Tiësto & BLK JKS Create Exclusive Track “Dreaming” For Smirnoff Experience™ South Africa

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As part of the Smirnoff Experience™ event in South Africa, DJ/producer Tiësto has created a new and exclusive track for download, merging his unique sound with the prog rock of South African band BLK JKS

APRIL 27th, 2010: The world’s number one DJ/producer Tiësto has set another musical milestone with a new collaboration merging his own unique sound with the prog rock of South Africa’s hottest emerging band BLK JKS - recently awarded ‘Best Alternative Music Album’ at the SAMA’s (South African Music Awards, the equivalent of the US Grammys). As part of a global Smirnoff Experience™ event in South Africa called ‘Mashup Street’, Tiësto has created a new and exclusive track for download. “Dreaming” is only available to Smirnoff fans on Facebook.com/smirnoff. The track will be premiered live to a worldwide audience via an online live stream from the ‘Mashup Street’ event on the 15th May in Johannesburg, allowing people from all over the world to participate. Watch the live stream via www.facebook.com/smirnoff.

Watch the trailer: http://bit.ly/Tiësto SA and an exclusive interview with Tiësto here http://bit.ly/TiestoBLKJKS

“Dreaming” Tiësto vs BLK JKS ... An exclusive download for Smirnoff
“Dreaming” has the Dutch dance music superstar’s signature all over it, with a brooding synthy intro and a building bassline pulsating then breaking to reveal BLK JKS’ intense vocal. The electro-trance breakdown follows a cinematic mix of rising strings and a chorus of call and response using a bass hook of epic proportion, infused with blips of township funk and kwaito bop.
Tiësto is no stranger to collaborations having recently worked with the likes of Nelly Furtado and Jónsi from Sigur Rós, but even the man himself admitted this one was something special:

Tiësto comments:
“Over the past year, I’ve done several collaborations with artists from a variety of genres, but have never worked with an artist from South Africa. I was excited by the opportunity to work with an act like BLK JKS, who are influenced by their South African roots, but also have some dance music sensibility. I’m looking forward to playing “Dreaming” live for the first time on May 15 at Smirnoff Experience™South Africa and on tour this summer. ”

BLK JKS said in response:
“Some people don’t realise it, but we are big fans of dance music. We’re honoured to be selected by Tiësto and Smirnoff to take part in this collaboration. We’ve created a straight up dance track, which is not what we would normally produce on our own. I think “Dreaming” will surprise our own fans, and hopefully open us up to new ones.”

Smirnoff Experience™ South Africa ‘Mashup Street’ is an event that celebrates the fusion of vibrant South African music and street cultures. Tiësto will preside over this one-of-a-kind experience as the headline talent. Mixing modern and classic genres of music, fashion art and mixology, ‘Mashup Street’ provides the ultimate canvas for Tiësto and BLK JKS to bring their creative vision to the world.

About Smirnoff Be There
The Tiësto concert, his collaboration with BLK JKS and Smirnoff Experience™ ‘Mashup Street’ is the latest installment from Smirnoff’s BE THERE program—a call on others to create, seek out and participate in more one-of-a-kind experiences.

To find out different ways to BE THERE fans from around the world just need to go to www.smirnoff.com or www.facebook.com/smirnoff. Visitors to the Smirnoff Facebook page will also have access to exclusive downloads, posts and pictures including a special free video download of Tiësto’s experience in South Africa, as well as his latest collaboration with BLK JKS.

About Smirnoff Experience™
With stops in Moscow, Shanghai, Paris and New York, the Smirnoff Experience™ series continues its journey around the world, having landed last weekend in Berlin on 23rd April with headliner Simian Mobile Disco before heading to South Africa. The events celebrate originality in nightlife by bringing to life original concepts, forming one-off collaborations and championing original party experiences.

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Celebrating life, every day, everywhere, responsibly.

Notes to Editors:

“Dreaming” (the Track)
The name of the track / MP3 is: Dreaming
Artist reference: Tiësto vs BLK JKS
Album reference: Smirnoff Exclusive

About Tiësto

Tiësto is the world's largest DJ, whose musical achievements are unsurpassed. Currently on his Kaleidoscope World Tour, which is the biggest DJ-only tour in history, Tiësto is playing a 14 month long schedule with over 150 dates across 6 continents to an unprecedented 1,000,000+ people.

Inspired by the likes of U2, his arena sized shows feature music which he writes and produces, including current hits with Nelly Furtado, Jónsi from Sigur Rós, Tegan & Sara, Three 6 Mafia and Calvin Harris. Also a renowned remixer, Tiësto's touch has been demanded by the likes of Muse, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and Goldfrapp. He has been nominated for a Grammy, performed at the opening ceremony of the Athens Olympics with music he composed especially for the occasion, wowed the rock festival crowds at Coachella and Bonnaroo and currently has songs charting across the globe. He is, in short, the biggest DJ the world has ever seen.

About BLK JKS

BLK JKS defy description - with a wrecking crew rhythm section, debonair vocals, and guitar concoction of one part shred and two parts soul, BLK JKS shoot an African music sensibility through the tenets of rock. On the heels of a worldwide tour for the band's 2009 debut full-length After Robots (Secretly Canadian), BLK JKS recently won a South African Music Awards (SAMA) for ‘Best Alternative Album.’

The band's fresh, forward rhythm, layered harmony and elliptical guitar vernacular reveal the urban Zulu blues of mbaqanga that is the center of BLK JKS songwriting. Teaching themselves guitar on the same block where they both grew up, childhood friends Lindani Buthelezi and Mpumi Mcata formed the original alliance, and early BLK JKS shows garnered attention for their stacks of guitar drone and head-nodding beats.
After the band's current lineup took shape with the addition of bassist Molefi Makananise and drummer Tshepang Ramoba, both of Soweto, BLK JKS began work with a fresh approach and embarked on a heavy touring schedule throughout South Africa that earned them a national following. Breaking out to the US and Europe in 2008, the following year the band released After Robots—described by Mail & Guardian as "probably the most important South African album to have appeared in the past 20 years"—to international fanfare and critical acclaim. BLK JKS will release an new EP in advance of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

Embed code for track/live stream player

For more information:

Diageo Plc
Marisa Brickman, Global Head of PR Smirnoff
Marisa.Brickman@Diageo.com

Splendid Communications
Becca Graham
becca@splendidcommunications.com
+442073247200