven Vath — a leader not just in his homeland’s underground electronic music scene, but one of those responsible for turning Ibiza into dance music’s go-to party venue.
LOCAL HEROES
Just a few years ago, the only opportunities Saudi DJs and musicians had to play live in the Kingdom were at private parties. At SOUNDSTORM, several local artists will have the chance to showcase their talent on the same stage as their heroes, to a crowd of thousands. The MDLBEAST team deserve credit for recognizing the hard work of artists such as Saudi veteran Tarek Antabi, who’s been championing house music for more than 20 years. Along with fellow Saudis Baloo, Dish Dash, Hats & Klaps, Jeme, and female DJ-producer Cosmicat (Nouf Sufyani, seen here performing at SOUNDSTORM in 2019) as well as Bahrain’s Zone+ and others, he’ll be showing that Khaleejis know how to move a crowd with the best of them.