Smirnoff Experience Shanghai

The Smirnoff event in Shanghai was the second event of our Global Smirnoff Experience. I still remembered the unbelievable collaboration of Faithless and the Musica Viva Orchestra in Moscow like it was yesterday. With the line up of Tom Middleton in collaboration with “The Lab” local turntablists collective, Hard-Fi with the Chinese Shanxi Drummer and DJ Sasha, I was ready to experience the musical magic.

The event greeted guests with the stunning world’s longest cocktail list, which had 1,320 variations of welcome drinks. Then, I was attracted by the Tangram wall which challenged my architectural sense. Before I moved on to other features, the electrifying collaboration between Tom and The Lab started its prelude.

The four DJs of the crew stood side by side with their best friends: mixers. Various impressive turntable skills from the talented locals combined with Tom’s selection and resulted in rhythmic gratification. I was in a magical moment when the song made the transition to Drum n’ Bass. We all were having a photo shoot - myself and Ania dancing inside the Smirnoff Ice booth with fake snow falling off from the above.

Then came Hard-Fi. Even though I am not a big fan of indie band music, the joint performance with the Shanxi Drummers was truly satisfying for a beat addict like me.

Finally, DJ Sasha with his special selection of an exclusive rock remix set finished off the already hyped crowd. Admittedly, after his performance I felt that laptop DJs lose a bit of that mystic energy that tickles the admiration of another DJ. When the movement on the stage was reduced to finger clicking the mouse and eyes staring into the tiny laptop screen, I just could not feel “it”. But his selection and mixing skills replaced the missing energy.

By the end of the night, I was thinking of the Faithless performance in the Moscow event. I cannot really tell which act overwhelmed another. Original collaborations provided original music experiences that can not be compared. It is not a 1+1=2 but rather 1+1=11.