David Guetta to ring in the New Year with Emirates
Celebrated French DJ David Guetta has recorded a performance from the Louvre Abu Dhabi, which will be streamed on the star's channels and networks. Guetta has given several interviews in which he has talked about what it was like to record in the Emirates, as well as how recording a show in this museum fits in with his goal in music, which is to reach all people with his sound. "My whole career is about using music to bring different people and cultures together," he told The National.
The DJ also talked about what it's like to perform in a country like the UAE and what it means to him. "I've done it especially in the Middle East. I spend a lot of time in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, and I've seen how the dance music scene in the region has evolved, with people putting their cultures into it. It's a great thing to see and I'm proud to be part of what's happening," says Guetta.
Moreover, although the performance will be released on New Year's Eve, according to the Frenchman's representative, the concert has been recorded since the beginning of this month. The channels chosen to share the performance are YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.
In addition, the decision to pre-record the act is because Guetta wanted to be visually inspired by the works in the Louvre in Abu Dhabi, which he said will use key paintings in his performance. According to the Frenchman, his show will feature paintings such as 'Composition with blue, red, yellow and black' by Piet Mondrian; 'Under the wave of Kanagawa' by artist Katsushika Housai and 'Man walking on a column' by August Rodin. "What I found fascinating about the Louvre Abu Dhabi was how they represent the different human civilisations chronologically in the same space, rather than separating them," says Guetta.
As far as the artist has been able to tell about the show, the performance will feature 20-metre-high flames rising from the set where the DJ is performing. Louvre Abu Dhabi director Manuel Rabate gave an interview to The National about the concert and said that "it's huge and spectacular". "In terms of scale and complexity it's very big and fantastic. Although Guetta only uses one big stage, there are a lot of cameras and visual effects," he adds, praising the work and organisation that has gone into making the performance unique, both on the part of the museum and Guetta.
"There are drones capturing live images and, at the same time, the museum's artwork will be fully integrated into the show. There is that visual connection and the overall narrative of the performance," Rabate continues.
This is not the first time that the artist has used museums as a location for his shows, as last year, and for New Year's Eve as well, he broadcast a similar concert via streaming from the Louvre Museum in Paris. Although according to his representative, none of the performances will be the same, and this latest one is inspired by what the museum transmits to the DJ.
"It will be more reflective and artistic. The music played is more electronic and that's to give the architecture room to shine in the show. The performance is less about pure energy and more about sensitivity, and capturing every detail of the incredible Abu Dhabi museum," says Jean-Guillaume Charvet, the celebrity's representative.
For his part, Guetta was joined by the international pop group Now United, with whom he was able to follow the performance. Although the show promises to leave audiences speechless, the pandemic has forced most performances to be closed to the public as a security measure to prevent the spread of the virus, but Rabate says that despite this, the concert is part of a promotional campaign to go to the museum.
"The world is still in shock because of COVID-19, but we are showing that Abu Dhabi is a safe and vibrant city and that we are still keeping the flame of culture alive," adds the director of Louvre Abu Dhabi.
