Dance/Electronic

Desire Marea is a South African multidisciplinary artist whose tense, challenging work draws from several post-industrial and club music styles, and addresses themes such as loneliness, trauma, and displacement. Also a member of performance art duo FAKA, Marea released their debut solo album, Desire, in 2020.

EgoliBorn Buyani Duma, Desire Marea majored in Performing Arts at the National School of the Arts in Johannesburg, and also earned their bachelor's degree in Visual Communication at the Vega School. They pursued acting and worked at a top South African advertising agency. They formed the queer performance art duo FAKA with Thato Ramaisa (aka Fela Gucci) in 2015. Appearing on 2015's NON Worldwide Compilation, Vol. 1, the pair released the 2016 EP Bottoms Revenge on the label, and Marea was additionally featured on Angel-Ho's Emancipation EP. FAKA's second EP, 2017's Amaqhawe, was more club-ready than their debut, reflecting the influence of South Africa's gqom scene. The duo performed at numerous festivals, including MELT!, Roskilde, and Sonar, and were commissioned to write music for several high-profile fashion shows. They were also featured on Africa Express's 2019 album Egoli.

Marea digitally released their first solo album, Desire, on Izimakade Records in 2020. With nearly operatic vocals sung in English and Zulu, the record's tracks ranged from sophisticated art pop to noisy IDM. The album received word-of-mouth acclaim, and Mute picked it up for a physical release in 2021.

Ausecuma Beats formed as a combination of musicians from Australia, the Senegambia region, Cuba, and Mali… And hence the name Ausecuma, combining the four regions into one word.

As a result, Ausecuma Beats as a band stands for unity among diverse peoples, and it shows through their combined influences from Africa, Cuba, and Australia.

Yusupha Ngum is the lead singer of Ausecuma Beats. He is a superstar in his native Gambia, where he has had many hits in the complex rapidfire percussion style of West African “mbalax” music. He spent many years as the opening act in West Africa for African superstar Youssou N’dour. Yusupha’s soaring and passionate voice grabs you by the heartstrings and moves you, just through its incredible sound (you have to hear it to believe it).

Boubacar Gaye is from Senegal in West Africa, where his magic with the djembe (African drum) led him to become a member of the famous percussion group Mama Afrika. Boubacar’s career led to tours of Europe and a long career in Japan, and finally to Australia. Until you’ve heard Boubacar play, you would have never thought so many complex rhythms could come from a simple drum!

Rodolfo Hechavarria, known as “Panga”, hails from Cuba, where he became a virtuoso with the congas. He joined the traditional Cuban music band Sonora La Calle, with whom he toured Europe, and shared the stage with some of Cuba’s most famous musicians. In Australia, he combines his skill with the congas to contribute to the complex percussive rhythms of Ausecuma Beats!

Ed Crocker is a very successful drummer, having played with many successful bands, at many music festivals in Australia, and at the Glastonbury Festival in England. His incredible energy on the drum kit is astounding, and he has an uncanny ability to knock out very complex beats. Ed rounds out the incredible three-person percussion section of Ausecuma Beats!

Bassidi Koné comes from a Griot family in Mali, and achieved virtuosity on the balafon – an African wooden xylophone-like instrument. No matter what the genre, he infuses the music with the heritage of centuries of his family’s musical tradition. Bassidi has won many prestigious national music awards in Mali.

Adam Halliwell has had a very successful career on the electric guitar, having worked in free jazz and with bands in both East African and West African musical styles. He’s toured both Europe and Japan. Adam is known for his incredible skills at improvisation.

The Crystal Method is an American electronic music act formed in Las Vegas, Nevada, by Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland in the early 1990s. They were pioneers of the big beat genre and their music has appeared in numerous TV shows, films, video games, and advertisements. Their 1997 debut studio album Vegas was certified platinum in 2007, and saw follow-ups Tweekend, Legion of Boom, Divided by Night, and The Crystal Method. In 2017, Ken Jordan retired from music and left the group, with Scott Kirkland adopting The Crystal Method as a solo moniker.

The Crystal Method originally had two members, Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland. Before The Crystal Method was formed, Jordan and Kirkland started working on music while working at a grocery store. Jordan was also a local DJ in Las Vegas as well as the college radio program director at UNLV. Jordan taught Kirkland how to DJ, and when Jordan moved to Los Angeles to work for a producer, Kirkland took over his job DJing at the local club. Kirkland also moved out to Los Angeles, and they formed The Crystal Method in 1993.

While working as a production duo for a rapper, a person named Crystal would handle transportation needs. The rapper repeatedly referred to her method of transportation as "The Crystal Method." The pair adopted the name based on the layout of the three words and the sound of the name.