Calvin Harris
Age: 29
Nationality: Scottish
Career: Real name Adam Richard Wiles, the Scottish DJ and producer has been eagerly sought by pop stars including Rihanna, Pitbull, Chris Brown and Mary J Blige. Harris began his career producing bedroom demos in 1999 before being discovered on MySpace and snapped up with a record deal in 2006. A year later he released his debut, the electroclash inspired I Created Disco and built on the success with the 2008 follow up Ready for the Weekend. However, it was last year’s 18 Months where he truly hit the big time with up to eight singles released from the album.
Reach: The man is everywhere at the moment with a large catalogue of radio hits and headlining most of the major dance festivals. His profile grew so big that in June, Forbes magazine declared him this year’s highest-earning DJ, having grossed more than US$46 million (Dh168 million) over the past 12 months.
Hits: 18 Songs alone saw 25 million singles copies sold that was led by his Rihanna collaboration We Found Love and his hook-up with Ellie Goulding, I Need Your Love. Even his scrappier first single, Acceptable in the 80s, can be found spinning on the radio.
Weaknesses: Some fans are beginning to pine for “old Calvin”. The quirky sounds of the past have made way for full-bodied anthemic productions that end up sounding indiscernible from each other when performed live. Don’t call Harris a sell-out, though, the last fan who did that during a concert faced a brutal tongue-lashing from the DJ.
Final words: “I love playing live,” Harris told the BBC. “The thing I enjoy about playing live is playing new songs that you suspect might go off.”
The Prodigy
Formed: 1990
Nationality: English
Career: Made up of the producer Liam Howlett and the vocalists Keith Flint and Maxim Reality, the veterans played an influential role in bringing rave and dance music to new ears. Their career peak remains their thrilling third album The Fat of the Land. The 1997 release is credited as a modern-day classic and crossed over to appeal to the normally dance-averse rock community. While the last two albums Always Outnumbered Never Outgunned (2004) and Invaders Must Die (2009) found them maintaining their commercial success, the innovative spirit began to dim and be replaced by productions recalling past hits or ones that were depressingly generic.
Reach: Over the course of five albums, The Prodigy exhibit a cyclone of edgy sounds including hard-core techno, rock, punk and industrial music. The result has them commanding a large following among pop, rock and dance communities. The group are equally at home headlining dance and rock festivals.
Hits: The Prodigy’s albums may have become increasingly flabby but they still know how to pick their singles. From 1994’s creepy Voodoo People and punkish energy of 1996’s Firestarter to the more vintage big beat edge of 2009’s Warrior’s Dance, The Prodigy’s material is meant to be played loud at skull-crushing volumes.
Weaknesses: Unlike Susan Boyle, who just cancelled her Friday concert, the trio (augmented by a drummer and guitarist on stage) are constant road hounds and are known for explosive sets. That said, the absence of new material has had them peddling out the same greatest hits sets for nearly four years. Those who saw them abroad in the past three years would not miss much in terms of the set list.
Final words: “We love touring and doing gigs, that’s why we make music,” says Liam Howlett. “It’s the one thing that can’t be downloaded, that feeling of playing it live and seeing people’s reactions to the music.”
• Calvin Harris and The Prodigy are performing at Creamfields Abu Dhabi on Friday at the du Arena, Yas Island. They take to the stage at 11.45pm and 1.30am respectively . Tickets cost from Dh275 from www.ticketmaster.ae or by calling 800 (86 823)
sasaeed@thenational.ae
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
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Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
