HOWARD SACKSTEIN
The Glenhazel set waited for sunset before lines of Ubers advanced on the area to ferry the hordes of observant youth to worship on the altar of Ultra South Africa.
The mud and rain competed with lasers and smoking robots for the attention of the crowd, as some of the world’s greatest DJs took to the stage. Legendary names like Dash Berlin, Martin Garrix and DJ Snake, supported the anointed grandfather of commercial Electronic Dance Music (EDM), David Guetta.
The 49-year-old Guetta – with a Moroccan Jewish father and a Belgian mother – is always claimed as “one of our own”. To date, he has sold over nine million albums and more than 30 million singles. In 2011 he was voted the number one DJ in the world, by the populist vote of DJ Mag readers.
In 2013, Billboard Magazine named Guetta’s album “When Love Takes Over” as the best dance-pop collaboration of all time.
Guetta has performed in South Africa on a number of occasions and is a regular as the Ultra Music franchise travels the world.
Kim Myers (DJ Kimmi K) who played Ultra South Africa in 2016, says: “I love Guetta, he is a true master of his trade and an entertainer, he is so passionate about music and has also shown such versatility. He has an amazing ability to evolve with the changing music industry.”
DJ Jevan Binder of SauBomb describes Guetta as iconic; “he produces anthem after anthem, he has always made sure his songs give the crowd something to sing to, his hooks and melodies are top notch.
“Guetta thrives in the big boom between electronic dance music and pop music.” says DJ Kimmi K, “I play his tracks in my sets, both old and new. I have followed him for years even pre-2005 where I watched him win Best DJ at the House Music Awards in London. His music will change the music industry for years to come.”
Guetta is best known for singles such as “When Love Takes Over”, “Sexy Bitch”, and his massive collaboration with Sia, “Titanium”. His collaboration with the Black Eyed Peas, “I Gotta Feeling”, included in the lyrics the words “Mazaltov” and “le’ Chaim”.
Guetta was not the only Jewish talent at Ultra. Jewish DJ duo SauBomb (Binder and Jason Saus) were a major attraction.
“This year was our third Ultra”, explains Binder “We spend hours gearing up for this festival.”
DJ Wags (Adam Wagenheim), accountant by day, DJ by night, explains that Ultra is special “in the sheer size and scale of the production and the remarkable lineup of international DJs”.
Part of the success of Ultra is its ability to draw in, not just the EDM crowd, but lovers of all forms of dance music, including trance, hip-hop and house. Says Wags: “Music goes through cycles; EDM is coming to an end, but Ultra has evolved to appeal to broader audiences.”
The diversity of music genres at Ultra has created an opportunity for inter-generational attendance. Top divorce and criminal lawyer Billy Gundelfinger was spotted with his son-in-law, musical superstar Danny K, at the Cape Town production. Explains Billy: “As my daughter, Lisa is seven and a half months pregnant, I volunteered to accompany Danny. It was well organised and orderly; the music was sensational!”
Binder of SauBomb thanked “the unbelievable management” behind Ultra South Africa, King David Schools alumni Shaun Duvet and Tony Feldman. Duvet himself was a major South African DJ.
To misquote Guetta, ‘I gotta feeling that Ultra was a good good night so to all involved, fill up my cup, mazeltov. Let’s paint the town, we’ll shut it down.”
