Terri Dunbar-Curran
WITH a relaxed smile and light fingers, Captain Hook commands the attention of crowds from behind the deck, as they vibrate as one waiting for the beat to drop.
Cape Town psytrance and electro fans can get a taste of the Israeli DJ’s sound at this year’s Synergy Live event at Theewaterskloof from November 28 to 30. Captain Hook (Reshef Harari) will perform alongside the likes of Atmos and Mindwave at the nine-hour Sirius Sunday Electronic Music Experience.
“I believe that less is more,” he says. “The more you layer and the more you keep it minimal and give it depth you can create a wide range of tracks. Like a good chef can make a really awesome meal with just bread, butter and salt and pepper.”
Captain Hook says that he’s largely influenced by techno and progressive trance. “But I’m doing my own thing. I used to mix my sound with dubstep,” he says, adding that it’s what he felt like doing at the time. “But now I’m back to my own sound.”
There’s a saying he likes, which he feels sums it up nicely: “It’s better to be a pirate than join the navy”. Is that where his name comes from? He laughs no, he used to like pirates when he was a child and decided that he wanted to associate himself and his “psychedelic space invasion, funky, humoristic” style with the most famous pirate of the planet. Adding another layer to the name is that “Hook” refers to part of a track.
Synergy revellers can expect “original, twisted, psychedelic beats with a cheeky approach”, leaning towards tribal.
“I want to bring my freshest, funkiest sounds, mixed with some of my first tracks,” he says. “I like to create a story which starts in deep trance and goes up and up and its like a wave which brings you down again.”
While he hasn’t settled on his set just yet, fans can be assured that there’s a lot of thought going into it.
“When I’m going to bring something fresh it takes days to decide which track to play first. On a trance tour it’s easier because I’m in the flow,” he says, explaining that travelling to different cities around the world means playing for very different scenes. “You have to recreate everything from scratch. I love it. I’m super excited to cut, crop, paste and drop.”
Making his appearance at Synergy that much more special is that fact that he’ll be celebrating his 32nd birthday while he’s there, and he’s looking forward to being able to join in with the party.
And there’s no shortage of international headliners, local bands, live acts, comedians and electronic artists to ensure it’s going to be a festive weekend. Catch McCree, Stoker, Reburn aKing, Taxi Violence and Jonny Bud on the Main Stage. Also performing are Yo Grapes, Michael Lowman, Bombay Bicycle Club and Shortstraw.
Head over to the Red Bull Studio Live stage for electronica, drum and bass, dub step and deep house from the likes of SPY, Egbert and Secret Cinema.
Grab a cocktail over at the ERA Beach Club for some deep house and techno with Cape Town names as well as international cameo acts Stimming, Ron Costa, Lake People and DJ Anna.
Once again, The Comedy Club will see a line-up of local comedians make sure spirits are kept high between music sets. Look out for Martin Evans, Rhys Woods, Yaaseen Barnes, Paul Snodgrass, Angel Campey, Kellyn Coetzee, Westley Cockrell, Phil DeLange, Sne Dladla and Brendan Murray.
l No under 18s. Tickets: R590 – R620 full weekend, R520 – R550 Saturday and Sunday, R185 – R200 Sunday, www.webtickets.co.za