You know how they say you should live while you’re young? well...Whoever they were, they were right.
Spot on actually. In the last few months
leading up to the New Year, I had drawn up a bucket list containing things I haven’t
experienced yet vs. what I’ve been forced to hear my friends rave about all the time. I decided to challenge myself with this little adventure list and the first one I needed to tick off was to attend the International Music
Festival South Africans have been so lucky to experience in the last couple of years,
Ultra South Africa. Although I had seen the after movies from the last
year, I was easily convinced by my peers that you only get the true vibe experience once you’re in
the crowd and a world famous DJ drops his beat. So I did what I had to do and scored
myself a media pass to the official press conference as well as the main event. Yes, you can say I slayed that Friday the 13th dragon.
Now don’t get me wrong. I don’t want to sound like a snob who's been living under a rocks for all eternity, but I never gave trance or edm music a proper listen to, so getting the opportunity to attend such a successful and renowned international music festival like this, didn’t quite hit me until stepping Into that elevator at the pepper club Hotel on the 13th of February and seeing everyone so happy and excited. Immediately I realised that I was infact very lucky to be there. 19 floors later, we arrived at the penthouse suite to a buzzing venue filled with media and press. We anxiously sipped our appletizers, took our seats and waited patiently. The official voice of ultra MR Damian Pinto gets on the mic to welcome us and introduces us to the world famous Djs. Martin Garrix, Armin Van Buuren, Dvbbs, Hardwell, Oliver
Heldens and even our very own DJ Fresh & Euphonik and Goldfish Live. Mics begin to circle the room and the questions start flowing. The djs were so humble and down to earth, it was actually refreshing. 18 year old martin, seemed to have been asked the most questions and someone even tried to sneak in a personal question whereby he replied with a giggle and “errrm…that’s private.” They also spoke about where their inspiration to their sets for later on had come from and why they were so excited to return to our shores for a second time. The conference soon ended and I left there feeling it. And by it I mean the vibes of excitement everyone else had been holding in for months. I was ready to be in a crowd of 25000+ people dancing their hearts out. I was ready for ULTRA!
(pictures from the conference are my own)
I was a little bummed that we only made it through the still
heavy traffic by 8pm, missing all the South African acts who apparently smashed it all afternoon long but we did however make it just in time to hear
the closing few beats of Martin Garrix’s set and man can that kid play. Coming through the tent,
I was amazed at the amount of people there actually were. All of them on an equal level, holding
hands in groups of 5, no one person dived from the next, dancing towards the
massive crowed of waving glow sticks, Confetti and even fire works. No care in the world besides having fun and
“living while they’re young”. Instantly
the euphoric energy made me realise that I had in fact been growing old to fast in the couple of years past and
not enjoying my youth as often as I should, due to the on-going hustle most of
us are to thick skinned to give up on (haha).
I thought to myself. I am here to
tick off one itinerary on that bucket list of mine yes and hey, even because I
might be trying different things with the blog and this was the one step I
needed to take to keep it moving. But most
importantly. I was there to give myself the night that was owed to me for a solid few years now. The night I
would never possibly forget. The night I
danced in the rain like I was in a Kevin and Perry movie. The night I lost my friends and family in the crowed and kept on grooving on my own. The night I LIVED while I was young!! Initially, I had plans to go into the pit (front stage) possibly for some videos
of the crowed, but then my battery died and I got so into Hardwell’s Set, I ended
up in front of the pit but on the other side.
The side with 25000 people dancing behind me and there was no way I was
going to leave. The rest as they say
folks….is history!
(The pictures below are all sourced from Rukes.com)
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