DJ Michael Lesar is one of the hot local acts in the line-up, and he can’t wait for the ‘alternative festival for alternative people’ to kick off.
Cape Town born and bred, Lesar made his first forays into the electronic music scene in 2002, when he and two friends started the regular deep house music Deep Heet Parteez.
The parties established Lesar’s name on the scene, and 10 years later the now full-time DJ moved to Joburg, and the rest as they say is history.
“I’m very excited about Grietfest, and I’m honoured to be playing on the main stage with the international acts,” he said.
“The underground scene in South Africa, especially in Joburg, has a huge following, and we expect a few thousand people at the event. I’ll play an electro-swing set, but people can look forward to a variety of sounds that night.”
For a couple of years, Lesar has pioneered electro-swing through his Let’s Swing It parties; a nod in the direction of his first musical love.
Lesar said he first connected with the music of jazz greats such as Louis Armstrong, George Benson and Ella Fitzgerald, at age 18.
Describing electro-swing, Lesar said, “I take samples from swing and add modern dirty basslines.”
Not content to stop there, he expanded the electro-swing sound with his newly-formed four-piece band.
Lesar said there was no comparison between the Joburg and Cape Town underground dance scenes.
“Cape Town owns the psytrance scene, but when it comes to the rest, Joburg is way ahead – possibly because there are more people here and they’re eager to experience more,” he said.
“I don’t think it would be possible to have something like Grietfest on the Cape Town scene, and I wouldn’t be able to be a full-time DJ there. If you’re a South African artist and you want to make it in the industry, you come to Joburg.”
Lesar will join international acts such as Koan Sound, Black Sun Empire, Far Too Loud, and Etnik on the Olmeca main stage.
Grietfest, sponsored by Olmeca Tequila and Red Bull Studios, will take place on 30 August at Town Hall, 66 Carr Street, Newtown, from 1pm.
Details: www.grietfest.com
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