RAMPAGE 4 - Seychelles gears up for its fourth major independent music festival   |26 November 2022

From left to right: DJ EKG, former tourism minister Alain St Ange, DJ Westwood and DJ Ezy D ‘

● Showcasing biggest international line-up and 10 local DJs

Seychelles’ fourth music festival organised by HYPE DXB & TMD gets under way at 6pm today at the NSC hall and brings together the biggest names in world’s DJ with Tim Westwood from London, DJ EKG from Slovakia, and Dubai-based Scottie B Tino Kissi.

Two of the DJs who are presently in the country, namely Tim Westwood  and DJ EKG,  met with local media yesterday at The Boardwalk restaurant, along with the organiser Daniel ‘DJ Ezy D’ Vadivello, and former tourism minister Alain St-Ange who supported the initiative when it started back in 2015.

Dj Ezy D said since its inception the festival has grown, with ticket sale standing at 4,700 for the last one in 2017.

“We’ve gone from affording one international DJ and four to five local DJs to now having a line-up of 10 local DJs and four superstar DJs. It has gone bigger; the crowd has gotten bigger. Even how we started the festival has changed, we used to do it for a couple of hours and now it’s a 10-hour festival. It’s different type of music, bigger venue, we are bringing light crew, international effect. It’s just grown bigger. We’ve grown with time,” he said.  

This year ten local DJs will be performing for three hours alongside the international ones. DJ EZy D said nine of the DJs come from his team TMD and one was added recently. They were chosen based on skill level, years in the industry, how they interact with the crowd and adaptability to different types of music. The local DJs include Baccus, Castor, Big One, Lenny, Extreme and telemaQuino.

“We do have a lot of good young DJs in Seychelles but a lot of them are not able to play for a large mass of people They are good in a party of 40 people but not at festivals where you have more people and the dynamic changes. To adapt to that is not really easy so I wanted a team that I know would be comfortable and be able to deliver on that level with the likes of these heavyweights,” said Dj Ezy D.

He has also called on local authorities to see the festival as a viable economic venture for the country. According to him the last rampage in 2017 attracted some 800 visitors and already there is interest for Rampage 4, with the company having sold over 300 tickets to foreigners online.

“We are already doing a major part for tourism and the plan for the future is to grow it. In ten years why not have the likes of David Guetta to Seychelles or other huge name artists like Nicky Minaj, it’s endless. We have the beautiful islands of Seychelles now it’s just a matter of letting people know that we do have that here. They don’t want to come here and sit on the beach and read a book, they come here for this amazing festival,” he said.

He has appealed to local authorities to answer their call to turn the festival into a national one.

“We need national recognition for the festival because we want to take it internationally. We do not need financial support but only recognition because this is independently funded and we went to big companies like Emirates and Red Bull and they will only get on board if it was nationally recognised,” he added.

In tonight’s rampage, fans will be able to enjoy the sounds of British DJ and presenter Dj Tim Westwood. He was described by The Guardian in 2022 as "a veteran of the hip-hop scene whose opinions have been able to make or break upcoming artists for more than 30 years".

The DJ who is renowned for hip hop, Afrobeat and dancehall, said he is looking forward to a lot of great energy, excitement and good time. It is his first time to Seychelles.

“I’ve done a lot of festivals and big concerts at big arenas and stadiums and I think we are going to have a lot of fun and I’m looking forward to a good time,” said DJ Westwood.

For his part, DJ EkG who is performing in Seychelles for the second time, said it feels great to be back as his first time was mostly an experience.

“It’s not about the genres but the feeling, what we put together and that’s the most important thing of the music,” said DJ EkG who will be closing the festival with his one-and-a-half-hour show.

The other two DJs are Tino Kissi and Scottie B who arrive in the country today.

 A total of 5,000 tickets have been printed and the organisers say the VIP ones are already sold out. The last rampage in 2017 had a 4,700 attendance.

It should be noted that another big name from the previous Rampage in 2017 was Major Lazor.

Patsy Athanase