Friday March 29th, 2024
Download SceneNow app
Copied

100Live Music Festival #8

100Copies comes back with its 100Live Electronic Music Festival, promising a massive experience for both electronic music buffs and new initiates alike.

Staff Writer

If you head Downtown, through Mahmoud Bassiouny, past the off-licence booze shop, to the little adjacent street and squeeze into the space in between shisha smokers, parked cars and the Townhouse Gallery, you will find yourself at the entrance of a worn down industrial space, with nothing but a stage and one hundred square metres of calcified concrete, otherwise known as Rawabet Theatre.  History will recall this unimpressive venue as one of the most significant catalysts of Egypt's electronic music scene today.

This is thanks to the 100 Live Electronic Music Festival, organized by 100 Copies founder Mahmoud Refaat, first held over eight years ago. It has hosted almost every emerging Egyptian experimental or electronic artist revered in today's sound-scape, and more than a handful of mindblowing international acts perfectly curated alongside the local line-ups.

We mention the venue because it's an important antitheses of what a 'music festival' connotes in today's day and age. It's not a festival selling a lifestyle, or a fantastical adventure. It's not hocking what's necessarily popular for any sort of financial gain. It's a MUSIC festival, dammit, four walls, a stage and a line-up of acts to move you emotionally, physically, psycologcially. A festival for artists to discover their own artistry through the eclectic performances, a place to wander in off the street and be blown away that this is the kind of music that's happening in the country. A no-nonsense, beats-against-the-wall, synth-till-you-drop two day concert, and it's completely free.

It's a formula that has worked since the days when electronic music was still fledgling in the country. Now there's a producer or DJ around every corner, but despite it's modest set-up, the 100 Live Electronic Music Festival still has a special sense of significance for any budding musician performing there, which means it's also the perfect place to be as an avid listener. A sentiment echoed by this year's debutant Asem Tag AKA $$$TAG$$$.

"Personally, it means a lot. So many great artists played this festival over the past few years, our first KIK tour was a by-product of the wetrobots being noticed here, [and] the crowd is always open minded and ready to dance to anything. It's definitely something to look forward to."

The festival is kicking off once again this year, spread out over two days on June 6th and 7th with an explosive international and local line-up that includes Invisible Hands, Neobyrds and wetrobots. Check it out below and have a listen. Join the event's FB page here.

6th June

08:00 - 09:00 PM THE INVISIBLE HANDS

09:00 - 10:00 BIKYA

10:00 - 11:00 NEOBYRD


11:00 - 12:00 WETROBOTS ♥ BOSIANA

7th June

08:00 - 09:00 MACHINEFABRIEK

09:00 - 10:00 101

10:00 - 11:00 FAZE MIYAKE

11:00 - 12:00 $$$TAG$$$


+ Nashazphone DJ mix