Global stars and local legends for Cape Town Electronic Music Festival

Established in 2012 as a platform for South Africa’s burgeoning electronic music culture and industry, the CTMEF has gained international recognition for being one of the most relevant and forward-thinking events on Africa’s music festival calendar.

This year international pioneers and innovators will share the stage with the bright lights of the South African scene, while the inner workings of this rapidly growing industry are unpacked and explored through the workshops. A total of 39 acts will share their sounds on CTEMF’s stages over three days, making this year’s festival unparalleled in size and scope. Late in 2015 the festival announced plans for a third stage, which has been realized via the new Club Stage.

This extensive line-up and expansion both indicate evolution of the festival and the growth of the industry at large. Uniting world-renowned icons with fresh, new emerging acts from all corners of the South African scene, the 2016 line-up presents the same careful curation that has garnered CTEMF international recognition in previous years. The line-up boasts a staggering variety of electronic music: hip hop, house, techno, electronica and all strains of bass music.

International highlights include UK heavyweights Goldie and Nightmares On Wax, Detroit techno stalwart Rolando, French DJ/producer Chloé and Berlin's Ralf Kollmann, head honcho of powerhouse imprint Mobilee.

Critically acclaimed SA-raised Petite Noir returns to his home stage to perform while Aero Manyelo will administer a dose of Pretoria’s house sound. Other big local names on the bill include DJ Kenzhero, Okmalumkoolkat and house legend Vinny Da Vinci.

A large contingent of Cape-based artists make sure that the festival remains true to its name and aims of representing the city’s vibrant and varied electronic music communities. Sibot & Toyota will present their deft amalgam of bass, beats and attitude, while hip-hop quartet Driemanskap will showcase their self-crafted ‘spaza’ sound. Also on the bill are local stalwarts DJ Realrozzano, Niskerone, White Nite, Dala Flat and Paul Waxon.

Tickets are available now through Nutickets. Visitors coming from outside Cape Town are eligible for free weekend passes if they confirm their attendance before 18 Janaury. According to the organisers, “We’re here to put Cape Town on the world electronic music map. It could just be our pride in this beautiful city, or the huge number of incredible talented local producers, but we get super excited to be recognised by music lovers around the world. So huge is our desire to expose our scene to the world we’re giving free weekend passes to anyone flying in for the festival weekend.” This offer includes people flying in from other parts of South Africa. To secure your full weekend pass, simply email a copy of your air ticket (with the subject title ‪#‎FlyToCTEMF) to info@ctemf.com before 5pm on Monday 18 January.