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 The phenomenon known as ZoukOut truly lives on as the inimitable spirit of Zouk and transcending power of music collided on 9th December 2006, making the 6th ZoukOut installation a colossal success!
For an unprecedented 20, 000 revelers coming together from all over the world, it was truly One World One Music One Tribe One Dance spread across 4 heaving music arenas and 56,000 sq ft of sandy beach. With an all time high of almost 7000 tourists, and the biggest supporters coming from as far and wide as England, Germany, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, on this one special night, music indeed crossed all cultures and barriers, firmly cementing ZoukOut’s place amongst the world’s elite dance festivals. Headlines were carried in local and international press like Juice Magazine, South China Morning Post, New Straits Times, The Bangkok Post, The Gulf News, MTV, Channel V and ATV (just to name a few), hailing ZoukOut as THE not-to-be-missed dance music festival to attend. Heeding the call of music, tourists arrived in droves, all in unison about being part of a unique experience. One UK clubber interviewed by Channel News Asia said, “ My friends have been here twice before…and they told me that this is one of the best parties in the world! They said I HAD to come and here I am!” Determined to live up to its illustrious title as winner of the 2005 Singapore Tourism Best Leisure Event Experience award, ZoukOut 06 went all out to better itself, delivering an extravaganza that saw a jaw-dropping Artists lineup, cooler attractions, more free activities and an exceptionally organized fluidity of traffic, crowd and bar control. The lineup boasting the head-lining fare of trance, progressive and techno masters Ferry Corsten, Steve Lawler, Matthew Dekay and Ben Sims at the main arena, had grooving legions of devoted ravers from dusk till dawn. At the Velvet Arena, party animals were treated to old school magic as perennial favorite DJ Pippi and house legend Kerri Chandler ruled the decks and kept many a happy feet dancing non stop till the break of day. The Legendary Jazzy Jeff created a monster block party at the ever popular Mambo Jambo/Hip Hip arena, delighting the capacity crowd with mashed-up gems of old and new, commercial and underground. Icing on the dance-festival-cake had to be most talked-about acts of the night- The astounding live acts “The Cuban Brothers” of the UK and “Soulwax’s Niteversions Live” and “2MANYDJS” from Belgium who kept the crowds ecstatic with their awe inspiring performances. Said Phin Wong, Nightlife Editor for Singapore’s leading entertainment magazine, “ ZoukOut never fails to prove me wrong whenever I think these old bones are too creaky for dancing. As always, I had a ball.”
“The Cuban Brothers was, by far, my favourite act of the night. I laughed and boogied in equal amounts, which is an anomaly for a night out clubbing. There’s just nothing like them around. Besides, what’s there not to love about a Japanese guy in an afro, break-dancing?”
The decision to increase the number of Live Bands, as well as to bring in regional names also proved to be a hit with punters. The stellar selection of local bands like Electrico, Astreal and Great Spy Experiment rocked the beach alongside regional favourites like “Stars Don’t Fall” from Australia and “Futon” from Thailand, to an ever- increasing crowd begging for more. A huge welcomed addition was the 2nd entrance to ZoukOut, which saw many happy faces streaming in leisurely, greatly easing the flow of human traffic. As one loyal customer, who has been faithfully attending ZoukOut for the past 6 years puts it, “It was remarkably easy to get into this year’s ZoukOut without the previous year’s anxious waiting in line. It meant I was immediately in the mood to party! The atmosphere was brilliant… definitely ZoukOut’s best ever!” All those who came felt that the festival successfully melded the best aspects of disparate musical forms into an uplifting, dynamic new realization, paving the path for Singapore as the “dance music capital of Asia”. This was echoed by American heavyweight Stalwart DJ Kerri Chandler who said, "ZoukOut to me was like playing in paradise! Watching the sunrise on the beach, listening to music and the wonderful people, all with lots of love, energy and smiles. It really doesn't get better than that. The whole staff has so much love for what they do and (Lincoln) the owner himself pays attention to every detail. It's a passion for him and you can tell. He was there until the very end... As long as I can control a pair of turntable platters, I would love to play ZoukOut! The flight to get to there was murder, I literally flew around the world to get to Singapore and back home. But it was well worth the trip." ZoukOut 2006- Iconic, Home-grown, World Class. A definite stalwart in Singapore’s pulsating nightlife. What a way to end the year…memories of an experience, like no other. More pictures at www.zoukout.com
(information provided by the pr company)
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