Nastia, Anthony Parasole and Dogstarr in The Lab Johannesburg

Mixmag and BUDX are proud to partner to bring you the newest destination of the Lab this summer: The Lab Johannesburg.

On Wednesday, September 4, local underground hero Dogstarr joins techno heavyweights Nastia and Anthony Parasole behind the decks in The Lab Johannesburg.

Since graduating from Red Bull Music Academy, Cape Town in 2003, Dogstarr has advanced to become one of the biggest proponents of the underground scene in South Africa. With over 20 years of raving experience, the Johannesburg native has played most of his country's major music festivals including Rocking the Daisies, Oppikoppi, CTEMF, Mielie Pop and Griet Fest. He is the co-founder and co-owner of two of the city's most essential clubbing destinations, ToyToy and &Club. Both of these places have given Johannesburg a vital boost of underground energy that has helped shape the sound of the city's electronic scene. From low slung disco to four on the floor techno, Dogstarr's palpable enthusiasm for the dancefloor allows him to adapt to any sonic situation.

Anthony Parasole is one of NYC's favorite underground trailblazers. Starting off as a record buyer for the record store Halcyon, Parasole's penchant for the deepest sounds of techno and house and quickly rose to prominence within his city's underground dance music resurgence in the late 2000s. He launched his label called The Corner in 2012 and eventually his Deconstruct Music imprint with his partner Levon Vincent. The sound of his curation and production spread worldwide, leading him to play gigs in over 35 countries and eventually landing a residency at the world-famous Berlin club, Berghain. Armed with his uncanny ability to challenge dancefloors worldwide with his pure techno sound, Parasole is a master of his art whose always up for the task.

Anastasia Topolskaia, aka Nastia, is a force of nature behind the decks. She hails from a tiny Ukrainian village where as a child she helped her mother rear chickens and pigs, with no musical education to speak of. Finding her affinity for dance music after she first snuck into a club at the age of 13, Nastia entrenched herself in clubland culture and through pure grit and dedication, rose to take her position among Europe's most in-demand selectors. It was in 2009 that a clip of her performing during a nine-hour set at Moscow festival KaZantip went viral and awed ravers everywhere. In 2013 she entered the production studio for the first time and showed equal adeptness at crafting transcendent cuts of simmering, deep techno. In the same year, she founded her vinyl-only Propaganda label through which she has pushed a similarly distinct sound. Since then, she's continued to crush her studio work and dazzle crowds at essential festivals and clubs all over the globe. She has also taken up an interest in mentoring young women via Smirnoff's Equalising Music programme, joining fellow former Mixmag cover stars The Black Madonna, Honey Dijon and Peggy Gou. Nastia's sound, style and attitude encompass everything we love about dance music. Don't miss out on her set!

For a chance to attend The Lab - Johannesburg on August 21, RSVP here.

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