| Silent Disco: So much more than headphones… |
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What is Silent Disco? Festivals across the globe have been crying out for the presence of Silent Disco ever since their first UK appearance took Glastonbury Festival 2005 by storm. Silent Disco is the biggest and most unusual sensation at any festival and is set to electrify international crowds from Romania to Ireland, Spain to Latvia and Indonesia to Australia with their mixes of dance, hard house, punk, disco, salsa, early swing from the twenties, alternative, world, electro, hardstyle, gabber and Dixieland. In the summer of 2002 two friends organised a secret party on the campsite of the Dutch theatre festival Parade. Apart from the people that joined them, nobody knew. They did not disturb anybody around them as the party people were wearing wireless headphones. Silent Disco was born. Next was the creation of 433fm, a radio station, that broadcasted only for the participants of Silent Disco. This radio had no jingles, no commercials, no news. Only good, varied and definitely danceble music. Nico Okkerse and Michael Minten decided to bring this radio and its Silent Disco worldwide. Silent Disco soon became a hit in The Netherlands and Belgium, soon followed by France. But it didn't stop there. In 2005 Glastonbury Festival hosted the UK première of Silent Disco.  The UK Festival line-up in 2007 alone included Glastonbury (Park Area & Dance Area), T in the Park, Moor Fest, the Carling Weekends at Reading and Leeds, Connect, Electric Picnic, The Edinburgh Fringe and Brighton Comedy Festival. In 2008 Silent Disco will be back at many European festival, but also be touring further outside Europe. In the Double Channel Silent Disco the public has the choice of which beats they wish to dance to with the new 2-channelled digital headphones, creating a ‘dance-off’ and giving the audience the choice to back their favourite DJ. The Silent Disco is always hosted by resident Silent Disco Deejays. Here's a short introduction to them: Deejay NO dj (Nico Okkerse) is a former street musician, actor, theatre producer and cultural political adviser. He is famous for his radical mixes of distinctive tunes with drastic eclectic taste. His warm radio voice is famous and very seductive. dj OD (Michael Minten) has been involved in Silent Disco from the start and has lost count on the number of occasions and places he has played. He loves hard beats but be prepared to meet his Balkan roots. DjOD is a party master. He gets the crowd moving like no one else. dj Steven Guts (Ernst Walgenbach) is a young ginger writer, performer, singer and music freak who has been hopping the club circuit of Rotterdam since the age of 15, where he developed his sense for ambiance and fine taste in finding special tracks. With his smile and funny, (sometimes absurd) anecdotes he is mixing an emulsion of indie, big beat, breakz, electro, hip hop, techno, house and vintage soul grooves. Even dj Tony Carlos (Matthijs Felix) himself isn’t sure what his origins are. Some say he’s Italian, some think he’s Russian, or is he Japanese? One thing that’s certain is that Tony picked up all kinds of different music styles from all over the world, which he combines playing in his sets as a deejay for the Silent Disco. Also to be heard on 433fm.com: |
