RIGA - Riga is preparing to host the biggest electronic music festival that the Baltics have ever known. The massive outdoor festival 's named Essential KnockOUT 's will have four separate stages, a host of internationally renowned DJs and the capacity to hold thousands of fans.
The festival will take place on the night of July 7 under the stars on Zakusala island in the Daugava river, just under the massive radio tower that the producers of the show liken to the Eiffel tower in Paris. The festival is being produced by Propeller Productions in conjunction with "Essen-tial," arguably the most popular electronic music club in Riga.
The show's four outdoor stages and three smaller rooms will each have a unique design and decorations, all featuring state-of-the-art lighting and sound. The outdoor stages 's covered with giant tents in case of rain 's will play host to a total of 28 DJs, both international superstars and local up-and-comers, who play in a wide range of styles.
The main stage is being set up with the help of "Amnesia Ibiza," a legendary dance club located on a Spanish island in the Mediterranean. The Amnesia Ibiza stage has drawn some of the best artists in the world to the small Daugava island. Their lead act will be Robbie Rivera from Miami, Florida. Rivera has mixed music for some of the biggest names in the industry, including Madonna, Sinead O'Connor, Victoria Beckham, Ricky Martin, Santana, Basement Jaxx, Pink and Faithless. Amnesia also offers their own DJ Brian Cross, who was recently awarded the title of "Best Spanish DJ" by DJ magazine. The stage will also host local star Ignas from Lithuania, as well as Al Dee and DJ Dep from Latvia. Additionally, the stage will feature dance performances by the "Ibiza Drag Queens."
The second stage has been kitted out by "Milk n' 2 Sugars," a British artists' agency which represents electronic musicians. The MN2S stage 's designed to hold more than 700 fans 's is the first showing that the international music industry giant has made in the region. The lead act for the stage will be the Grammy Award nominated DJ/Pro-ducer Todd Terry. One of the most influential figures in the dance music industry, he has been playing and producing for nearly 20 years. The MN2S stage will also feature the prominent UK DJ Seamus Haji.
From the local talent pool, the stage welcomes Rulers of the Deep, an Estonian group that plays deep, tribal electronic music. Bogdan Taran and mixmasters AG&Raitis will represent the Latvian dance music scene on the stage.
The most high-tech of the venues will be the massive and technically complicated Red stage, which will feature an enormous LCD screen and enough room to host more than 1,000 participants. The Red stage boasts the groundbreaking Mathew Dekay from the Netherlands and DJ Lisa Lashes from the UK. Rank 1, also from the Netherlands, will be appearing here, as will DJ Rise and Kaspars Kondrat from Latvia.
The fourth stage will be supported, surprisingly, by European Hit Radio, which hopes to try to engage their station in a more intimate relationship with listeners, and get exposure for some of their more dynamic personalities. The EHR stage will have a collection of local artists, many of whom are DJs with the radio station itself.
The festival will be a night-long spectacle for the eyes as well as the ears, as huge spotlights and lasers will light up the river and the radio tower, and international electronic music stars will light up the stages.
Essential KnockOUT
July 7, dusk till dawn
Zakusala island
Tickets from
www.bilesuserviss.lv or
www.piletilevi.ee10 - 100 lats
www.propeller.lv
