SINGAPORE - One of the hottest names in electronic dance music (EDM), Norwegian producer Kygo, is set to headline the inaugural edition of Ultra Singapore.
The Singapore connection is strong with Kygo, who will be performing here for the first time on the weekend of his 25th birthday. He revealed in a Twitter Q&A last year that he was born in Singapore and spent a few years here as his globe-trotting father worked in the shipping industry.
The mega dance music festival - which will be held on Sept 10 and 11 at a venue dubbed Ultra Park at 1 Bayfront Avenue - will also see the likes of Swedish house music duo Axwell and Ingrosso, Dutch DJ Afrojack, French up-and-comer DJ Snake and Canadian producer Deadmau5 spinning here.
Other artists announced include Asian-American dance music collective Far East Movement, London electronic trio Nero as well as supporting acts Jauz and Marshmello. Other than the main and live stages, Singapore will also host the Resistance stage, which will showcase techno and deep house. Forty artists are expected to be announced in total in the lead-up to the event.
Kygo, whose real name is Kyrre Gorvell-Dahll, has had a meteoric rise in the EDM scene, popularising tropical house music with tracks such as Firestone and Stole The Show.
Even before the release of his debut album Cloud Nine last month, he was already the fastest artist to hit one billion streams on Spotify last year. Unlike many DJs who stay behind the console, the classically-trained pianist's live shows typically involve him playing keyboards on stage.
Ultra Park will be located in a field across from Marina Bay Sands and the event will run from noon to 10.30pm on both days. Organisers are expecting 25,000 festival-goers each day.
Early bird tickets, which went on sale in January, are sold out, but advance two-day tickets at US$160 (S$215) are still available, and going fast, according to organisers. Premium tickets, which include express entry lanes and premium access to dedicated restrooms and food and beverage stalls, are US$185 each.
Ultra Miami, the flagship 17-year-old festival held in March in Miami, Florida annually, saw headline acts such as Pendulum and Armin van Buuren this year.
Singapore is the only South-east Asian country to host the full-fledged Ultra festival. Last year, it was one of the venues for Road To Ultra, a smaller, one-day event that is part of a series of international dance music parties launched by the producers of the dance music festival brands Ultra and Ultra Worldwide.
The event here saw superstar DJs such as Skrillex, Alesso and Nicky Romero playing to a crowd of 11,000 at the Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre on Sept 19.
