Jason Carter is a harp-guitarist and world traveller, having brought his unique sounds to some of the most far-flung regions of the globe he is blazing a trail through Dubai and we had a chance to sit down and catch up with him ahead of his performance on February 20th closing off our 9th Concert Series.

Janurary 20th saw French ska band, Les Fils de Teuhpu, kick off the revamped Friday Fridge to a roaring success. Unperturbed by the looming threat of Dubai's first rain in over a year, a massive crowd of people of all nationalities and walks of life gathered to dance and party the night away. The band charged through an hour-long set of hits both old and new, busting out their full arsenal of instruments including a theremin and a sousaphone! Check out pics and a short vid below.

Photos courtesy of Fabien Chareix.

Indie rockers Beat Antenna shed their amplifiers and pounding drum beats for the more intimate & considered platform of our warehouse to launch our 9th(!) concert series. The trio performed songs off their upcoming album and took the time to reflect with the audience on what it means for them to write a song - check out a video of their song "Wrong Healing" below as well as some choice pics.

January 18th saw a mix of industry professionals and music fans descend upon the exclusive Cavalli Club for the offical launch of fusion pianist Malika's sophomore album 'Sand Star'. Malika performed a handful of tracks from the album live and video blog site My Dubai, My City caught up with her on the night for a quick chat about the release.

The Fridge's own Anne Cabanel sits down with Rodolphe Salles, trumpet player for Parisian ska band Les Fils de Teuphu, ahead of their performance in Dubai on January 20th.

Acoustic Songwriters Showcase Seeks to Strengthen City’s Local Music Scene

Organized by The Fridge and songwriter Harrison Rice, the event focuses on songwriters as one strong foundation of a music community

The event aims to foster the growth of an organic songwriting community within Dubai by allowing established and emerging songwriters a place to showcase their work, build connections and collaborate with one another. Continuing the second Wednesday of every month, the showcase is also a great place to hear some of the city’s best tunes.

“This event fits well into our broader mission,” said Shelley Frost, Director of The Fridge. “We at The Fridge are extremely pleased to be helping spearhead this initiative that brings to the forefront some of the city's most talented singer/songwriters"

“By bringing together the city’s best songwriters into a stronger community, we hope to create an environment in which artists learn from each other, collaborate and even compete to produce a stronger music scene,” added Harrison Rice, songwriter and event organizer. ”It’s about emphasizing not techno beats or hard rock, but the rich nuances of voice, guitar and songwriting. This city has the talent and potential to produce artists of the same caliber as those from London, Seattle or New York, it’s just about continuing to foster the right environment.”

Every showcase will feature a lineup of five artists each playing three songs and will focus on a variety instruments and vocal talent. There are three rules participants must abide by: works must be acoustic and original; no more than two people may perform per set; and it’s got to be good.

The showcase is open to all songwriters across the Emirates. Those interested in participating may email a sample song and bio to songwriters@thefridgedubai.com

Monday 12th December saw Dubai's most elite jazz connoisseurs descend upon the Media One Hotel's M-Dek bar and rub shoulders with a lively mix of musicians, industry professionals and fans for the launch of the Elie Afif Quartet's debut album 'Giant Steps To Heaven'.

Playing a mixture of tunes from the album as well as an excellent selection of standards the band spared no expense in displaying their enormous musical chops ahead of the region-wide release of the album in all Virgin Megarstores.

Intrepid photographer Tiffany Schultz was on site to snap some fantastic shots from the evening, you can check out a select few below or hit up the gallery for the full reel.

Video blog My Dubai, My City also put together a short piece on the launch which you can check out below:

On the 29th of November 2011 The Fridge provided entertainment at the ACI Gala Dinner for the annual Airport Exchange Conference. The night was an unprescedented extravaganza featuring the ICE Electric Trio, sultry singer Florentina (with Stoyan on keyboards) & a dazzling aerial performance. We captured some footage from the event that you can check out below as well as some great photos in or gallery.

Video courtesy of lafiphoto.com

On Monday we drew the curtain on our 8th concert series - bringing the total number of performances held over the last two years to 48.

This season we spotlighted what we felt was one of our strongest line-ups yet- a varied and eclectic mix featuring everything from Indian Dance & Jazz to Indie Folk & Arabic Fusion.

We'd like to thank each and everyone of you that came to show your support for wide range of locally based talent that graced our stage this season.

For those that missed out we have a few videos below from some of the choice moments of several of the concerts. Keep your eyes peeled to this blog as we will be annoucning the line-up for the 9th seriers kicking off in January in the upcoming weeks.

Friday 25th November saw our warehouse jam-packed with eager film buffs for the Best Of Screenings / Awards Ceremony of the 48hr Film Project. 11 films were screened in total and winners were announced for a number of categories. We'd like to congratulate all the winners as well as everyone who entered - we enjoyed each and every one of your films!

A few notable winners included friends of The Fridge Assem Kroma (Best Actor, "Paradise Falls" by The Turtles, Mocumentary), Nabil Amarshi (Best Musical Score, "The Peninsula" by Browntown, Western/ Musical) & My Dubai My City (Most Promising Filmmakers, "The Peninsula" by Browntown, Western/ Musical)

You can check out the full list of winners by clicking here and scroll down below for a few pictures from the evening itself courtesy of organiser Mo Rida.

The inaugural month of Live Local Loud has been a resounding success and we'd like to thank everyone who came down to check out the wide variety of local talent on show - from the artists themselves to you music-hungry punters who are precisely what we do these nights for!

December's line-up is looking mighty fine with a varied mix of genres from rock to country to jazz to soul to tango. You can peep it below and make sure you mark your calendars for 7.30pm every Friday to come and join us at the Pyramid Rooftop Gardens at WAFI for some of the best local talent that Dubai has to offer.

Friday Fridge - Live Local Loud - December 2011 Line-up

DEC 2nd - Sandwash (Rock) w/ Ali Emara (Acoustic)

DEC 9th - Tim Hassall (Country/Folk) w/ Caitlin Murphy (Indie)

DEC 23rd - Haruka Horii (Jazz) w/ Aaron Kim (Electronica) ft. Zazous, Haruka's Casual Jazz Ensemble, The Wild Gauchos & Sol' Eclectic

DEC 16th - Rachael Calladine & The Everyday People (Jazz/Soul)

DEC 30th - Hamdan Al Abri (Soul)

Last night the Maayvi Dance Drama Academy were busily putting the finishing touches on their performance scheduled to close our 8th Concert Series tonight.

We snapped a few pics of their rehearsal which you can check out below - there will also be traditional Indian paintings and eco-friendly jewellery for sale.

We're very excited for you to check out what they have in store, it's going to be very special indeed! Click here for full event details.

Fusion pianist extrodinaire Malika is poised to launch her latest single "A New Hope" - a benefit track for the PCRF, a non-profit organisation focusing on helping sick & injured children in need.

This single marks Malika's first foray into vocal performance, having both penned the lyrics and sung on the recording, whereas previously her music has always been exclusively instrumental.

For this project Malika once again teamed up with the dynamic duo production team of Joshua F. Wiliams & Reiner Erlings, who were also behind her latest album "Sand Star"

Once the single is released online 60% of all sales will go directly to the PCRF. You can check out a clip of the upcoming single here.

Tango Trio, The Wild Gauchos were recently featured on an episode of Dubai's premiere online video-guide, My Dubai My City. You can check out the footage below:

The Wild Gauchos are: Haruka (Violin), Stoyan Stoyanov (Accordion) & Amir Mafakher (Guitar)

Ahead of his performance next week as part of The Fridge Concert Series, Khalil Ghadri and his band have been dilligently practicing at our space for the last several weeks. We filmed this short snippet of their rehearsal today as a little taster of what to expect next Monday night. Enjoy!

October 31st saw the Dubai Vocal Ensemble take our stage as part of the 8th Fridge Concert Series amidst whoops, cheers and a raucous standing ovation. This concert marked their first ever public performance outside of St Mary's and we had goosebumps from their stunning renditions of traditional Filipino folk songs exploring different vocal textures and techniques.

We captured a clip of their performance that you can peep below.

In November (Wed 16th - Sat 19th) Gulf Photo Plus will be holidng a FotoWeekend event.

They are looking for four groups or musicians who'd like to have their photos taken.

Requirement: 4 bands or musicians

What to expect: The bands will take part in a photoshoot in the style of a real life client assignment, photographing a band/musician for the cover of a contemporary rock magazine. In this module, students will be expected to create edgy, haunting, exciting and visually stimulating images or the cover a popular rock magazine. Martin Prihoda (instructing photographer) will act as Photo Editor and Art Director, overseeing the shoot in a realistic client setting.

Martin Prihoda is the instructing photographer, a Canadian advertising and portraiture photographer based in Mumbai. The class he will be leading will be Big Lights Far Away, a commercial style workshop covering corporate, fashion and music shoots.

Particulars:

Dates - Thurday Nov 17th 12.00 - 16.30 bands 1 & 2
   Saturday Nov 9th 11.30 - 16.00 bands 3 & 4 

Where - Dubai Knowledge Village

Renumeration - Photographs taken by the students during the workshop will be given to the bands by way of thanks.

If you are interested in taking part please contact Kerstin Spence on kerstin@gulfphotoplus.com

Two weeks ago we hosted our very first full-blown production 'Cirque Du Souq' at the First Group Theatre, Madinat Jumeirah. Both nights were a sold-out success featuring a fusion of dance, music & aerial acrobatics.

A huge thanks to all those that attended and doubly so for your kind words. For those that missed out you can check out the video below to see the show in action or hit up the gallery for some choice shots.

On Monday 24th October alternative folk artist Michael Love Rexen took the stage to kickstart our 8th Concert Series. Michael shared stories about his life in Denmark and played a mixture of his quirky, spine-tingling originals and some of his favourite songs from artists that inspire his boundless creativity.

We captured one of Michael's original compositions "Keep Beating Them Saints" on video - a collaboration with several of Dubai's top musicians in which they improvise over a single chord to create a truly moving piece of music.

Here's what you've all been waiting for! Check below for the full line up of concerts we have planned over the next six weeks. We are extremely excited about this eclectic and diverse performance schedule and hope you'll all enjoy it as much as we did putting it together.

Picture a place where artists are free to experiment and express without compromise. A place where you can sit on beanbags under the stars, smoke shisha, drink cocktails and enjoy unique original music. Sounds good right?

Last Friday 21st October we were proud to launch a new live music night “The Friday Fridge- Live local loud” at the beautiful Pyramid Rooftop Gardens, WAFI. Each week we present a few locally based artists, performing original material, with a jam session towards the end of the evening. It makes a refreshing change to the 80’s cover bands you can hear all around town. (There will be no ‘Hotel California’ here we assure thee ;))

To kick off we had the ‘Wild Gauchos’ performing their charming Argentinean tango with a twist. We then we had the very talented Aaron Kim, performing a mind- blowing fusion of Electric cello with loops and synths. After that I took to the stage with a 7-piece band to perform my original material, a mix of Soul, Jazz and Funk. Concluded with a lively jam session where we all jammed and had a lot of fun.

On a personal note, it really was one of the most enjoyable gigs I’ve performed in Dubai. Jam sessions are one of the things I miss the most about London, and after 3 years living in Dubai that is first time I’ve really been able to improvise and jam live, and perform the songs I have written -without having to sing Sade or Amy Winehouse! ;)

So-if you’re looking for a place to chill and enjoy live music… you know where to be next Friday!

Stay tuned to the event page for line-up details!

Check out this video below of Melisa's performance - thanks to lafiphoto.com for the great footage.

The Fridge is in full swing getting ready for Cirque Du Souq, our debut show at the Madinat Theatre this weekend. The show's official photogrpher (and long-time Fridge supporter) Tiffany Schultz snapped these amazing photos of the cast and the show's choreographer Stacey Carlson from yesterday's rehearsals that we just had to share with you! Friday's show is completely sold out at this stage but there are still a few tickets available for Saturday, so if you've been sitting on the fence, jump off now! This is something you're not going to want to miss!

We're gearing up for our 8th Fridge Concert Series kicking off at the beginning of October and are very excited at how the line up is shaping up!

Below is a behind-the-scenes clip of the Dubai Vocal Ensemble who will be performing as part of the series.

We will be announcing the full line-up very soon so stay tuned!

The second quint @ The Fridge event was a raging success regardless of the mass Dubai exodus over the weekend to the capital to see ex-Oasis frontman's new outfit Beady Eye - discerning art connoisseurs arrived at The Fridge in full force for a very special evening of poetry, spoken word, Shakespeare, music & art.

Artists Laila Masri & Mohammed Hammad held court on the walls of the downstairs portion of the warehouse with both canvas work and a video installation piece.

Upstairs audience members were treated to the rousing spoken verse of Hala Ali, Dana Dajani & Noush Like Sploosh with a little musical backing from cellist Aaron Kim and his loop-station.

Below is a short video of one of the pieces performed by Noush Like Sploosh's & Aaron Kim. We'll post pics in our gallery once we get our hands on them.

On Thursday 15th September Virgin officially kicked of a nearly month-long festival celebrating the very best of Dubai's local music scene in conjunction with the launch of it's newest store at Dubai Mall.

The first performer was none other than The Fridge's own fusion pianist extraordinaire, Malika. Thanks to everyone who came along to show their support, we have some photos below of Malika's performance for you to check out.

If you want to see what other acts will be performing over the coming weeks click here.

Kicking off the new season in style Hugo Ticciati took The Fridge Fringe stage with an eclectic programme featuring works from classical, contemporary, jazz and avant garde composers. Enlisting the help of local dance choreographer Riina Liukkonen and her troupe to incorporate a visual element we were genuinely floored by the calibre of this performance, particularly as several of the elements were either prepared only a few days prior or otherwise improvised on the spot.

Easily one of the most unique performances ever to grace The Fridge, we have some photos and videos for you below.

Last night a small group of some of Dubai's top musicians gathered at The Fridge to participate in a Master Class with visiting violinist Hugo Ticciati. Ideas were shared and creativity was expressed in this intimate coming together of musical minds. Things went so well in fact that Hugo has invited the attendees to perform in his Fridge Fringe concert tonight.

We have a few choice photos from class below.

 Here's a tiny look at Hugo Ticciati's rehearsals ahead of tomorrow's performance as part of the Fridge Fringe. Like what you see? Then come join us! If this clip is anything to go by it promises to be one of the most unique concerts we've ever hosted!

 Check out the event page for more details. 

The Middle East edition of Rolling Stone conducted an interview with our esteemed director Shelley Frost regarding our recently announced venture The Fridge Records. In the interview Shelley discusses the goals of the label as well reasons why we felt it was the right time to launch a platform for getting the music of locally based artists out there into the wild.

You can read the full article here and we'd be keen to hear your feedback regarding it in the comments section below.

On Friday June 24th Dubai's jazz aficionados gathered at the Novotel's Blue Bar to get a sneak preview of Elie Afif's outstanding debut album Giant Steps to Heaven - set to be released in the autumn of 2011. Backed by a trio of the region's top jazz musos, Elie treated the 200+ capacity crowd to a night of quality original muisc with everyone walking away in awe at this young musical talent.

Below are some super pics from the night and we'll besure to keep you posted on more details from the upcoming release.

'Giant Steps To Heaven' is available now for purchase through the iTunes Music store.

quint @ The Fridge is a year-long series spotlighting artistic talent in the UAE - from music and theatre to poetry and art.

The inaugural event of our new initiative with quint kicked off with a bang featuring a stirring musical collaboration between three of Dubai's most eclectic performers - Hamdan Al Abri, Gayathri & Reiner Erlings. As well as artwork from 3 locally based artists on display on the lower level of the warehouse.

Check out photos of the event below and stay tuned for more unique events in the coming months.

*photos courtesy of quint magazine 

Rachael Calladine performs at the DU Jazz Garden alongside Ian Shaw

Malika's second studio album, Sand Star features 8-tracks of dreamy, chilled out piano fusion and is now available across the UAE at all Virgin Megastores For those of you a little more digitally minded it can also be purchased directly from the iTunes music store. Head over to Malika's artist profile to preview a few tracks from Sand Star.