Picat Da Italian, is clear in what he wants to contribute to the house scene here in Johannesburg.
July is his birth-month and what started as a birthday celebration with friends, has progressively become one of the most sought-after events during the winter month of July here in Joburg.
The name of this event, Italian Elegant Xperience, will make sense to those who are close to the promoter/dj, Picat Da Italian. I’m talking about his image. It will tell you what this event is about…
Simple fun, but in an elegant way. He is a joy to be around, cleans up well and a quality spinner when it comes to those deep house tunes.
A party for house lovers, its roots laid firmly in what the underground represents. Taking something, as small as it is, that gives you joy and throwing all that you have into it – to see it become better and to share the very feeling it gives you with others. Italian Elegant Xperience identifies with many deep house lovers in Johannesburg and SA in general because of the music played there. It’s a pure deep house party.
In previous years, Italian Elegant Xperience has offered a line-up that stood tall in terms of the quality and experience of the spinners from SA. Names like Buddah TK, Trev the Japanese, China, Vinny Da Vinci, Kid Fonque, Zeedan Mazibuko and the list goes on.
2018 saw Picat Da Italian look beyond our shores for DJ’s to treat us, house lovers, to another solid line-up. As always, he revealed the more prominent DJ’s from SA as part of the lineup, but also added Sean McCabe (UK) and Opolopo (Sweden) to the bill.
What is consistent about this party is the quality of the production. Truly elegant and satisfying.
June 2019, the moment many had been waiting for… we watched Picats’ social media platforms with a keen eye. One of the very first announcements that came out was a back-to-back set by two of our favourite deep house spinners here in SA. June Jazzin going back-to-back with Miggs. Now, if we ever go to war, these two are definitely on the front-line! Another announcement that earned Picat even more of my respect, was the announcement of a back-to-back set by Rephlex and KRVBO, two up-and-coming producers from Picat’s hood. Talk about putting your hommies on! And so the days went by with the announcements of Vinny, Christos, Trev, DJ Katz, Thabo Phalatse, China, Pierre Johnson and we all knew there was something BIG coming.
Social media went on everyday trying to guess who the international guest would be this year and Picat did a damn good job to keep us all in suspense.
Now, I will be honest, I thought I had it figured out. About 2 years back, Picat and I were having a chat at The Place in Heidelberg and he mentioned one of the people he would love to bring is Ron Trent. I was convinced that he is going to announce this!
Then one morning we wake up to the news that Glenn Underground will be gracing our shores. Like everyone else, I could not believe it. WTF man?! Fuckn GU?! Never thought this would happen. The master who gave us tunes like All Love with Strictly Jazz unit, Burning the Midnight Oil, Mental Black Ressurection (Piano Dub), his remix of Larry Heard’s Praise and A Walk In Ituri with DJ Pap feat Naked Soul. Many of us have our list of GU’s pieces that are massive and I wouldn’t be surprised if those lists have common hits. Glenn Underground has to have touched many deep house lovers through his production skills and talent. Truly, one of the best to ever do it.
More importantly than what I have written above, is to recognize what Picat has done here…
This event and particularly this booking, says a lot about Picat’s roots and ambitions. To keep pushing what you love regardless of how crazy it seems.
Before you think this is for deep house lovers only, I promise you it’s not. It’s for people who love to have fun with like-minded people. A good vibe all round at one of the prominent spots in Kwa Thema. This is a story of a guy who just does what he loves and wants to contribute and make a name for himself. For the house scene in SA and Joburg in particular, we will talk about this one for years.
Don’t miss it!
The date is 13 July 2019 at Bahama Bar, KwaThema. Tickets are available for R300 at Computicket.