The biggest Electronic Music Festival Portugal has ever seen starts this Saturday at 5pm and will continue to rage through the night till 10am on Sunday.
The event will have exclusive art and sound effects, graffiti and radical sport areas, and two stages with some of the biggest names in the industry. “The Algarve is the perfect place for this event, being surrounded by beautiful beaches and guaranteed sunshine. Most events in Portugal are a combination of rock, pop and dance, but this event is about putting together something eclectic with the emphasis on quality music,” said event organiser, Alex Sparrow.
Tickets for the event are priced at 29.50 euros and are available at Fnac outlets, Multibanco, www.ticketline.pt, www.plateia.iol.pt, Algarve Forum, Algarve Shopping, Portimão Modelo and Krazy World.
There are buses running hourly from 4pm to Krazy World for the evening of the event. And the following morning buses will run hourly from 6am. The bus costs four euros each way and stops at the following pick up points:
TAVIRA – Terminal EVA .
OLHÃO – EN 125 Moviflor
FARO – O Seu Café
ALBUFEIRA – Estação EVA – Ribeira Park
OURA – Ourahotel roundabout
PORTIMÃO – Bombas Shell, next to the Marina
PRAIA da ROCHA – In front of the Hotel Jupiter
LAGOS – EVA bus terminal
Alternatively you can get to the event by train to Algoz. Krazy World is situated five minutes from the station.
Call 210 036 300 for more information.
The Resident profiles two of the big names headlining the event.
The Chemical Brothers
History: When duo Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons decided to supplement their DJ careers by turning their bedrooms into recording studios, they pioneered a style of music remarkable for its energy-maintaining transition from the dancefloor to the radio. The pair began ‘DJing’ together at Manchester club, Naked Under Leather, in 1991. Hardly believing that their weekend project would progress, they took the semi-serious handle Dust Brothers (a tribute to the American production team responsible for the Beastie Boys’, Paul’s Boutique). After deciding to try and re-create their unique sound in their tiny bedroom studio, the Dust Brothers emerged with Song to the Siren, an intriguing example of the new alternative dance scene including sample-victims Meat Beat Manifesto and This Mortal Coil. However, when the Dust Brothers’ lawyers came calling in 1995, Rowlands and Simons were forced to change their name to the Chemical Brothers. The change didn’t make much difference to them – they were already well known and true music fans would always recognise the duo by the sound.
Achievements: Oasis frontman Noel Gallagher agreed to lend his vocals to the single Setting Sun, the Chemicals’ tribute to one of their own favourites, the Beatles’ Tomorrow Never Knows. The single went to number one in late 1996 and the Chemical Brothers opened up for the giant Oasis concert at Knebworth besides headlining their own shows all over the world. The Second album, Dig Your Own Hole, took charge of the top spot on the album charts upon its release in April 1997, and on the wings of America’s growing electronica push, the album sailed to number 14 stateside and went gold. Their album Exit Planet Dust sold 275,000 copies in Britain alone and over a million copies worldwide, while the singles Leave Home and Life Is Sweet both went Top 20 in the UK.
Goals: to find the sounds no one had heard before, to push their music as far as it will go, to make each record fresher and more exciting than the last.
DJ Rui Vargas
History: One of Portugal’s finest DJs, Rui Vargas, with his own unique blend of House grooves, has gained huge popularity from his residency at Lux in Lisbon, which is ever growing. In 1990, a residency at the legendary Frágil club shaped Vargas’ musical taste and he soon came to be considered one of the most dynamic ambassadors of international house music in Portugal. At the same time, he has never abandoned his great passion for the radio, and he is always on the lookout for good new music. Vargas began his career with Tagus University Radio (RUT), and went on to join CMR and Radio Comercial. Nowadays he delights the audiences of Voxx radio with his daily programme Casa, Bateria e Baixo (House, Drum and Bass).
Achievements: Working as a DJ has also led Vargas to other projects. He was selected to mix some of the first ‘mix cd’ albums in Portugal using music from labels like Strictly Rhythm, Azuli, Tribal America and Basement Boys. Up until 1997 he also co-managed Lollipop, a record shop in Lisbon’s Bairro Alto, which became the prime venue for DJs and talent spotters on the Portuguese dance music scene. Vargas can also be credited for promoting the original Warehouse Parties in Xabregas, Lisbon, selecting the music for several fashion events, performing as a DJ all over Portugal, and working with international DJs such as David Morales, Tony Humphries, Frankie Knuckles, and Rob DJ Stefano. Vargas has also taken his own style to clubs in Brazil, Italy and England, and has become one of the most respected Portuguese DJs ever. He has been the musical director of Lux since it was founded, taking responsibility for Saturday nights at the club when house, soul, funk and other musical styles keep the dance-floor continuously moving.
