It’s Personal Picnic Johannesburg 2026 Review

<p> </p><h3><span style="background-color: #ff0072; color: white; font-family: Oswald; font-size: x-large;"><b> EVENT REVIEW | THINK IN ELECTRONIC  </b></span></h3><h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff0072; font-family: Oswald; font-size: large;">Think In Electronic  | It's Personal Picnic Should Have Been Personal And Deep. Instead, It Was Divided And Interrupted.</span></h1><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Oswald; font-size: large;">Celebrating 15 years on paper, Johannesburg’s latest electronic outing had the artists, but somewhere between late gates, sound cuts, the rugby, and a crowd more interested in socialising than dancing, the music struggled to become the main event.</span></p><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBFN8dj2XT0xZtarX2yP963bVyy0V53byP2HelJbWxBNrQd-dNmHy40fchrozHOcBUY33TPEJFn1bCKNIF3wRGdrVc46GB37zdS-Cyq6pcylM3fAWEbpwGOw9RypCrSWxp6gHQO1H4D9aF66cHqOB23Rk5g40rrHvVuzv_RF1F4qmPk11zr78RPLqI7TeP/s1440/ITS_PERSONAL_PICNIC_REVIEW_2026.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="It’s Personal Picnic Johannesburg 2026 electronic music crowd." border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1080" loading="lazy" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBFN8dj2XT0xZtarX2yP963bVyy0V53byP2HelJbWxBNrQd-dNmHy40fchrozHOcBUY33TPEJFn1bCKNIF3wRGdrVc46GB37zdS-Cyq6pcylM3fAWEbpwGOw9RypCrSWxp6gHQO1H4D9aF66cHqOB23Rk5g40rrHvVuzv_RF1F4qmPk11zr78RPLqI7TeP/s1600-rw/ITS_PERSONAL_PICNIC_REVIEW_2026.png" title="It’s Personal Picnic Johannesburg 2026 electronic music crowd." /></a></div><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Oswald; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">There was a moment when <a href="https://www.thinkinelectronic.com/2026/08/hvob-its-personal-picnic-johannesburg-2026.html" target="_blank">It’s Personal Picnic</a> looked like it might really live up to its name and to its </span><span data-index-in-node="104" data-path-to-node="11" style="font-family: times;">15th birthday milestone</span><span style="font-family: times;">.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: times;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The weather had threatened to kill it before it even started. Friday brought relentless rain and gale-force winds, while forecasts for Saturday were still throwing around rain and thunderstorms. The organisers went ahead anyway, setting up a stretch of covered tenting across the grounds. While the rain ultimately stayed away, the grey skies, freezing temperatures, and biting wind remained, leaving the cover feeling slightly small and token against the wide, exposed space.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">None of that seemed to matter much. People came, paying anywhere from R350 early-bird passes up to R650 for final-phase tickets (or close to R1,500 for a pair of GA entries).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The lineup was strong enough to pull them in: <span data-index-in-node="46" data-path-to-node="14">Indigo</span>, <span data-index-in-node="54" data-path-to-node="14">Abby Nurock</span>, <span data-index-in-node="67" data-path-to-node="14">FKA Mash B2B Julian Gomes</span>, <span data-index-in-node="94" data-path-to-node="14">Shimza</span>, <span data-index-in-node="102" data-path-to-node="14">Ryan Murgatroyd</span>, <span data-index-in-node="119" data-path-to-node="14"><a href="https://www.thinkinelectronic.com/2015/04/hvob-present-their-second-album-trialog.html" target="_blank">HVOB</a></span>, and <span data-index-in-node="129" data-path-to-node="14">Sona</span>, with the day beginning at midday and running through to the advertised 10:30pm finish.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The ingredients were there. What wasn't always there was the connection.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGCFeCdiOqc68GGfIq8B8yTY7Tx9mKoHa4wCh96w2PCG4Cov7mY4iLmskQdjCYv-jN48O8qkROlFWbRSTIDQp7Xmx69nlnFnEzhQJM6ngtgfaA5ehu9VVibWLCetFrfzhwn0-kBEkkBHKfw5YIpDF4qV7LNpYD1QQNF0Xp3civojvIlUVzI8bDx_TTj94Q/s3913/ITS_PERSONAL_PICNIC_2026.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Early afternoon atmosphere at It's Personal Picnic 2026" border="0" data-original-height="3913" data-original-width="2935" loading="lazy" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGCFeCdiOqc68GGfIq8B8yTY7Tx9mKoHa4wCh96w2PCG4Cov7mY4iLmskQdjCYv-jN48O8qkROlFWbRSTIDQp7Xmx69nlnFnEzhQJM6ngtgfaA5ehu9VVibWLCetFrfzhwn0-kBEkkBHKfw5YIpDF4qV7LNpYD1QQNF0Xp3civojvIlUVzI8bDx_TTj94Q/s1600-rw/ITS_PERSONAL_PICNIC_2026.jpg" title="Early afternoon atmosphere at It's Personal Picnic 2026" /></a></div><h3>THE FIRST SIGN WASN'T THE WEATHER</h3><div>The friction started at the gates. Despite doors scheduled for 12:00 PM, attendees took to Instagram complaining that by 12:30 PM, gates were still firmly locked out in the cold.</div><div><br /></div><div>By around 3:45 PM, the site was filling up ahead of Shimza's 4:30 PM slot. Arriving at this time, the layout was clear: the area directly in front of the stage had gathered a decent, tight crowd, but beyond that pocket, the rest of the venue felt surprisingly open and empty. It never quite built that dense, charged atmosphere you expect from an event celebrating 15 years in dance culture.</div><div><br /></div><div>Getting through security took about 20 minutes. The checks themselves were thorough, bags were fully opened, belongings pulled out and searched. But without dedicated lines for different search types, the flow choked.</div><div><br /></div><div>For those who made it in early enough to catch the tail end of FKA Mash B2B Julian Gomes, there was a glimpse of what the day could have been. Catching roughly 30 minutes of their back-to-back set, the music was absolute fire. Both artists stayed completely true to their distinct sonic identities, and the early crowd locked in front of the stage was visibly enjoying every minute of it. It proved that when the music got the focus, the event clicked.</div><div><br /></div><div>Once inside the broader site, though, a different question emerged: what exactly had everyone arrived for?</div><div><br /></div><div>Because as the day progressed, it became increasingly difficult to tell whether this was an electronic music crowd that happened to be socialising, or a social crowd with electronic music playing around it.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhPwiaDlgggeBNNSN7des02_6TFWmNVTDUxK066Sut181JS5Z_c5uGSvEoAjDLvIXlLD4IhBP6ymRnvtJ1QIwYOs7Rm58D47RSC3fWPCw75kvpTl5ulhErln9AsjI-5ewMjBVU2QCaUavOEx-Dy0b0jGe9AQQBk-hGdnQHV-oOga7XDDtdRXrxQoxHQ8j7/s3544/FKAMASH_JULLIAN_GOMES_PERSONAL_PICNIC_2026.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="FKA Mash and Julian Gomes performing at It’s Personal Picnic Johannesburg 2026." border="0" data-original-height="3544" data-original-width="2658" loading="lazy" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhPwiaDlgggeBNNSN7des02_6TFWmNVTDUxK066Sut181JS5Z_c5uGSvEoAjDLvIXlLD4IhBP6ymRnvtJ1QIwYOs7Rm58D47RSC3fWPCw75kvpTl5ulhErln9AsjI-5ewMjBVU2QCaUavOEx-Dy0b0jGe9AQQBk-hGdnQHV-oOga7XDDtdRXrxQoxHQ8j7/s1600-rw/FKAMASH_JULLIAN_GOMES_PERSONAL_PICNIC_2026.jpg" title="FKA Mash and Julian Gomes performing at It’s Personal Picnic Johannesburg 2026." /></a></div><h3>WHEN THE MUSIC STOPPED, EVERYONE NOTICED</h3><div>The sound system didn't exactly make things easier. Music cut out completely for several minutes at different points, while some changeovers came with long stretches of silence. The interruptions continued through the afternoon and right into the evening headline sets.</div><div><br /></div><div>When <a href="https://www.thinkinelectronic.com/2025/11/lane-8-south-africa-debut-favorite.html" target="_blank">Ryan Murgatroyd</a> stepped up and kicked off his set, the technical issues struck immediately, a track got caught in an endless loop right out of the gate. As the technical crew stepped in to intervene, they seemed completely clueless as to what was causing the glitch, dragging out a grueling 10 to 15-minute struggle on stage just to get the system operational. The sheer frustration was visible on Murgatroyd's face before he could establish any rhythm. For an artist performing live, that's a particularly painful and awkward way to begin.</div><div><br /></div><div>But Ryan Murgatroyd recovered.</div><div><br /></div><div>In fact, his set became one of the strongest moments of the day. His live performance, track selection, and mixing felt considered and purposeful. There was real narrative and movement in the music, and for a while it felt like the kind of set that could pull the entire field into focus.</div><div><br /></div><div>The room just wasn't always willing to focus.</div></div><div><h3>SHIMZA HAD THE CROWD. THE MOMENT NEVER QUITE ARRIVED</h3><div>If there was one artist who clearly had the audience behind him, it was Shimza.</div><div><br /></div><div>His 4:30 PM slot drew one of the biggest crowds of the day, and the set had enough familiar material to give them plenty to work with. Embers with Camelphat and Julia Church appeared early. There was another familiar <a href="https://www.thinkinelectronic.com/2014/10/3rd-remix-of-otto-knows-parachute-this.html" target="_blank">CamelPhat </a>track with Köyé, Yellowitz's Goddess, an edit of Biscits Bringing Me Down, and Shimza's own edit with Darque of <a href="https://www.thinkinelectronic.com/2013/11/the-chainsmokers-own-night.html" target="_blank">The Chainsmokers</a> and Coldplay Something Just Like This.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then came the  Afrojack & Shimza vs Rüfüs Du Sol – Innerbloom vs Fire Fire Mashup. This was the crowning moment the audience had anticipated all night, marking the ultimate crescendo of his performance.</div><div><br /></div><div>Fire Fire got people moving. But this was where something felt slightly off.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ3FNKLfkrDboKTNTRIpcEyzqFNuzc6FGylUFgMS96n4DXmbsf4nXhVVnWR3CxV9hhI1CtaC4XbeRIEi7AOIQNDOGP0Q1UA173gRZoCG9f8yKMoQIHGEox5vSWwKeVP-h-7ke65GVcU_DgvUQ7kNUjZ6Oc0Up5dNNwPJUmEhhWYZi6lhQSTqc9cXMJKXEu/s3096/SHIMZA_ITS_PERSONAL_PICNIC_2026.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Shimza performing at It’s Personal Picnic Johannesburg 2026." border="0" data-original-height="3093" data-original-width="3096" loading="lazy" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ3FNKLfkrDboKTNTRIpcEyzqFNuzc6FGylUFgMS96n4DXmbsf4nXhVVnWR3CxV9hhI1CtaC4XbeRIEi7AOIQNDOGP0Q1UA173gRZoCG9f8yKMoQIHGEox5vSWwKeVP-h-7ke65GVcU_DgvUQ7kNUjZ6Oc0Up5dNNwPJUmEhhWYZi6lhQSTqc9cXMJKXEu/s1600-rw/SHIMZA_ITS_PERSONAL_PICNIC_2026.jpg" title="Shimza performing at It’s Personal Picnic Johannesburg 2026." /></a></div><div><br /></div>For a track with that level of familiarity, the huge collective singalong never really arrived. There was energy, but not the kind of crowd response that takes a moment from being good to being unforgettable. At points, the ambient chatter of the crowd actually drowned out the lyrics, making it feel more like a background conversation than a shared peak moment</div><div><br /></div><div>And that became a pattern for the day: the ingredients for a moment were there, but the moment itself kept slipping away.</div><div><br /></div><div>The sound cutting out during peak sections certainly didn't help Shimza. But it would be too convenient to blame the equipment for a set that, compared with the peak-time performances he has delivered elsewhere, felt surprisingly restrained.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then, when Shimza finished, people left. A noticeable portion of the crowd simply disappeared.</div><div><br /></div><div>The frustration around the running order was already visible online when the set times were announced on prior to the event. One attendee commented: “What is this even? How can you put Shimza on at 16:30 but you give the main set times to someone no one has ever heard of and the last set to Black Coffee's son...this is why people want the set times before buying tickets.”</div><div><br /></div><div>It was a blunt assessment, and a wildly uninformed one, Ryan Murgatroyd is a foundational name in South African electronic music (having previously dominated as one half of <a href="https://www.thinkinelectronic.com/2013/10/crazy-white-boy-ghettotech.html" target="_blank">Crazy White Boy</a>), while HVOB were the international headliners. But the comment exposed a massive disconnect between the lineup as programmed and the lineup as understood by a section of the crowd.</div><div><br /></div><div>Another attendee told us directly on the day that they were “just there for the vibes” and had only come to see Shimza.</div><div><br /></div><div>Taken alongside the crowd that arrived specifically around Shimza's set and the sudden drop-off once he finished, it was difficult to ignore the feeling that a sizeable part of the audience had come for a general social outing with the music being purely secondary.</div><h3>RYAN MURGATROYD DESERVED A ROOM THAT WAS LISTENING</h3><div>Ryan Murgatroyd's set deserved far more attention than it got. After surviving the 10–15 minute ordeal of a looping track and a seemingly clueless tech team, he found his footing and delivered a set that understood exactly how to build a journey.</div><div><br /></div><div>But around him, attention was constantly being divided.</div><div><br /></div><div>People were talking, moving constantly between the bar and food areas, or congregating around the large rugby screen positioned toward the back of the site, which broadcast the match right through Murgatroyd's set. People left the dancefloor, wandered back, and drifted off again. The music was forced to compete for attention in a place where it should have been the sole reason everyone was there.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhggg92mDI2lFJVrMX58O9ineqm4dQx9f3wZ2BOf9FlDphu4S7DP2LpqQR5fX3ctYKBACxiiHQFSi9XT0i2NC8_88IK-zlnG9t8EwDwxNT7mvHye-xpxmcSAvULZvPMTDLqsxa9Gm8d4P6_r1LocmjvuFOc6_xjUXJReDgolLFctaSGEmZoydiFQlzNxw_-/s3666/RYAN_MURGATROYD_ITS_PERSONAL_PICNIC_2026.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="Ryan Murgatroyd performing at It’s Personal Picnic Johannesburg 2026." border="0" data-original-height="3666" data-original-width="2750" loading="lazy" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhggg92mDI2lFJVrMX58O9ineqm4dQx9f3wZ2BOf9FlDphu4S7DP2LpqQR5fX3ctYKBACxiiHQFSi9XT0i2NC8_88IK-zlnG9t8EwDwxNT7mvHye-xpxmcSAvULZvPMTDLqsxa9Gm8d4P6_r1LocmjvuFOc6_xjUXJReDgolLFctaSGEmZoydiFQlzNxw_-/s1600-rw/RYAN_MURGATROYD_ITS_PERSONAL_PICNIC_2026.jpg" title="Ryan Murgatroyd performing at It’s Personal Picnic Johannesburg 2026." /></a></div><div></div><h3>HVOB WERE GOOD. THE CROWD WAS THE DISTRACTION</h3><div>Then came HVOB.</div><div><br /></div><div>The international headline act didn't suddenly become a different band because they were in Johannesburg. They brought the exact same atmospheric, hypnotic live quality that has made their show work globally.</div><div><br /></div><div>The set included Cool Melt, The Last Song Written, Let's Keep This Quiet, Panama, Dogs, and Clap Eyes.</div><div><br /></div><div>Having caught HVOB three times previously in Beijing (including their November 2025 show), the familiarity was noticeable. Several tracks appeared again, and the overall set felt close to what they delivered on tour. That isn't a criticism, touring live acts have a precise show, and HVOB delivered theirs cleanly.</div><div><br /></div><div>The problem was the physical chaos happening all around them.</div><div><br /></div><div></div><div>During some of the set's most subtle, delicate moments, you couldn't get through a single track without someone walking directly in front of you. Tall people stood right in your line of sight, blocking the stage entirely. Friends pulled each other backward through the crowd, bumping into anyone trying to listen. Phones were held up everywhere.</div><div><br /></div><div>Groups stood in tight circles with their backs completely turned to the stage, drinking, smoking, vaping, chatting, and taking selfies while entirely ignoring the music. You had to physically shift locations just to try and hold onto the set's momentum.</div><div><br /></div><div>And there was very little actual dancing. There was movement, people shifting around, drinking, vaping, smoking, and chatting, but very few people looked absorbed in what was happening on stage.</div><div><br /></div><div>The front-of-house sound had also become heavily bass-driven by this point, making HVOB's delicate live vocals difficult to hear. It's an issue noticeable at their last Beijing show as well, but for an act whose atmosphere relies heavily on vocal presence, it further eroded the experience.</div><div><br /></div><div>HVOB were doing what HVOB do. The room just wasn't listening.</div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBXEzFoOwG27BsMZjo4uZRbrlmz_T0i6jgMPmPRHJbCtr4GlJPT2gn291i_vv1TE7amWWIJCjPWu2Cl7ygbXivri8BlEWkgZ1n1C1efmfcPOPIGL9c_JJMf2lUdBvVvREdI6V7OT9BYGw9UnxzST_r_EWdLBywk2Jy5WLMAWRsKYI-cIQendUKadiJt_WZ/s3362/ITS_PERSONAL_PICNIC_HVOB_2026.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="HVOB performing at It’s Personal Picnic Johannesburg 2026." border="0" data-original-height="3362" data-original-width="2522" loading="lazy" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBXEzFoOwG27BsMZjo4uZRbrlmz_T0i6jgMPmPRHJbCtr4GlJPT2gn291i_vv1TE7amWWIJCjPWu2Cl7ygbXivri8BlEWkgZ1n1C1efmfcPOPIGL9c_JJMf2lUdBvVvREdI6V7OT9BYGw9UnxzST_r_EWdLBywk2Jy5WLMAWRsKYI-cIQendUKadiJt_WZ/s1600-rw/ITS_PERSONAL_PICNIC_HVOB_2026.jpg" title="HVOB performing at It’s Personal Picnic Johannesburg 2026." /></a></div></div><div><br /></div><h3>BY SONA, THE DAY HAD LOST A LOT OF ITS CROWD</h3><div>Sona came on at 9:00 PM, but by then It’s Personal Picnic felt like a completely different event.</div><div><br /></div><div>The crowd had thinned considerably after HVOB, and more people continued to leave during Sona's set. Musically, Sona took things in a heavier, darker, techno-leaning direction than what had come before.</div><div><br /></div><div>For the people still on the field, it was a definite gear shift, but it didn't pull the crowd back in. Leaving the venue, one attendee told us directly that he felt the event wasn't all that great, explaining that the sounds felt repetitively similar and that he needed far more vocal hooks and lyrics to actually get into it. Sona also played Talk to Me, a massive track across Instagram, but it failed to trigger the kind of recognition that might have anchored the remaining crowd.</div><div><br /></div><div>There was an opportunity to give the remaining audience an iconic final moment. Instead, the floor kept clearing.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then, at 10:00 PM, it ended.</div><div><br /></div><div>The advertised finish was 10:30 PM. Sona had played for just an hour, while earlier DJs had been given 90-minute slots.</div><div><br /></div><div>There was no final release, no crescendo, no nod to 15 years of history. Just a sudden cut of sound, a field already half-abandoned, and a crowd left to drift out in the dark.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVF6PQtB-rZdI5sNL4vhrkzbhnxDjnyRNUaFRZ74ovfjMsVkBhiUTqw8loycN6Mv3pyZN-wmPvf7StkNYRANBdJr0MS-Zu5GB7Etn931sm4ZUOE3eP7y6wBi_0dMQSxLaiZZw3qlpI4JHriWCgaZxM2dCdFxt5VA62MN5tn_DaacSDCMr7Q0e7VOXjZgxp/s2901/ITS_PERSONAL_PICNIC_SONA.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="Sono performing at It’s Personal Picnic Johannesburg 2026." border="0" data-original-height="2901" data-original-width="2481" loading="lazy" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVF6PQtB-rZdI5sNL4vhrkzbhnxDjnyRNUaFRZ74ovfjMsVkBhiUTqw8loycN6Mv3pyZN-wmPvf7StkNYRANBdJr0MS-Zu5GB7Etn931sm4ZUOE3eP7y6wBi_0dMQSxLaiZZw3qlpI4JHriWCgaZxM2dCdFxt5VA62MN5tn_DaacSDCMr7Q0e7VOXjZgxp/s1600-rw/ITS_PERSONAL_PICNIC_SONA.jpg" title="Sono performing at It’s Personal Picnic Johannesburg 2026." /></a></div><div></div><h3>SO WHAT WAS IT’S PERSONAL PICNIC ACTUALLY MISSING?</h3><div>Not the artists. Not the track selection. Not even the potential of the venue.</div><div><br /></div><div>What was missing was cohesion.</div><div><br /></div><div>The strongest parts of It’s Personal Picnic existed in isolation. FKA Mash B2B Julian Gomes delivered a sharp early set to a small crowd; Shimza drew the biggest turnout and played great records, but couldn't turn it into a shared moment; Ryan Murgatroyd delivered a brilliant live performance to a distracted field; and HVOB gave their fans a refined live show while much of the crowd stood with their backs turned, drinking, vaping, and watching the rugby screen.</div><div><br /></div><div>By the time Sona came on, the site was winding down. The sound dropouts kept interrupting the flow, and the dancefloor functioned more like a social lounge than the focal point of an electronic music gathering.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>There were enough standout moments to prove why It’s Personal Picnic has reached 15 years. The frustration was that those moments never locked together into one convincing, collective experience.</div><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigFHyTL-sTDuAvrFeFIBLDIEofkhfP2dEVtqJI9cckrr8dVz8Esfm2zenxQWYUQ3htUT0dTUm55SHelsOO12rBtGrbFSrjv4hlubyL60XCnyi3A5el1pfqFPCeuumGUGHbLF-fRTPqD4e5iQiZVdHJt-z4m2go2WthgOJgu_V7HqE9t3SZuaXbJYunNwSN/s2989/HVOB_JOHANNESBURG_2026.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="Crowd watching HVOB perform at It’s Personal Picnic Johannesburg 2026." border="0" data-original-height="2989" data-original-width="2242" loading="lazy" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigFHyTL-sTDuAvrFeFIBLDIEofkhfP2dEVtqJI9cckrr8dVz8Esfm2zenxQWYUQ3htUT0dTUm55SHelsOO12rBtGrbFSrjv4hlubyL60XCnyi3A5el1pfqFPCeuumGUGHbLF-fRTPqD4e5iQiZVdHJt-z4m2go2WthgOJgu_V7HqE9t3SZuaXbJYunNwSN/s1600-rw/HVOB_JOHANNESBURG_2026.jpg" title="Crowd watching HVOB perform at It’s Personal Picnic Johannesburg 2026." /></a></div></div><br /><div></div><h3>THE BOTTOM LINE</h3><div>It’s Personal Picnic should have been personal and deep. Instead, it was divided and interrupted.</div><div><br /></div><div>The artists were there. The setting was there. The audience was there. But an electronic music event lives or dies on what happens when all three lock together. At It’s Personal Picnic 2026, they kept missing each other entirely.</div><div><br /></div><div>The music deserved a room that was ready to listen. The room never quite got there.</div><br /></div></div></span></div><response-element class="no-md" ng-version="0.0.0-PLACEHOLDER" style="font-family: Oswald; font-size: x-large;"><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><code-block _nghost-ng-c2071998203="" class="ng-tns-c2071998203-44 enable-luminous-code-block ng-star-inserted"><!----><!----><div _ngcontent-ng-c2071998203="" class="code-block ng-tns-c2071998203-44 ng-animate-disabled ng-trigger ng-trigger-codeBlockRevealAnimation" data-hveid="0" data-ved="0CAAQhtANahgKEwio2I2q896WAxUAAAAAHQAAAAAQigE" decode-data-ved="1" jslog="223238;track:impression,attention;BardVeMetadataKey:W1sicl8yNDFjZWM2NjA4ZjA0MDNhIiwiY184ZmQ3YjI1MWEzMDc4ODNkIixudWxsLCJyY19jOTdjZjQ5NDA2OGIzMDAwIixudWxsLG51bGwsImVuIixudWxsLDEsbnVsbCxudWxsLDEsMF1d"><!----><div _ngcontent-ng-c2071998203="" class="formatted-code-block-internal-container ng-tns-c2071998203-44"><div _ngcontent-ng-c2071998203="" class="animated-opacity ng-tns-c2071998203-44"><!----><pre _ngcontent-ng-c2071998203="" class="ng-tns-c2071998203-44"><code _ngcontent-ng-c2071998203="" class="code-container formatted ng-tns-c2071998203-44 no-decoration-radius" data-test-id="code-content" role="text"></code></pre></div></div></div></code-block></response-element></span></div>

It’s Personal Picnic Johannesburg 2026 Review

   EVENT REVIEW | THINK IN ELECTRONIC   Think In Electronic  | It's Personal Picnic Should Have Been Personal And Deep. Instead, It Was ...

Tomorrowland China 2026: The Magic Returns to Shanghai

<p> </p><h3><span style="background-color: #ff0072; color: white; font-family: Oswald; font-size: x-large;"><b> NEWS | THINK IN ELECTRONIC  </b></span></h3><h1><span style="color: #ff0072; font-family: Oswald; font-size: large;">Think In Electronic  | Tomorrowland Returns to China in 2026 With Two-Day Shanghai Showcase</span></h1><h2><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Oswald; font-size: large;">The Magic of Tomorrowland returns to Shanghai on 17–18 October 2026 with Tiësto, Axwell, ARTBAT, MORTEN, Miss Monique and more.</span></h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg70Lm6uAbLDe5MXCbDZYXQmj-qlJYVtu1LPykVTiAe0SkXLb3LVWlk5sQb9xJ4YXOg9x0fQtEyb6mtTeawiY-SC139jS-5q6D1bOjzjH2jJoi0MRPRYfqqyFiOQHjX0C_HrOt5CYQe_H-5tfK6rZeQBg2PwuUvMHcBmmN-MmFN0bLOSFN5lXPFBr3pFxnt/s1440/tomorrowland_shanghai_china_october_2026.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The Magic of Tomorrowland China 2026 in Shanghai at Hero Dome on 17–18 October" border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1080" loading="lazy" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg70Lm6uAbLDe5MXCbDZYXQmj-qlJYVtu1LPykVTiAe0SkXLb3LVWlk5sQb9xJ4YXOg9x0fQtEyb6mtTeawiY-SC139jS-5q6D1bOjzjH2jJoi0MRPRYfqqyFiOQHjX0C_HrOt5CYQe_H-5tfK6rZeQBg2PwuUvMHcBmmN-MmFN0bLOSFN5lXPFBr3pFxnt/s1600-rw/tomorrowland_shanghai_china_october_2026.png" title="The Magic of Tomorrowland China 2026 in Shanghai at Hero Dome on 17–18 October" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #444444;"><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Lato;">The Magic of Tomorrowland returns to Shanghai on 17 and 18 October, with <a href="https://www.thinkinelectronic.com/2013/12/sick-individuals-axwell-ft-taylr-renee.html" target="_blank">Axwell</a>, <a href="https://www.thinkinelectronic.com/2014/02/out-top-10-tiesto-tracks.html" target="_blank">Tiësto,</a> ARTBAT, Miss Monique, MORTEN and more across two days at Hero Dome.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Lato;">After making its Chinese debut in 2025, The Magic of Tomorrowland is returning to Shanghai this October for a second edition.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Lato;">Taking place on 17 and 18 October 2026 at Hero Dome, the two-day experience will once again bring Tomorrowland’s mix of electronic music, immersive production and festival culture to China — this time with a different lineup on each day.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Lato;">And there are some serious names on it.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Lato;">Saturday, 17 October, will see Axwell, <a href="https://www.thinkinelectronic.com/2014/06/morten-ballet-only-free-download.html" target="_blank">MORTEN</a>, Lost Frequencies, Cassian B2B Kevin de Vries, Bhaskar, Hauzer, Linska, Carly Wilford, DJ Sally, Nosi and MC Stretch take over Hero Dome.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Lato;">Sunday follows with another heavyweight bill, featuring Tiësto, ARTBAT B2B R3HAB, Alison Wonderland, Joel Corry, Miss Monique, Bhaskar, Carly Wilford, Evin King, Mansun Lui, Nosi and MC Stretch.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Lato;">The decision to give each day its own lineup means the two nights should offer distinctly different experiences rather than simply repeating the same festival programme.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Lato;">The first edition of The Magic of Tomorrowland took place in Shanghai in November 2025, transforming the Huangpu Riverside into an immersive indoor environment built around music, light and Tomorrowland’s trademark visual world.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Lato;">For 2026, the event moves to Hero Dome, with the organisers promising two days centred around music, culture and community.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Lato;">Pre-registration is already open, giving prospective attendees access to event updates and information ahead of ticket sales. Those who purchase through the official process may also have the chance to receive a Tomorrowland Treasure Case.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Lato;">For fans outside China, the return also offers another opportunity to experience Tomorrowland in a very different setting from its annual Belgian home.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Lato;">The Magic of Tomorrowland takes place on 17–18 October 2026 at Hero Dome in Shanghai, China.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Lato;">The adventure continues.</span></p></span></div>

Tomorrowland China 2026: The Magic Returns to Shanghai

   NEWS | THINK IN ELECTRONIC   Think In Electronic  | Tomorrowland Returns to China in 2026 With Two-Day Shanghai Showcase The Magic of Tom...

TOYTOY Celebrates 15 Years With Lolsnake in Johannesburg

<p> </p><h3><span style="background-color: #ff0072; color: white; font-family: Oswald; font-size: x-large;"><b> EVENT | THINK IN ELECTRONIC  </b></span></h3><h1><span style="color: #ff0072; font-family: Oswald; font-size: large;">Think In Electronic  | TOYTOY Turns 15: Lolsnake Headlines Johannesburg Show </span></h1><h2><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Oswald; font-size: large;">Johannesburg’s underground institution celebrates 15 years with Berlin DJ and Weeeirdos founder Lolsnake at And Club on 28 August.<br /><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLpvZ4G0CSTo1SWGV_PPpWUeCVcprPXMKyFvKO5A_GOSoHQFZMhlxo1Y6bi3DWBIR7t5KlAqeKiWPW35crGIZRTZNFUGA0V_xjGAdWIwb2rfm2bDcRCR3gGTZoXcsHAOOoWoHIjt_ffK07DtPjLVkIbpJ2-rug_0Drk253nhKStMgke6Bxg4-74QHgRTbK/s1440/Toytoy_15_birthday_andclub_johannesburg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="TOYTOY 15th Birthday with Lolsnake at AND Club Johannesburg on 28 August 2026" border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1080" loading="lazy" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLpvZ4G0CSTo1SWGV_PPpWUeCVcprPXMKyFvKO5A_GOSoHQFZMhlxo1Y6bi3DWBIR7t5KlAqeKiWPW35crGIZRTZNFUGA0V_xjGAdWIwb2rfm2bDcRCR3gGTZoXcsHAOOoWoHIjt_ffK07DtPjLVkIbpJ2-rug_0Drk253nhKStMgke6Bxg4-74QHgRTbK/s1600-rw/Toytoy_15_birthday_andclub_johannesburg.png" title="TOYTOY 15th Birthday with Lolsnake at AND Club Johannesburg on 28 August 2026" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444;"><div style="font-family: Oswald; font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;">Fifteen years is a long time in electronic music. Especially in Johannesburg.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: small;">There are parties you remember because of the music, and there are parties you remember because of where you were, who you were with and what was happening around you.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: small;">For us at Think In Electronic, one of those memories was seeing Tale Of Us at a TOYTOY event at And Club for the first time.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: small;">That’s part of what makes TOYTOY’s 15th anniversary interesting to us. We’ve watched the scene change, watched new names come through and seen some parties become part of the fabric of Johannesburg’s nightlife. TOYTOY is one of them.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: small;">This Friday, 28 August, the crew celebrates 15 years at And Club in Newtown, with Berlin-based DJ, producer and Weeeirdos founder Lolsnake heading up the anniversary lineup.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: small;">She’ll be joined by a strong selection of local talent, including Ray Bennett (Cape Town), Rhys Mømsen, Blaque Mystery, Mr Fagwinter, Hotboi, Scars, Orwell and Abby Nurock, alongside TOYTOY residents Avi Subban, Illing, Dogstarr, Bongani Zulu, Fabio, GForce and Terry Aronis.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: small;">Lolsnake has spent the last decade building a name for herself within Berlin’s underground. Her sound moves between raw techno, stripped-back club music and more euphoric, emotional moments, making her sets difficult to pin down to one particular genre.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: small;">She’s also a regular at Berghain, and has played internationally at places including Bassiani in Tbilisi, Basement in New York and WHOLE Festival.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: small;">But there’s more to Lolsnake than what happens behind the decks.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: small;">In 2017, she founded Weeeirdos, a queer platform built around community, self-expression and what the project describes as subversive joy. It has since grown from a hybrid event into a residency at Säule at Berghain, as well as international events and Boiler Room curations.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: small;">That combination of music and community feels particularly fitting for a TOYTOY anniversary.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: small;">“We wanted to bring someone who embodies the spirit of TOYTOY’s 15-year journey: fearless, community-focused, and musically uncompromising,” says a TOYTOY representative.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: small;">The anniversary takes place across two dancefloors at And Club, with the venue’s Void sound system and no-phone policy keeping the focus firmly on the dancefloor.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: small;">Fifteen years later, TOYTOY is still here. And in a city where the electronic music landscape is constantly shifting, that’s something worth celebrating.<br /><br /><div><span style="background-color: #ffd966;">EVENT:  </span>TOYTOY 15th Birthday</div><div><span style="background-color: #ffd966;">DATE: </span>Friday, 28 August 2026</div><div><span style="background-color: #ffd966;">VENUE: </span>AND Club, 39 Gwigwi Mrwebi St, Newtown, Johannesburg</div><div><span style="background-color: #ffd966;">TIME: </span>19:00 – Late</div><div><span style="background-color: #ffd966;"><a href="https://xceed.me/en/johannesburg/event/toytoy-birthday-28-august-2026/24" target="_blank">TICKETS:  Here!</a></span></div></span></div></span></div></h2>

TOYTOY Celebrates 15 Years With Lolsnake in Johannesburg

   EVENT | THINK IN ELECTRONIC   Think In Electronic  | TOYTOY Turns 15: Lolsnake Headlines Johannesburg Show  Johannesburg’s underground in...

HVOB to Headline It’s Personal Picnic in JHB

<h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: #ff0072; color: white; font-family: Oswald; font-size: x-large;"><b> EVENT | THINK IN ELECTRONIC  </b></span></h3><h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff0072; font-family: Oswald; font-size: large;">Think In Electronic News | HVOB to Headline It’s Personal Picnic’s 15-Year Celebration in Johannesburg </span></h1><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Oswald; font-size: large;">The Austrian duo will bring their immersive live show to James & Ethel Gray Park this September</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Oswald; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo86FrpwYbLNOiBpGPtznYtsF2xViHwCMkHM7oGwTKSU8H5QyRhY8MFOqPfPD7FICljAG-gjED98Ido7NqdlupjTgPGa4qcfjwwdOVtptosXIXYUkoKzvBvmJeqtd-EA91hVQssspKxP74yE-9nfyFJ7ih3blTZD69yZ5VnZTGfUJ71TsCZWWH0VA1UEPD/s1440/HVOB_SHIMZA_HEADLINE_ITS_PERSONAL_PICNIC_2026.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="HVOB to headline It’s Personal Picnic’s 15-year celebration in Johannesburg on 5 September 2026" border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1080" loading="lazy" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo86FrpwYbLNOiBpGPtznYtsF2xViHwCMkHM7oGwTKSU8H5QyRhY8MFOqPfPD7FICljAG-gjED98Ido7NqdlupjTgPGa4qcfjwwdOVtptosXIXYUkoKzvBvmJeqtd-EA91hVQssspKxP74yE-9nfyFJ7ih3blTZD69yZ5VnZTGfUJ71TsCZWWH0VA1UEPD/s1600-rw/HVOB_SHIMZA_HEADLINE_ITS_PERSONAL_PICNIC_2026.png" /></a></div></span></h2><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: small;"><b>Johannesburg</b> is getting an international electronic music booking with some serious weight behind it. <a href="https://www.thinkinelectronic.com/2015/04/hvob-present-their-second-album-trialog.html" target="_blank"><b>HVOB</b></a> will headline <b>It’s Personal Picnic’s</b> 15-year celebration, taking over James & Ethel Gray Park on 5 September 2026.<br /><br />The Austrian duo will sit at the top of a bill that also brings together some of South Africa's most recognisable electronic names, including <a href="http://www.thinkinelectronic.com/2015/04/boiler-room-and-ballantines-present.html" target="_blank"><i>Shimza</i></a>, <a href="http://www.thinkinelectronic.com/2025/11/lane-8-south-africa-debut-favorite.html" target="_blank"><i>Ryan Murgatroyd</i></a>,<i> Jullian Gomes</i>, <i>SONA </i>and <i>Abby Nurock.</i><br /><br />For anyone familiar with <b>HVOB's</b> live shows, the setting feels particularly well suited. Their music has always thrived on atmosphere, patient builds, pulsing low-end and intricate electronic textures that unfold rather than rush towards the obvious payoff. In a park, with Johannesburg's afternoon light gradually giving way to sunset, there's plenty of room for that sound to breathe.<br /><br />We've caught HVOB live three times in <i>Beijing</i>, and each performance has reinforced the same thing: their show is less about delivering a collection of tracks and more about creating a space for the music to take over. It's immersive without being overstated, with the duo allowing tension and repetition to do much of the work.<br /><br />That makes their<i> Johannesburg</i> appearance one of the more intriguing international bookings on the city's September calendar.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: small;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XxSmY7VNaCk?si=4p1zfuXgF6l1IoCP" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: small;"><br />For It’s Personal, the booking arrives during a significant chapter. The 2026 edition marks 15 years of the Beautiful Picnic, celebrating a brand that has become closely associated with bringing electronic music into open-air spaces and building an experience around the people as much as the music.<br /><br />The daytime event is scheduled to run from 12:00 until 22:30, giving the celebration plenty of time to move through the familiar arc of an outdoor electronic gathering — afternoon warmth, increasingly loose energy, golden hour and the inevitable push towards the final tracks of the day.<br /><br />And this year, there's somewhere else to go afterwards.<br /><br />The 15-year celebration continues with <b>It’s Personal: Afterdark</b> at <i>Truth Nightclub</i>, extending the anniversary from the park into Johannesburg's nightlife. The organisers are presenting the two experiences as part of a wider celebration rather than treating the picnic as an isolated daytime event.<br /><br />It's a fitting way to mark 15 years: start outside, let the music build, then carry the night somewhere deeper.<br /><br />Alongside HVOB, the lineup brings together artists whose sounds have helped shape the country's contemporary electronic landscape.<br /><br /><b>Shimza </b>arrives with his globally recognised Afro-house sound, while <b>Ryan Murgatroyd</b> brings the melodic and progressive side of South African electronic music.<b> Jullian Gomes</b>, meanwhile, has long occupied his own space between deep house, broken beat and the wider South African house continuum.<br /><br /><b>SONA</b> and<b> Abby Nurock </b>round out the announced lineup, giving the day enough range to move naturally between different moods and tempos.<br /><br />Rather than chasing a single genre, the bill reflects the way Johannesburg's electronic scene actually sounds: fluid, cross-pollinated and comfortable moving between house, Afro-influenced sounds and more atmospheric forms of electronic music.<br /><br />And then there's HVOB.<br /><br />Their appearance gives the anniversary a genuine international focal point, but it's the contrast between the duo's immersive live sound and the depth of the local lineup that could make this edition particularly interesting.<br /><br />Fifteen years is a long time in electronic music. Styles change, venues disappear, scenes evolve and audiences move on. The fact that It’s Personal is still gathering people around music  and can bring an act of HVOB's calibre into that space says something about the staying power of the format.<br /><br /></span><h4><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: small;"><b>It’s Personal Picnic: 15 Years </b></span></h4><h4><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: small;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBwJkA3nvxk69gXE6Wix08tuYccpyKumBlTWioqfjB9JYM6kvc0FlCO8GzsC9fFrZYjioDm_DpL7t_fciIN86YspHRMnEwyu7Gx9x6HWTGoiPOC5MLxPqx-eFXHjNRGrHwcrsApnSe6uOLcpRAlidIn4yoUFnEAuNcBRkyDK6djx93tPvajpW8gBHAQM0X/s640/it's%20personal%20picnic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="HVOB It’s Personal Picnic’s 15-year celebration in Johannesburg on 5 September 2026" border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" loading="lazy" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBwJkA3nvxk69gXE6Wix08tuYccpyKumBlTWioqfjB9JYM6kvc0FlCO8GzsC9fFrZYjioDm_DpL7t_fciIN86YspHRMnEwyu7Gx9x6HWTGoiPOC5MLxPqx-eFXHjNRGrHwcrsApnSe6uOLcpRAlidIn4yoUFnEAuNcBRkyDK6djx93tPvajpW8gBHAQM0X/s1600-rw/it's%20personal%20picnic.jpg" /></a></div><br /> </b></span></h4></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ffd966; font-family: times; font-size: small;">Date :</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: small;"> Saturday, 5 September 2026.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ffd966; font-family: times; font-size: small;">Location :</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: small;"> James & Ethel Gray Park, Melrose, Johannesburg.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ffd966; font-family: times; font-size: small;">Time : </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: small;">12:00 to 22:30.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ffd966; font-family: times; font-size: small;">Line-up : </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: small;">HVOB, Shimza, SONA, Ryan Murgatroyd, Abby Nurock and Jullian Gomes.<br /></span><span style="color: #ffd966; font-family: times; font-size: small;">Tickets</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times; font-size: small;"> : howler.<br /><br />The celebration continues after dark at <i><b>Truth Nightclub.</b></i></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: times; font-size: small;"><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div>

HVOB to Headline It’s Personal Picnic in JHB

 EVENT | THINK IN ELECTRONIC   Think In Electronic News | HVOB to Headline It’s Personal Picnic’s 15-Year Celebration in Johannesburg  The A...

Sultan + Shepard Interview: South Africa, China & Melodic House Culture

<h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: #ff0072; color: white; font-size: x-large;"><b> INTERVIEW | THINK IN ELECTRONIC </b></span></h3><h1><span style="color: #ff0072; font-size: large;">Under The Surface: Sultan + Shepard On Emotion, Touring & Melodic House</span></h1><h2><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Sultan + Shepard Discuss South Africa, China & The Cultural Language Of Dance Music </i></span></span></h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6I9_7hyphenhyphenTnDP_cSa2t96CDyK1AEqZeWtVN7-wHayZtzhHLAcdDx-rn6FSZxktxOnqshGzmcBiuT25-CEysZXr5R4N6PrXn3Lhy5RrUva5U1AMFWAoYzLU_OAyTFObtUrjUqGl7UsrGzJxvC30Q4xhzKNjIcHUhskfEtfcI6tvgcXIU-afCaohzIWeGHnev/s1402/sultan_shepard_think_in_electronic_interview_2026_south_africa_china.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1402" data-original-width="1122" loading="lazy" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6I9_7hyphenhyphenTnDP_cSa2t96CDyK1AEqZeWtVN7-wHayZtzhHLAcdDx-rn6FSZxktxOnqshGzmcBiuT25-CEysZXr5R4N6PrXn3Lhy5RrUva5U1AMFWAoYzLU_OAyTFObtUrjUqGl7UsrGzJxvC30Q4xhzKNjIcHUhskfEtfcI6tvgcXIU-afCaohzIWeGHnev/s16000-rw/sultan_shepard_think_in_electronic_interview_2026_south_africa_china.png" /></a></div><br /><div><br /><span><span><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">For more than two decades, <b><a href="https://www.thinkinelectronic.com/2025/11/sultan-shepard-melodic-masters-set-to.html" target="_blank">Sultan + Shepard</a></b> have remained one of electronic music’s most respected and influential acts, helping shape the sound of melodic and progressive house through emotionally driven production and cinematic storytelling. From Grammy-nominated remixes and collaborations with some of the biggest names in pop and EDM to performances at <i>Tomorrowland</i>, <i>Ultra Music Festival, EDC</i>, and most recently <i>VAC Festival (Vision & Colour)</i>, the duo continue to evolve while staying deeply connected to the melodic roots that first defined their sound.</span></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">After years spent navigating different eras of dance music, <b>Sultan + Shepard</b> found renewed inspiration through their return to melodic and progressive house with <b><a href="https://www.thinkinelectronic.com/2025/11/lane-8-south-africa-debut-favorite.html" target="_blank">Lane 8’s</a></b> <i>This Never Happened</i> label — a creative shift that has since ushered in a new chapter for the duo. Their latest EP, <i>Communicate +</i>, featuring tracks such as<i> Before The Storm, Mio, Mainline, All Access, Sigh, </i>and <i>Postcards,</i> further showcases the immersive and emotive sound that has become synonymous with their music.</span></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">Following their South African tour last November with <i>Lane 8</i> and their recent China debut including performances in Shanghai and at <i>VAC Festival (Vision & Colour)</i> this April, we caught up with <i>Sultan + Shepard</i> to discuss the differences between dance music culture in South Africa and China, their evolving creative process, the emotional direction of modern melodic house music, and why authenticity still matters in an increasingly fast-moving electronic music landscape. </span></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij46sRD-2E6hS2QaS7DbA82tl-97oSrDamcUI-vDFS-aWNRAvk3C_wckLDoqdKPCmMInMEIWCZC0IOJOwkKanHT9mpokP1AOMtS60s_JdNRg6H_AwKWI6NQO96LIgUIiiGrc50D7qJkbBDhOsKATV-QoR1CLKNloq_JUoa9qHa69YPT09RGFVNlMmbnqa9/s1920/sultan_shepard_thinkinelectronic_interview.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="1440" loading="lazy" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij46sRD-2E6hS2QaS7DbA82tl-97oSrDamcUI-vDFS-aWNRAvk3C_wckLDoqdKPCmMInMEIWCZC0IOJOwkKanHT9mpokP1AOMtS60s_JdNRg6H_AwKWI6NQO96LIgUIiiGrc50D7qJkbBDhOsKATV-QoR1CLKNloq_JUoa9qHa69YPT09RGFVNlMmbnqa9/s16000-rw/sultan_shepard_thinkinelectronic_interview.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;">Hi <b>Sultan + Shepard</b>, it is a pleasure to welcome you to<b> Think In Electronic</b>. Thank you for taking the time out of your schedule to do this interview with us. It’s an honour for us. Late last year our team had the opportunity to experience your debut in South Africa. While our China team was hoping to catch your China debut but sadly it was not possible.  </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Times; text-align: left;"><span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232; font-family: times;">TIE :  </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"><b>Before starting we ask all our guests the same thing. First thing that comes to mind when you hear South Africa and China?</b></span></div></span></span><div style="color: black; font-family: Times;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: Times;"><span style="color: #ff0072; font-family: times;">S+S : </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;">Amazing places, amazing parties..</span></div></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/DR40bj1kdIM/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-radius: 3px; border: 0px; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5) 0px 0px 1px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.15) 0px 1px 10px 0px; margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0px; width: calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding: 16px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DR40bj1kdIM/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); 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font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0px;"></div> <div style="align-items: center; display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px;"><div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px); width: 12.5px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12.5px; margin-left: 2px; margin-right: 14px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px); width: 12.5px;"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style="border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); border-top: 2px solid transparent; height: 0px; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg); width: 0px;"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="border-right: 8px solid transparent; border-top: 8px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); transform: translateY(16px); width: 0px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; transform: translateY(-4px); width: 16px;"></div> <div style="border-left: 8px solid transparent; border-top: 8px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); height: 0px; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px); width: 0px;"></div></div></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"></div></div></a><p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0px 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DR40bj1kdIM/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Sultan + Shepard (@sultanshepard)</a></p></div></blockquote> <script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff0072; font-family: times;"><u>Football Shirts, Engineering & Cultural Identity</u></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;">We like to start all of our interviews on a light note, so we are wondering . Quick one to start: </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232; font-family: times;">TIE :</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"> </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"><b>Ned, We noticed on a certain social platform your picture has you wearing a Bafana Bafana 1994/96 shirt, what’s the story there?</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff0072; font-family: times;">Shepard:</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"> I’m a big collector of football kits, (actually we both are.!) And I wanted to wear a South Africa kit while we played there. I spent quite a bit of time researching different kits and I was so happy to find the 94 shirt, especially because there are all these photos of Mandela wearing it and it was the first World Cup they were in after apartheid. So many people stopped me and asked me where I got that kit. I love the stories behind the shirts.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232; font-family: times;">TIE:</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"> <b>Ossama, we are curious to know did you ever finish that Engineering Degree? Actually, your background spans Palestine, Kuwait, Cyprus, Egypt, and Canada, has that cultural mix shaped your outlook in music or creativity in any way?</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff0072; font-family: times;">Sultan:</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"> Yes, I did finish my engineering degree and I also got my masters in robotics. I would say earlier in my career my first productions were definitely influenced by the cultural mix especially the tribal rhythms from the Middle East.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIe7rSCa1h51Vnrm4ZU4ThhDF3V9wqlk0uEzUNOAZVzc40OmP3pBYFDft_8ruyB_FAT5WYSEwVXxkgsXLxzJyodXrPgO6zrb0P5ULu4PhJhQZulisJ9xI2Y5GUoZwQFjYl7ZV6FliJWAy53hl2t93mJzLjN-TNCMEhTj1u6rD50hK5h75cQGMbjkR_fl82/s2048/sultan_shepard_think_in_electronic_interview_south_africa_china.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" loading="lazy" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIe7rSCa1h51Vnrm4ZU4ThhDF3V9wqlk0uEzUNOAZVzc40OmP3pBYFDft_8ruyB_FAT5WYSEwVXxkgsXLxzJyodXrPgO6zrb0P5ULu4PhJhQZulisJ9xI2Y5GUoZwQFjYl7ZV6FliJWAy53hl2t93mJzLjN-TNCMEhTj1u6rD50hK5h75cQGMbjkR_fl82/s16000-rw/sultan_shepard_think_in_electronic_interview_south_africa_china.jpg" /></a></div></div><h4 style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff0072; font-family: times;"><u>Returning To Their Melodic Roots</u></span></h4><div style="text-align: justify;"><div><span style="color: #f1c232; font-family: times;">TIE:</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"> <b>We’ve been following Sultan + Shepard for years, going back to your tracks with Nadia Ali and remixes like Morgan Page. Those tracks still feel timeless. Your sound has shifted quite a bit since then and it’s reflected in all your newer releases, it feels less festival, more introspective. Did that shift happen naturally, or was there a point where you consciously decided to move in a different direction? </b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff0072; font-family: times;">S+S:</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"> We had a period from 2016-2019 where we were really uninspired and just not into what we had started making, besides one or two things. We came to a very intentional agreement in 2019 that if we didn’t start making things we loved we would quit. We got inspired by the melodic, organic and progressive house being made at that time. It reminded us of the music we made when we first started in the mid 2000’s. So it felt like a natural time to return to our roots, but with everything we had learned in the more poppy, big room era. This return also coincided with the pandemic, so there was naturally an introspective feeling in the air. It just aligned so nicely.</span></div><div><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #f1c232; font-family: times;">TIE:</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"> <b>Listening to your older records and your latest EP <i>Communicate +</i>, it’s easy to hear that the musicality has always been there. Your music now sits between club functionality and emotional storytelling. Has it been important for you to hold onto that, and is there ever tension between making something that works live and something that says something? </b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff0072; font-family: times;">S+S:</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"> We always like to make club records alongside more listening records. Even on our albums that feel very introspective there are still records that we can play in a club that will work. The balance is really important to us. If something goes too far in one direction it can get monotonous. <i>Communicate +</i> was really a response to making so many albums and just wanting to put out instrumental records we could play in the club. It felt like a palate cleanser to help us move on from the Circle in Time Trilogy.</span></div><div><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #f1c232; font-family: times;">TIE:</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"> <b>You’ve been releasing a lot on Lane 8’s label “This Never Happened”. What’s different about that space compared to others you’ve been part of before?</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #ff0072; font-family: times;">S+S:</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"> Dan (<a href="https://www.thinkinelectronic.com/2025/11/lane-8-south-africa-debut-favorite.html" target="_blank">Lane 8</a>) has built such an incredible community of fans. They’re so passionate and dedicated to this music. It’s unlike any other label we’ve been a part of. It’s so fun to meet them and see how excited they are for new music, for traveling to shows and so on. They notice all the little details that we put into the music and it means so much to us. That passion is really infectious and keeps us feeling very inspired.</span></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqHpbuV0nUkJDVJnKw78GRlhTebtr-EH8rIYUwgwKdFBm4PmHbQOIhU2QnM_Sxboa_tpAXKFr_c946Ousqwx8AAJBpuDy_KiJljxGQZqTahyAbtNuU5_bgOuQgThyCYwc_1p56pIWCqPqdY8vjgLITtnOW6uNq07SUKpDwizuaQxVB6V8CbNv5KvmiLXIa/s800/sultansheperdlane8_thinkinelectronic.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" loading="lazy" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqHpbuV0nUkJDVJnKw78GRlhTebtr-EH8rIYUwgwKdFBm4PmHbQOIhU2QnM_Sxboa_tpAXKFr_c946Ousqwx8AAJBpuDy_KiJljxGQZqTahyAbtNuU5_bgOuQgThyCYwc_1p56pIWCqPqdY8vjgLITtnOW6uNq07SUKpDwizuaQxVB6V8CbNv5KvmiLXIa/s16000-rw/sultansheperdlane8_thinkinelectronic.jpg" /></a></div><div><br /></div></div><h4 style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff0072; font-family: times;"><u>South Africa, China & Dance Music Culture</u></span></h4><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232; font-family: times;">TIE:</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"> <b>You played South Africa recently and, by the time this interview is out, you’ll have played in China. We’re connected to both, and the difference in crowds can be pretty </b></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"><b>noticeable. From your experience, do certain sounds connect differently depending on where you are, or is electronic music becoming more of a universal language? </b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff0072; font-family: times;">S+S: </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;">China’s crowd is a bit younger. Their exposure to dance music feels more recent and so their enthusiasm is really infectious and so fun. Fan culture in Asia in general is also just next level so we really felt so much love there. We can’t wait to go back. South Africa has been a part of dance music’s DNA for much longer and the crowds were older and also more diverse. There were people from all over the world there and they really had an amazing  understanding of different eras and styles of dance music. It felt really special to play there and know that if we dropped an older record people would get it. Both places were amazing though. We had the best time.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232; font-family: times;">TIE:</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"> <b>China’s scene has been evolving quickly, but it still feels quite different to more </b></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"><b>established markets. One half of us, being based here, we’ve seen certain sounds stay quite niche, and that club shows don’t always fill up, while festivals like VAC depend on big names. From what you’ve seen so far, what stands out to you? </b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff0072; font-family: times;">S+S: </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;">We were really impressed with the production at our shows in China. The lights and visuals and VJ’s and lighting people were top notch. Also, the passion of the crowds is more important than how many people are there, and so we felt like the fans just made both shows feel huge. It’s important that scenes grow organically. If you try to make something huge right away, the vibe will suffer. It seemed to us like things are growing in a really nice way there now, and so we’re excited for what the next few years in China will be like!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232; font-family: times;">TIE:</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"> <b>South Africa has deep roots in music when it comes to house and deep house, the house genre is the soul of South Africa, when you played in South Africa, did anything stand out to you musically and are there any artists you’d like to work with from South Africa?</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff0072; font-family: times;">S+S:</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"> We got to go see some Amapiano at a club in Pretoria which was amazing. It was just so cool to see a whole style of dance music that we don’t really have much access to here in North America be played at a commercial club there. It was a totally different style of mixing and also dancing. We loved it. In general, the South African people’s appreciation for dance music is amazing. You just have this sense that they really understand the music in such a deep way, and you can tell they’ve been listening to it their whole lives. It’s something you don’t see in many parts of the world. Our friend <i>Cornelius SA</i> makes great music and we’ve talked about doing stuff together. We really like <i>Ami Faku</i> as a singer. We’d love to work with her. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/DXcjS_AEuHL/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-radius: 3px; border: 0px; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5) 0px 0px 1px 0px, rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.15) 0px 1px 10px 0px; margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0px; width: calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding: 16px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DXcjS_AEuHL/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 0; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; width: 100%;" target="_blank"> <div style="align-items: center; display: flex; flex-direction: row;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0px;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0px auto 12px; width: 50px;"><svg height="50px" version="1.1" viewbox="0 0 60 60" width="50px" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><g fill-rule="evenodd" fill="none" stroke-width="1" stroke="none"><g fill="#000000" transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0px;"></div> <div style="align-items: center; display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px;"><div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px); width: 12.5px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12.5px; margin-left: 2px; margin-right: 14px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px); width: 12.5px;"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style="border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); border-top: 2px solid transparent; height: 0px; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg); width: 0px;"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="border-right: 8px solid transparent; border-top: 8px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); transform: translateY(16px); width: 0px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; transform: translateY(-4px); width: 16px;"></div> <div style="border-left: 8px solid transparent; border-top: 8px solid rgb(244, 244, 244); height: 0px; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px); width: 0px;"></div></div></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"></div></div></a><p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0px 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DXcjS_AEuHL/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Sultan + Shepard (@sultanshepard)</a></p></div></blockquote> <script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script></span></div><h4 style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff0072; font-family: times;"><u style="font-weight: normal;">AI, Creativity & The Future</u></span></h4><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232; font-family: times;">TIE:</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"> <b>There has been some noise around Diplo’s latest AI in music comments. AI is becoming pervasive in everything including music production. How do you see it impacting creativity - does it open new doors, or risk diluting originality? and Have you used any AI tools, would you be open to using them? </b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff0072; font-family: times;">S+S:</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"> We don’t use AI in our music. There may come a time where it will be helpful but right now it just feels very generic. The human perspective is extremely important and for us that’s really what we want to express rather than making something that sounds like it will be popular. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"><br /></span></span></div><h4 style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: normal; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff0072; font-family: times;"><u>Touring, Pressure & What Comes Next</u></span></span></h4><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232; font-family: times;">TIE:</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"> <b>Artists always give everything in a set, but not everything is in your control. How much do things like the venue, sound, and crowd shape the experience, and how do you adapt when something feels off during a show? </b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff0072; font-family: times;">S+S:</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"> Venues make a huge difference. We try to be as picky as possible and pick environments and venues that we think will be best suited to our shows. Ultimately as you said, you only have so much control so you have to do the best you can no matter what, but the longer we’ve been doing this, the more we’ve been picky about where we play. We just want our fans to have the best time possible.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232; font-family: times;">TIE:</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"> <b>Most people only see the highlight reel, the big moments and the highs. For aspiring musicians, can you talk about some of the tougher realities of being an artist and DJ, and how you’ve learned to navigate or overcome them? </b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff0072; font-family: times;">S+S: </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;">This is a passion not a normal job. There are so many ups and downs. You have to really want to do this and really love the music. It’s a marathon and not a sprint. If you’re doing it for any other reason that your love of making music and performing then it won’t last. Just focus on making the best thing you can in each moment and you won’t have any regrets. It’s nice to listen back to older records and hear that you were really in it to the point of “wow how did we make that?” vs. “what we were thinking, this is terrible” haha. The only way to do that is to be totally into what you’re doing.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232; font-family: times;">TIE:</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"> <b>Looking ahead, how do you see the future of Sultan + Shepard, both in terms of your sound and your journey together?</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"><b> </b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff0072; font-family: times;">S+S:</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"> Just trying to evolve and continue to make music sincerely from our hearts that makes us excited. We know what it feels like to do that and we also know what it feels like not to do that, so we’re just trying to pay attention to that line and follow our feelings.</span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" frameborder="no" height="300" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/playlists/soundcloud%253Aplaylists%253A2197773170&color=%23ff0072&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true" width="100%"></iframe><div style="color: #cccccc; font-family: Interstate, "Lucida Grande", "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Lucida Sans", Garuda, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; font-weight: 100; line-break: anywhere; overflow: hidden; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap; word-break: normal;"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/sultanshepard" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Sultan + Shepard">Sultan + Shepard</a> · <a href="https://soundcloud.com/sultanshepard/sets/communicate-764678472" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Communicate +">Communicate +</a></div></span></div><div><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff0072; font-family: times;"><b>Rapid Fire: First thing that comes to your mind</b></span></h4><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b>24 hours, no sleep: South Africa vs China. where are you taking us and what’s the plan?</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff0072; font-family: times;">Ned Shepard :Shanghai. Let’s eat and roam around. Such a fun, futuristic city. Feels like it encompasses the past present and future all at once. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232; font-family: times;">Ossama Sultan: Cape Town. One of the most beautiful places ever. Let’s eat and go to the beach for sunset. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b>In the studio: Perfectionists or gut-feel merchants? (How many times do you really test a track before letting it go?)</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff0072; font-family: times;">Ned Shepard: GUT FEEL. Depends on the track! Sometimes we don’t even test it at all!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232; font-family: times;">Ossama Sultan: GUT FEEL!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b>Pre-show mode: Rituals, superstition, or just walk on and go?</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff0072; font-family: times;">Sultan + Shepard: We like to gather our team if we’re traveling with people and do three breaths all together just to take it all in for a moment and rest before things get crazy.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b>Unpopular opinion: What’s one trend (music or otherwise) you wish would come to an end?</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff0072; font-family: times;">Ned Shepard: Following other people’s trends.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232; font-family: times;">Ossama Sultan: POV social media posts.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b>Outside of music: What do you do to wind down or take a break?</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff0072; font-family: times;">Ned Shepard: Meditation.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232; font-family: times;">Ossama Sultan: Spend time with my wife and kids.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b>Crowd surprise: What’s the most unexpected track that’s ever worked in your set?</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff0072; font-family: times;">Ned Shepard: ZIMA!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #f1c232; font-family: times;">Ossama Sultan: YOU ARE MY HIGH!</span></div></div><br /><div><br /></div> <iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="603" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lWBN7PNDUTI" title="Sultan + Shepard Rapid Fire Interview Think In Electronic" width="339"></iframe><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">With <i>Communicate +</i> marking another chapter in their evolution, <b>Sultan + Shepard</b> continue to blur the lines between club music and emotional storytelling. Whether in South Africa, China, or anywhere else in the world, their music continues to prove that connection remains at the heart of dance music.</div>

Sultan + Shepard Interview: South Africa, China & Melodic House Culture

 INTERVIEW | THINK IN ELECTRONIC  Under The Surface: Sultan + Shepard On Emotion, Touring & Melodic House Sultan + Shepard Discuss South...

Bonobo’s China Debut Was More Than Just a DJ Set

<p> </p><h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: #ff0072; color: white; font-size: x-large;"><b> EVENT REVIEW | THINK IN ELECTRONIC </b></span></h3><h1><span style="color: #ff0072; font-size: large;">Bonobo’s Shanghai Debut Proved Crowd Energy Still Defines the Atmosphere</span></h1><h2><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><i>An intimate and emotionally immersive night where the audience shaped the atmosphere as much as the music itself.</i></span></h2><div><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLoL2pDxsjlONYTd_PUZsQtaGqINChtQbBMCcBXH2U7WRc5YdCePRB0_s7lVYYoIgqg1TG2JqC8G22fWH2BmR8grIrzvUUKphfdJeL7-tAaPQ_wBCXakLM-p1yOGqYPaCrFUc-sY8Xqnj4JeXSxh6DHYqWVbTdujJxQ_miCVcho93WO7kh0B0FRU5-eMLt/s1440/Bonobo_debut_Shanghai_2026_review_think_in_electronic.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Bonobo performing live during his Shanghai debut in China" border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1080" loading="lazy" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLoL2pDxsjlONYTd_PUZsQtaGqINChtQbBMCcBXH2U7WRc5YdCePRB0_s7lVYYoIgqg1TG2JqC8G22fWH2BmR8grIrzvUUKphfdJeL7-tAaPQ_wBCXakLM-p1yOGqYPaCrFUc-sY8Xqnj4JeXSxh6DHYqWVbTdujJxQ_miCVcho93WO7kh0B0FRU5-eMLt/s16000-rw/Bonobo_debut_Shanghai_2026_review_think_in_electronic.png"></a></div><i><br></i></span></div><div><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><span></span></span></div>

Bonobo’s China Debut Was More Than Just a DJ Set

   EVENT REVIEW | THINK IN ELECTRONIC  Bonobo’s Shanghai Debut Proved Crowd Energy Still Defines the Atmosphere An intimate and emotionally ...

Anyma ÆDEN Shanghai : When the Screen Becomes the Show

<h3 style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: #ff0072; color: white; font-size: x-large;"><b> EVENT REVIEW | THINK IN ELECTRONIC </b></span></h3><h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ff0072; font-size: large;">Anyma Presents ÆDEN Shanghai 2026 Debut Was Built For Spectacle, But The Crowd Treated It Like Content | Think In Electronic Review</span></h1><h2><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>A visual masterpiece undermined by endless phone screens and indifferent energy </i></span></span></h2><div><span><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg28fi1FcaQPnSBw5lcUSfgogZ94k9wdEs5R04GYYouH_lbZJ2TIGIp-vpe-jihxvFrTY5t44GYNwvf5ZxOSO24pkfBGPwR00nmzp49OBnpErJH8eEPK_nuwCZVJl9CG8FdiJAOA8WZykyV8zBoAnFkQV8VepllA-mEALm8mIUq-GEqm4ZwCIQOTGXj2rUC/s1440/Anyma_presents_%C3%86den_Shanghai_2026_review_think_in_electronic.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Anyma performing at ÆDEN Shanghai with crowd filming on phones" border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1080" loading="lazy" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg28fi1FcaQPnSBw5lcUSfgogZ94k9wdEs5R04GYYouH_lbZJ2TIGIp-vpe-jihxvFrTY5t44GYNwvf5ZxOSO24pkfBGPwR00nmzp49OBnpErJH8eEPK_nuwCZVJl9CG8FdiJAOA8WZykyV8zBoAnFkQV8VepllA-mEALm8mIUq-GEqm4ZwCIQOTGXj2rUC/s16000-rw/Anyma_presents_%C3%86den_Shanghai_2026_review_think_in_electronic.png" /></a></div><br /><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b>Anyma</b> has been on our radar for years. Long before the <b>Sphere</b> and long before <b>ÆDEN</b>, there was<a href="https://www.thinkinelectronic.com/2015/02/toy-toy-bridges-for-music-presents-tale.html" target="_blank"><b> Tale of U</b>s</a> in 2015, a formative set that landed at a time when techno still felt far from the mainstream and every detail of the night from the energy, to the room, and the crowd, made it unforgettable. Since then, Anyma has continued to push the project outward, from <i>Save Me </i>with <b>Cassian</b>, which was once our most-played track of the year, to the boundary-breaking 3D visuals and immersive storytelling that have helped define his rise. By the time<b> ÆDEN</b> was announced in Shanghai, it felt like a show we couldn't miss, especially after missing Anyma's Genesys debut at VAC in China back in 2024.</span></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">There was always going to be anticipation around<b> Anyma's ÆDEN </b>Shanghai debut. As the first presentation of his new audiovisual production in the city, the show arrived with a level of expectation that had already been built long before the doors opened.</span></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">That history matters, because <b>Anyma's</b> evolution into a fully visual live act has made his work as much about image as sound. By the time <b>ÆDEN </b>reached Shanghai, much of its identity had already been formed online through clips, teasers, and footage from earlier appearances. In that sense, the show did not arrive as a mystery. It arrived as something many in the crowd already knew how it was supposed to look.</span></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: times;"><i></i></span></b></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="background-color: #ff0072; color: white; font-family: Oswald;"> "The problem was that the live setting never fully caught up with the digital version of  itself."  </span></i></b></div></blockquote><p style="color: #444444;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI4NQXx3XNmnZ0NJ00DYE2KF_YYXDQqkeiOuwgLipJUcp-Kwe6V2yKhOM_AVWi43mNZ38Xo7Ol-45vdr77UUdNJjGigokdXkACptSQ5qxiLZfbZGCMQzi6h8itK2KEsj8EicbkpIvcumjpLFHTqOb96W5y2nFpwZyLzk4MLnzBtZRU3D-x6vx6PzCxOAVv/s2564/Anyma_%C3%86DEN_SHANGHAI_2026_CROWD.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img alt="Anyma Playing in Shanghai 2026 ÆDEN debut show crowd shot" border="0" data-original-height="1923" data-original-width="2564" loading="lazy" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI4NQXx3XNmnZ0NJ00DYE2KF_YYXDQqkeiOuwgLipJUcp-Kwe6V2yKhOM_AVWi43mNZ38Xo7Ol-45vdr77UUdNJjGigokdXkACptSQ5qxiLZfbZGCMQzi6h8itK2KEsj8EicbkpIvcumjpLFHTqOb96W5y2nFpwZyLzk4MLnzBtZRU3D-x6vx6PzCxOAVv/s16000-rw/Anyma_%C3%86DEN_SHANGHAI_2026_CROWD.jpg" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"><br /></span><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">Getting into the venue set the tone. The walk from entrance to security, and then onward to the main arena, was unusually long, while the site itself was arranged across broad, segmented zones that stretched far back from the stage. Despite reports of a sold-out crowd, the ground never felt full. Instead of one concentrated audience, the event seemed to dissolve into pockets of space.</span></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">The staging did little to resolve that. The visual box sat between sections, speaker towers obstructed portions of the view, and the screen, the central object of the entire concept, did not always command the room in the way it should have. For a show positioned as an immersive visual experience, sightlines mattered, and in several parts of the venue they were compromised.</span></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">The atmosphere also felt misaligned with the scale of the production. With no alcohol sales, children present, and groups spread out on the lawn eating and socialising, parts of the evening felt closer to a daytime picnic than a club-adjacent music event. Phones were out early, and not simply as a way of documenting the music. The attention in the room was already shifting away from the stage.</span></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><a href="https://www.thinkinelectronic.com/2014/11/review-balance-presents-kolsch.html"><b>Kölsch</b> </a>opened with a set that included <b><a href="https://www.thinkinelectronic.com/2016/01/time-to-breathe-with-eric-prydz-and-rob.html" target="_blank">Eric Prydz's</a></b> <i>Pjanoo</i> alongside his own material such as Let Me <i>Show You, Camisra, Kinema, Moments, Grey,</i> and his remix of <b><a href="https://www.thinkinelectronic.com/2014/04/london-grammar-hey-now-sasha-remix.html" target="_blank">London Grammar's</a></b> <i>Hell to the Liars.</i> Even with records that are widely known and usually capable of cutting through, the response stayed muted. The crowd appeared largely disengaged, standing around rather than building momentum with the music. It was not a hostile reaction so much as an indifferent one, which in a setting like this can be even more difficult to overcome.</span></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">By the time <b>Ben Böhmer</b> took over, the venue had filled out a little more. His live set brought a different kind of emotional texture, opening with <i>Beyond Belief</i> and moving through his track with <b>Malou</b> and <b>Nils Hoffmann</b>, <i>Breathing</i>, alongside<i> The Space In Between, Wall of Strings</i>, and <i>Evermore</i>. Even with a more emotional arc, the set lost some of its impact as attention remained fractured. Ben also finished around 10 minutes earlier than scheduled, which made the momentum feel slightly cut short just as the room was beginning to settle into his performance. People filmed themselves, watched through their screens, or shifted focus away from the music entirely. The result was a set that had real beauty in it, but not enough collective attention to let that beauty land with full force.</span></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b>Prospa</b> brought the most direct dancefloor energy of the night, leaning into a firmer selection that included <i>Free Your Mind, Love Songs,</i> their brand new release today with <b>Murda Beatz</b> <i>Baby</i>, a new ID with <b>Kettama</b>, <i>Think Of You</i>, and another unreleased track said to be linked with <b>Max Dean</b>, <i>Innocence</i>. Their set lifted the tempo and triggered brief pockets of movement, but even then the response was isolated. The wider crowd stayed comparatively static, reinforcing the sense that the event was being observed more than lived.</span></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">By the time <b>Anyma</b> came on, the weather had shifted again. The drizzle became more noticeable, and smoke hung in the air, thickening the atmosphere just as the headline set was about to begin. <b>Anyma</b> also started about 15 minutes later than scheduled, which stretched the anticipation even further. It should have been the moment when the room finally locked into place.</span></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">Instead, it confirmed the night's central tension.</span></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">Phones rose across the crowd almost immediately and stayed there for the duration of the set. Screens blocked already limited sightlines, and at least one attendee in front of the stage area kept a GoPro mounted on a stick in the air for long stretches. The result was a live environment that increasingly resembled a recording session. </span></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span><blockquote><b style="background-color: #ff0072;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Oswald;">" The show was no longer being experienced as a collective moment, but as a series of  individual  attempts to capture proof of being there."  </span></b></blockquote><p style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"> </p></span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpEIwAZe_Px5FNbOVuiHf-ZzEO52v7hMyjhyphenhyphennIuAfBmFd7K3zVAYPZEvcBO69RXwBq20Jrnnv1FntadkWMZRTXNWWBh7FhX87PvhwnIRmZAHZeiVTNIexRWi2WtwqeNJynYfBeUb9bTcW0aoH-u6U3fWGcqGgH21gkEPljVKcro-Co8fE6TeByXinsO1wI/s3666/anyma_%C3%86DEN_SHANGHAI_2026_STAGE.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img alt="Anyma ÆDEN Shanghai 2026 stage set up and visuals" border="0" data-original-height="3666" data-original-width="2750" loading="lazy" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpEIwAZe_Px5FNbOVuiHf-ZzEO52v7hMyjhyphenhyphennIuAfBmFd7K3zVAYPZEvcBO69RXwBq20Jrnnv1FntadkWMZRTXNWWBh7FhX87PvhwnIRmZAHZeiVTNIexRWi2WtwqeNJynYfBeUb9bTcW0aoH-u6U3fWGcqGgH21gkEPljVKcro-Co8fE6TeByXinsO1wI/s16000-rw/anyma_%C3%86DEN_SHANGHAI_2026_STAGE.JPG" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"><br /></span><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">The setlist itself showed plenty of intent. It moved through new and unreleased material, some of which had already been debuted at <b>Coachella</b>, with tracks like <i>Aden</i>, <i>Ritual, Atoma, Prophecy, Carrier Of Souls, Voices In My Head,</i> and<i> Desire</i> shaping the arc. The visuals matched the songs in tone and scale, but they never fully fused into one cohesive story.</span></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">That was the real issue. The production had vision, but not enough narrative continuity to hold the room. The visuals were strong on a scene-by-scene basis, but the emotional line between them never quite locked in. Musically, the set held together, though not always with the flow it needed, and the absence of <i>Save Me</i> was noticeable given the track's significance within <b>Anyma's</b> wider catalogue.</span></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><div><span style="font-family: times;"><b>Anyma</b> also leaned on fan favourites like <i>Hypnotized</i> with <b><a href="https://www.thinkinelectronic.com/2014/05/seven-lions-dont-leave-ft-ellie-goulding.html" target="_blank">Ellie Goulding</a></b>, <i>Bad Angel </i>with<b> LISA</b> (the track most of the crowd actually recognized), </span><span style="font-family: times;">and </span><i style="font-family: times;">Consciousness.</i><span style="font-family: times;"> </span><i style="font-family: times;">Destination</i><span style="font-family: times;"> with </span><b style="font-family: times;">Becky Hill </b><span style="font-family: times;">where the visuals created a beautiful, memorable scene captivated the audience</span><i style="font-family: times;">,</i><span style="font-family: times;"> alongside the unreleased </span><b style="font-family: times;">Swae Lee </b><span style="font-family: times;">collab </span><i style="font-family: times;">Phenomenal</i><span style="font-family: times;">. These should have landed with real force. Instead, even those moments felt muted in the room, interrupted by distorted views and constant phone screens. The closing stretch delivered an epic ending with </span><i style="font-family: times;">Beautiful</i><span style="font-family: times;"> </span><b style="font-family: times;">(Anyma & Joji)</b><span style="font-family: times;">a genuinely powerful finale, but </span><i style="font-family: times;">Midnight City</i><span style="font-family: times;"> beforehand fell flat, landing with less impact than the record would normally command.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #444444; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi53eoutmL1gEDHPpOpXm6ujZkQM1n6U4hHHhEz-ZCCZtfSVCPOyb4tMCFc_-4KCpY7a_pEYUWoBHmRy1zek1IPpDS8rp_elJMuc1tJT4n6Hm6dyygsHKLUhozuXUIc2kdbsvT9lMFtEqWxf5VIHq9qRRUkRAvF9RFdSKXxTiZJgdjB8aFfnwRGQAOpA-2U/s2257/ANYMA_%C3%86DEN_SHANGHAI_2026_REVIEW_CROWD.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: times;"><img alt="anyma presents Æden Shanghai crowd with phones" border="0" data-original-height="1270" data-original-width="2257" loading="lazy" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi53eoutmL1gEDHPpOpXm6ujZkQM1n6U4hHHhEz-ZCCZtfSVCPOyb4tMCFc_-4KCpY7a_pEYUWoBHmRy1zek1IPpDS8rp_elJMuc1tJT4n6Hm6dyygsHKLUhozuXUIc2kdbsvT9lMFtEqWxf5VIHq9qRRUkRAvF9RFdSKXxTiZJgdjB8aFfnwRGQAOpA-2U/s16000-rw/ANYMA_%C3%86DEN_SHANGHAI_2026_REVIEW_CROWD.jpg" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #444444; font-family: times;"><br /></span><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">What lingered most from the night was not the spectacle itself, but the way it was received. <b>ÆDEN</b> <b>Shanghai</b> was designed as an immersive experience, yet much of the audience seemed more interested in documenting it than inhabiting it. The performance existed in front of them, but for many, the primary version of it was the one being assembled on their screens.</span></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">That is where the show felt most diminished. Not in the quality of the music or the production, but in the way the crowd absorbed it. In a room full of phones, the live moment struggled to stay intact.</span></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b>ÆDEN Shanghai</b> had the scale, the lineup, and the visual ambition to make a strong statement. But for all its technical polish, the experience never fully translated into something felt in the room.</span></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">It looked impressive.</span></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;">It felt less alive than it should have.</span></div><div style="color: #444444; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div></span></span></div>

Anyma ÆDEN Shanghai : When the Screen Becomes the Show

 EVENT REVIEW | THINK IN ELECTRONIC  Anyma Presents ÆDEN Shanghai 2026 Debut Was Built For Spectacle, But The Crowd Treated It Like Content ...