Blended Dubai 2015 - interviews, profiles, tickets, more
What’s On previews Blended Dubai 2015, the music festival in Dubai at Media City Amphitheatre, featuring Kasabian, Jessie Ware and more.
Blended 2015
– Kool And The Gang
– Kasabian
– Robin Thicke
– Jessie Ware
– Craig David
Described all over Dubai – but by us first – as ‘RedFest for grown-ups’, Blended Festival returns to Dubai Media City Amphitheatre on April 30 and May 1, with a terrific line-up that holds a little something for everyone.
From British rockers Kasabian, to iconic American funk stars Kool And The Gang, the weekend will certainly be the most diverse of any festival in the region.
Last year’s event featured Joss Stone, Xavier Rubb, Elvis Costello, Diana Krall and Aloe Blacc, and was praised for it’s laidback, enjoyable atmosphere.
Ahead of the festival, What’s On has the complete lowdown on the headline acts, including interviews with Jessie Ware, number crunching with Craig David, Kasabian explaining their problem with One Direction, and Kool And The Gang’s record as collaboration kings.
April 30 to May 1
Blended Festival, Media City Amphitheatre, Dubai Media City, Dhs395. Metro: Nakheel. blended.ae
THURSDAY APRIL 30
KASABIAN
When English rock band Kasabian were snubbed at this year’s Brit Awards in favour of pop acts such as X Factor finalists One Direction, they sent a few strong words the boy band’s way.
“They’re five no-ones who won the lottery,” sniped lead vocalist Tom Meighan. “They’re massive, but they’re a product, we’re not. They’re like shampoo. You buy it to put it in your hair and wash it out, like the Spice Girls.”
CONTINUE READING THE KASABIAN PROFILE…
JESSIE WARE
“I think a lot of people still think of me as their little secret,” says Jessie Ware of her legions of fans. This, in spite of the fact she is Mercury Music Prize and Brit Award nominated, has two top ten albums under her belt, and features on the soundtrack to arguably the biggest movie release of the year, Fifty Shades Of Grey.
She may be the last to realise it, but the cat is definitely out of the bag about Ms Ware.
CONTINUE READING THE JESSIE WARE INTERVIEW…
FRIDAY MAY 1
KOOL AND THE GANG
For more than 50 years, Kool And The Gang’s infectious groove of R&B, funk and soul has produced classics such as Cherish, Fresh and Get Down On It and pioneered a sound that inspired generations of younger artists, making them the most sampled band of all-time.
But back in 1964, they were seven high school kids – led by bassist Robert ‘Kool’ Bell – playing jazz clubs in New Jersey. Originally The Jazziacs, the boys refined their style several times before evolving into Kool And The Gang. Five years later, their eponymous debut album hit the Billboard R&B charts.
CONTINUE READING THE KOOL AND THE GANG PROFILE…
CRAIG DAVID
Craig David is massive both musically and – thanks to his much publicised gym routine – physically. The British R&B singer loves showing off his muscles, the result of a grudge against the playground bullies who taunted him for being overweight. “I was trying to prove to the fat kid I was that I could take it to the extreme the other way,” says Craig. His workouts are the subject of many of his Instagram posts, delighting his 160,000 followers.
It’s been 15 years since David’s debut Born To Do It sold more than eight million copies. Born in 1981 to a white mother and black father, Craig grew up on the difficult Holyrood Estate in Southampton, England.
CONTINUE READING THE CRAIG DAVID PROFILE…
ROBIN THICKE
Robin Thicke has sold more than 14.8 million copies of his 2013 hit Blurred Lines, making it one of the most successful songs of all time.
The worldwide number one, featuring Pharrell Williams and TI, made Robin an international star, but he’s spent most of this year trying to distance himself from it.
“My recollection is that when we made the song, I thought I wanted to be more involved than I actually was,” admits Robin. “But the reality is, is that Pharrell had the beat and wrote almost every single part of the song.”
CONTINUE READING THE ROBIN THICKE PROFILE…
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