With the number of performances over the years in the UAE, David Guetta seems a favourite with music lovers here. And that’s why he says he’s “super excited” to celebrate his first New Year’s Eve in Dubai this weekend. Expect the show at the Dubai Media City Amphitheatre on Thursday to be “a big celebration”, Guetta told tabloid!.
“I’m super excited about this because I’ve seen videos and they were looking absolutely insane,” he said. “I love [being here] and that’s why it makes it all the more special to spend my first New Year’s Eve in Dubai. I have a brand new single out right now with Sia [Bang My Head] and I’m going to be able to test it. It’s new, new, new so that’s quite exciting”.
Guetta was only 17 when he started DJing, playing a mix of funk and new wave in clubs, and he says he’s gone back to producing the music he was making when he was young. With a career that started in the 1980s and with modern hits such as When Love Takes Over (featuring Kelly Rowland), Sexy Chick (featuring Akon) and Titanium (featuring Sia), the French DJ, record producer and remixer eats, sleeps, breathes music. “I can’t imagine my world without music,” he says.
Yet he feels that the electronic music scene has changed dramatically in the last two decades.
“Everything is different now,” he said. “First, it’s way more democratic, which I think is wonderful because you don’t need to be rich now to make music; you don’t need to be signed by a big label who are investing on you, renting a studio. You can just work out of a laptop – that to me is the biggest revolution. Then you don’t need a big label to promote you because you can promote yourself on the internet. So at the end of the day, now, it’s all about creativity and talent, and that, I think, is a very, very positive thing.
“At the same time, there’s a very easy access to song banks, to instruments because everything is on the laptop... so what happens is a lot of the producers rely on this and I think there’s a lot of anti-music that is coming out. You know, it sounds OK, because it’s easy to access songs, and you can watch tutorials on how to make this one and this one. So, sometimes I miss the soul in this [kind of] music and you see that the most popular people are those who come with good production but also because of real, emotional songs, beautiful music. That’s how I feel. Not only techniques [are important but content too]. I feel a lot of the young DJs they make songs that may sound fab but don’t bring emotion”.
The Grammy-nominated musician feels there were several highlights that marked his career.
“There’s been a few. But I would say Love Is Gone [as one of the major ones] because even though it was only a club record, it was heard by many, many artists, including Will.I.Am, and that’s how he called me to do I Got A Feeling, which was one of the biggest hits in the history [of music]. So, of course, that’s life-changing. When Love Takes Over, Sexy [Chick], Titanium – they’ve all been milestones.
The day he spoke to tabloid! last month, it had been a week since the Paris terror attacks, a topic we were asked to stay clear off as it was still upsetting for Guetta. A more positive piece of news appeared that same day: police at the Apec convention in Philippines used music to peacefully disperse protestors, as opposed to violence and restrain. And one of the songs they played was Guetta’s Sexy Chick – something that was a surprise to him but delighted him greatly.
“I don’t know exactly what this is, but it’s amazing,” Guetta laughed. “I love this. My music [has always been] about peace and love and having fun, so of course that sounds absolutely perfect”.
Don’t miss it!
David Guetta will ring in the new year at Dubai Media City Amphitheatre. Tickets are priced at Dh495 (regular, 18 plus) and Dh750 (VIP, 21 plus only). Doors open at 8pm, valid identification is a must. Call 056-8081145 or 050-3571113; write to bookings@peppermint-experience.com or log on to platinumlist.net
