FKA Mash EXITECHNO Review: A Confident Debut

<p><br /></p><h3><span style="background-color: #ff0072; color: white; font-family: Oswald; font-size: x-large;"><b> ALBUM REVIEW | THINK IN ELECTRONIC  </b></span></h3><h1><span style="color: #ff0072; font-family: Oswald; font-size: large;">Think In Electronic  | FKA Mash’s EXITECHNO Sounds Global Without Losing Home</span></h1><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div trbidi="on"><span><h2 style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #ff0072; font-family: Oswald;"><i>FKA Mash’s debut album moves through deep house, disco, melodic and techno-leaning territory, with tracks that can work in a club, on a festival stage or as the soundtrack to an ordinary day.</i></span></h2><div><span style="color: #ff0072; font-family: Oswald;"><span></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlZWkIAMJl19tzY8NgvrSwsrbTTshxSB5tJpLa7hOfhS9GNiKkjC3DJy2z3-SjonrK3Fg4Krxv8VZES1Bf6NeTIThu_JTo-Qv7k3fMK9DKKP6qbelhZnuaq0HeU7u275Y72DPjxcYusnUXwlCgXn2bhTxS2WsLVYoMakzFe2zQRw0muvGI0gZ8K-NFhYkB/s2000/FKAMASH_EXITECHNO_REVIEW.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="FKA Mash EXITECHNO debut album review" border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="2000" loading="lazy" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlZWkIAMJl19tzY8NgvrSwsrbTTshxSB5tJpLa7hOfhS9GNiKkjC3DJy2z3-SjonrK3Fg4Krxv8VZES1Bf6NeTIThu_JTo-Qv7k3fMK9DKKP6qbelhZnuaq0HeU7u275Y72DPjxcYusnUXwlCgXn2bhTxS2WsLVYoMakzFe2zQRw0muvGI0gZ8K-NFhYkB/s1600-rw/FKAMASH_EXITECHNO_REVIEW.jpg" title="FKA Mash EXITECHNO debut album review" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><div><span style="font-family: times;">There is a lot happening across <i><b>EXITECHNO,</b></i> but it never loses the sound that makes it <i><b>FKA Mash</b></i>. The 13-track debut moves through different moods and influences, but the album never feels disconnected from the artist behind it.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;">The opening track, <b><i>“Ngwaneshu”</i></b> with <i><b>OKAY GOD</b></i>, immediately pulls you in. The opening has a familiar electronic warmth that could sit comfortably within the wider melodic electronic scene, bringing to mind the kind of sound heard across <i><b>Anjunadeep </b></i>and even a <i><b>Ben Böhmer </b></i>track. But once the vocals arrive, the character changes. The distinctly South African sound becomes clear, and the track starts to feel much more rooted in where it comes from. It builds slowly, keeping the vocal at its centre, before ending on an atmospheric note reminiscent of <b><i>HVOB </i></b>while remaining distinctly FKA Mash.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><b><i>“Mampatile”</i></b> with <i><b>Thando Zide </b></i>brings a softer, more sensual energy. It opens beautifully before settling into haunting vocals, humming and echoes. The repeated “decide what you want to do” feels almost encouraging as it circles back through the track, while the lower-level vocals keep things warm and understated. It is catchy without demanding attention, and there is a sensual quality to it that comes naturally.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><b><i>“Every Waking Day” </i></b>changes the pace again. It builds gradually and becomes playful, with the production taking the lead rather than a vocal. There is something distinctly Johannesburg about it, the feeling of the streets on a Sunday afternoon. It is one of the album’s more interesting shifts because it creates a sense of place without needing to spell it out.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;">That movement between moods continues through the middle of the album. <i><b>“Make Believe” </b></i>with <b><i>Samuel Miller</i></b> brings a strong jazz feel into the deep-house sound, with the melody and vocals fitting together naturally. <b><i>“Wonder”</i></b> takes its time before opening into the kind of peak-time track that simply makes you happy when it hits. <b><i>“Disco Bouncer”</i></b> moves between playful and calmer moments, while <i><b>“Our Thing”</b></i> settles further into the deep-house side of the album.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;">The album’s strongest moments arrive when FKA Mash allows the music to become more emotionally direct. <b><i>“Nights Alone” </i></b>with <b><i>LVN</i></b> is one of those moments. The vocals and melody blend beautifully, the production feels polished without losing its warmth, and the deeper house influence is clear. It is deep, haunting and one of the tracks that stays with you.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><b><i>“Love In The Air” </i></b>with <i><b>Biishop</b></i> is another standout. It has attitude, melody and a haunting vocal presence, with a deeper and more progressive feel. Alongside <i><b>“Nights Alone”,</b></i> it shows another side of the album without sounding disconnected from everything that came before it. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><b><i>“So Scared”</i></b> keeps that more delicate mood going. Soft and dreamy, it has a sound that feels distinctly FKA Mash rather than simply fitting into another genre or style.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;">The final stretch brings more movement without making the album feel as though it is trying to add one last surprise. <b><i>“No Walls”</i></b> with <b><i>Dave DK </i></b>has the energy to sit comfortably in an international DJ set, while <b><i>“Feel Redux”</i></b> with<b><i> Felix.N</i></b> pushes further towards a more tech-leaning sound while retaining its deeper house character.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><b><i>“Been So” </i></b>closes the album on an upbeat note, bringing the different sides of EXITECHNO together without needing a dramatic finale.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><h3><span style="color: red; font-family: times;">South African, and proudly so</span></h3><div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;">The South African character is never far away, and nor should it be. It is part of what gives EXITECHNO its identity.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;">You hear it in the vocals, melodies and rhythms, but it sits naturally within the wider electronic production. “Ngwaneshu” makes that clear from the beginning, while “Every Waking Day” carries a feeling that is difficult to separate from Johannesburg.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;">What makes this interesting is that the album can sound at home in a much wider electronic landscape without losing those elements. The music does not have to choose between being South African and being international. It can be both.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;">And that is where EXITECHNO makes its strongest statement.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;">This is a debut album that can stand alongside electronic music coming from established international artists without needing to be measured differently because it comes from South Africa. The production is strong enough, the songwriting is memorable enough, and the range of the album is broad enough to hold its own.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;">At the same time, you can hear FKA Mash throughout it. That matters more than simply being able to place the album in several genres. EXITECHNO sounds like an artist who has brought the different sides of his music together rather than an artist trying on different sounds.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;">It is an album that can move from a deep-house groove to something more progressive, from a softer late-night mood to a track that belongs in a peak-time set. It can work in a club, on a festival stage or simply soundtrack a day.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;">For a debut, that is a strong place to start.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: times;">FKA Mash has made an album that can travel, and it sounds like him wherever it goes.</span></div></div></div></span></div></div></div></div><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%253A2289992475&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/realfkamash" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="FKA MASH">FKA MASH</a> · <a href="https://soundcloud.com/realfkamash/sets/exitechno" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="EXITECHNO">EXITECHNO</a></div>

FKA Mash EXITECHNO Review: A Confident Debut

 ALBUM REVIEW | THINK IN ELECTRONIC   Think In Electronic  | FKA Mash’s EXITECHNO Sounds Global Without Losing Home FKA Mash’s debut album m...

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 ...