Wednesday, Jan 15, 2014

Forget throwback Thursdays - this Friday in Dubai is where nostalgia reaches its glorious peak. With the help of five defining acts of the ’90s, you can witness the live rendition of your favourite old-school playlist at the MiXTAPE Rewind Festival. The annual show, starting at 8pm at Emirates Golf Club, will include performances from Boney M (Daddy Cool), N-Trance (Set You Free), Vengaboys (We’re Going to Ibiza!), Snap! (The Power) and Dr. Alban (It’s My Life).

Ahead of the show, tabloid! spoke to Penny Ford of Snap! and Dr. Alban himself to catch up on past years and see how their infamous hits stood the test time.

SNAP!

Formation: 1989

Genre: Eurodance

Biggest hit: The Power

Snap! has gone through quite a few line-up changes. Who are the current members?

At this point, the group consists of myself, the original singer. Turbo B, the original rapper, is not with us at the moment. I have a new rapper by the name of Benjamin, and he is from Venice Beach, California.

The group must be like your baby; it’s been through a lot and it’s been around for a while.

It sort of was the accidental definition of my career, let’s say that. I was singing with Chaka Khan and working on my own stuff, which leant itself more to an R’n’B-jazz type genre, and in the middle of that - whoops! Here goes this big, huge Eurodance hit that became an iconic record.

You’ll be performing the song you’re talking about, The Power, in Dubai. Did you ever think it was going be what it is today?

When I first sang it, I thought I would never, ever hear it again. To be honest with you, I never wanted to hear it again. Jazz musicians, we were a bit snooty about it. We looked at rap and dance music and hip-hop as something that was bothering us that would go away, only it did the opposite.

What does that song mean to you now?

It’s like an incredible gift that the universe gave to me, to be able to be the keeper of so many people’s memories, and to be identified with so many important moments in people’s lives. I get so many stories from people that are serious things, people who’ve done prison sentences and gotten through it by listening to The Power. I get a lot from soldiers who identify that song with them fighting in war. It’s an incredible responsibility, but it’s one that is so rewarding. A lot of people were in their teen years when we recorded it 25 years ago. They now are parents of teens themselves, and they bring their kids to the concerts, and then their parents come to the concerts, so it’s literally three generations of people who come to my shows. It’s awesome.

What songs and musicians were you listening to in the ’90s?

I was listening to more Steely Dan, and of course Chaka Khan and [jazz guitarist] Pat Matheny. I was seriously into my jazz in the ’90s, because I needed to keep my head straight, because I was afraid I would lose that in being a dance artist. All my friends were jazz musicians and they all thought I was crazy. I never wanted them to hear [my music]. I was like, “I’m gonna be their laughing stock.” And it turns out that they had all been totally proud of me and wished that they had the opportunity to do what I’m doing.

What’s next?

I’ve been working on so much live stuff that it leaves very little time for the studio, but myself and the producers have been getting together lately, thinking about doing new things. It gets complicated when you start doing new things, because you have to do new contracts, and everybody’s head is in a different space, but we have been talking about doing something. I’ve been pressing them to do something for the 25th anniversary of Snap! So, stay tuned, it is highly possible!

DR. ALBAN

Genre: Hip-hop reggae/Eurodance

Formation: 1990

Biggest hit: It’s My Life

You haven’t released a full album since 2008 - what’ve you been up to since then?

I was around touring around Europe and America, and I’m writing a brand new album, which is due out March and April. It’s gonna be the same style, but some 2014 sound put in it. The kind of songs I write are party music and they’re club music, so I’m in that mood all the time — I don’t like chilling. Chilling is not my thing.

It’s My Life was a defining song of the ’90s. Did you expect it to explode in the way that it has?

When you write a song, people decide how big it’s gonna be. You write what you think, and sing what you want, but at the end of the day, it’s the people who make up their mind. And when people make up their mind that the song is a great song, then it’s a great song,

Was there something about that song that made it so successful?

Everyone can identify with the song. You know how many times people are bugging other ones and yelling at other ones, and you just tell them, ‘It’s my life! Take it or leave it.’ It’s a song everyone identifies with and sees themselves in.

What were you listening to back in the day?

I was listening to a lot of ’70s in those days. I was listening to a lot of Brother Johnson, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Donna Summer, Earth, Wind & Fire and James Brown.

And what music are you listening to right now?

I just listen a lot to the ’90s, and try to modernise them and remix them to something new — something updated to 2014. I don’t like anything of 2010, 2011, and 2013. After the ’90s, nobody says ‘We listen to the music of the 2000s.’ There’s nothing like that. There’s no sound that’s called 2000s. There was a sound that was called ‘90s. There was a sound that was called ‘80s, and ‘70s. [Now] it’s copy, copy, copy and remix and remake. The DJ thing will just come and go — it’s a trend thing, I think so.

Is there something about that time period you miss?

Those times were great. One of the biggest things of the ’90s is that those songs are getting bigger [and] bigger, even now — or as big as they were [back then]. People remember them, and people wanna play them, and people want to dance to them still in 2014.

By Marwa Hamad Staff Reporter

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