Dubai Sound City - 5th, 6th, 7th November 2009

DUBAI SOUND CITY ANNOUNCE FIRST WAVE OF ACTS

www.dubaisoundcity.com

With Ian Brown already announced as the headliner for their launch party on October 1st, Dubai Sound City, the brand new music business conference and festival are overjoyed to be able to announce that The Happy Mondays, The Human League are amongst the first of over 50 acts confirmed to play at the event’s inaugural 3-day outing.  Taking place from November 5^th  to 7^th 2009 across five venues in the city – Irish Village, Alpha, Chi@ The Lodge, 360 and Le Meridien Village – Dubai Sound City has been established to celebrate and develop the regions burgeoning music scene and industry.

Joining Madchester giants Happy Mondays, who are guaranteed to bring the house down with their infectious grooves and Shaun Ryder’s tongue-twisting poetry and The Human League, whose retro-futuristic electro vibes never fail to set pulses racing, are Liverpool legends Echo & The Bunnymen who continue to enthral in their third decade as a musical tour-de-force with a back catalogue that has long been the envy of up-and-coming bands. Plus psychedelic troubadours Super Furry Animals will be showcasing tracks from the recent, lauded ‘Dark Days / Light Years’ album and NME Award winners The Wombats will be unleashing their indie hurricane on an unsuspecting crowd.

The event has been organised by Dubai’s leading entertainment and nightlife company, New Dawn in conjunction with world-recognised music conference Liverpool Sound City.

NewDawn CEO Alex Bracken believes the city is ready for something completely different. “Over the eight years that NewDawn has been in business, we’ve seen how the music scene has changed here,” says Bracken. “There is a much broader taste of music, not just the usual rotation of the Top 20 international DJs, but with the quality of established bands and artists that now visit on a regular basis. Still, this is not enough. I want a line-up that will equal any top festival from around the world.”  

Dave Pichilingi, the Liverpool Sound City festival director, is planning to bring over 50 artists with 50 keynote speakers to descend upon the city. “The aim is to draw in business from countries such as South Africa, Australia, Japan and other areas within three or four hours’ flying time of Dubai. The city is a hub for the rest of the world. It'll be similar to the way we’ve done it in Liverpool. By day, we’ll discuss the issues affecting the industry, and by night we’ll put on amazing parties and events.”

With more acts to be announced in the coming weeks, Dubai Sound City is set to make an indelible mark on the festival calendar.