Extreme E to launch in the desert of AlUla in one month
Electric SUV series will take place in extreme environments around the world hit by climate issues
Extreme E’s first ever race is just one month away, and with 10 teams ready to compete, fielding a legendary lineup of champion drivers, the series is gearing up for an epic opening weekend of action when it all kicks off on April 3-4 in AlUla, Saudi Arabia.
Extreme E is a new racing series, which will see electric SUVs competing in extreme environments around the world which have already been damaged or affected by climate and environmental issues.
“We are a motorsports obsessed nation, with a long and proud history of hosting some of the world’s most famous rallies, and of our own drivers participating internationally,” said Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Sports Prince Abdul Aziz bin Turki Al-Faisal.
“We have been honored by Extreme E choosing the dramatic natural landscape of AlUla to host its maiden race in April and we can’t wait to offer all of our support to ensure it goes down in history as an unforgettable new chapter for motor racing.”
There are 10 teams signed up for Season 1 including three owned by current and former Formula 1 World Champions, with Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg and Jenson Button founding X44, Rosberg X Racing and JBXE respectively.
Joining those teams will be ABT CUPRA XE, ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team, Andretti United, Chip Ganassi Racing, Hispano Suiza Xite Energy Team, Team TECHEETAH and Veloce Racing.
The teams and cars are now making their way to Saudi Arabia. “The St. Helena ship is on her way to Saudi Arabia, and it all feels very
real,” Alejandro Agag, founder and CEO of Extreme E, said.
“This momentous moment is the culmination of years of hard work and planning, and I know AlUla will capture our audience when they get to see this incredible place, such a special setting for our first race.”
The Extreme E driver lineup brings together champions from a variety of motorsport disciplines spanning single-seaters to rallying, rallycross, Dakar and sportscar racing: Mattias Ekstrom and Claudia Hurtgen (ABT CUPRA XE); Carlos Sainz and
Laia Sanz (ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team); Timmy Hansen and Catie Munnings (Andretti United); Kyle LeDuc and Sara Price (Chip Ganassi Racing); Oliver Bennett and Christine Giampaoli (Hispano Suiza Xite Energy Team); Jenson Button (JBXE); Johan Kristoffersson and Molly Taylor (Rosberg X Racing); Stephane Sarrazin and Jamie Chadwick (Veloce Racing); and Sabastien Loeb and Cristina Gutierrez (X44).
“We’re only three months in, but 2021 has already been a monumental year for motorsport in Saudi Arabia,
with our second Dakar Saudi held in January and our third Formula E race weekend in February,” said Prince Khalid Bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal, chairman of the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation (SAMF).
“Next, we combine what makes those two events so special — the unrivaled yet testing beauty of our vast desert landscape, and clean energy racing — in hosting Extreme E’s first ever event.”
Not only will Extreme E bring wheel-to-wheel racing to a global audience through its more than 40 international broadcasters, it has a wider purpose – to highlight the climate emergency affecting everybody worldwide.
Each destination has been chosen with a different environmental issue in mind: the Desert X Prix in Saudi Arabia will highlight desertification, the Ocean X Prix in Senegal rising sea levels, the Arctic X Prix in Greenland the melting ice cap, the Amazon X Prix in Brazil deforestation and the Glacier X Prix in Patagonia glacial recession.
Amid the recent rise of independent music in Saudi Arabia, one record label is doing its part to develop a homegrown platform for local artists.
Wall of Sound is a label and recording studio founded at a difficult-but-promising time, as industries across the board continue to struggle to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic while a momentous cultural shift continues in the Kingdom.
The project was conceived by Ahmed Shawly, a seasoned music-industry professional who has spent much of the last two decades learning firsthand how the industry functions through his work with the likes of Rotana and Music Master. Wall of Sound was born from his desire to create something designed by musicians for musicians. Shawly spent time managing record stores, working in music distribution and sales, and eventually overseeing label releases and signing artists.
“That helped me to know what people what really want and what’s trending or not,” Shawly told Arab News. “At the end of 2019, I felt it was time to do my own thing. I’ve been in music for the past 14 years so I wanted to use my experience, especially now that the country is opening up. You can sense a whole scene coming alive. We wanted to create a place that musicians would love. A place they want to record in, a place they can release their music through.” So he joined forces with three other partners to develop Wall of Sound.
“There are people here who understand the music business and can do justice to the local artists” he added.
Shawly dismisses the perception that record labels or recording studios are obsolete these days, with so many tools and platforms are available to artists online. He believes that the guidance, support and — most importantly — knowledge that a good record label can provide is crucial in pushing artists forward.
“You still need a label to help you, to perfect your PR and to perfect your sound, and give you experience of how to execute the whole project. The whole principle of Wall of Sound is to support local artists that we believe have potential and an original sound that can be taken to the next level. We want to support the local scene.” To do that, Shawly and his partners realized the importance of building a place that is not only professional and welcoming, but also has the best possible technical setup, from sound systems to interior design. Wall of Sound brought in experts from Germany to ensure that the acoustics and sound treatment of the studio were the very best. Once they nailed that, the team began further developing the brand, how the label would operate, and their approach to talent hunting and development. “At the moment, we have eleven artists signed,” Shawly said. “It’s been three months since we opened and so far we’ve piloted three bands”
Those bands include Saudibased alternative-rockers Skeleton Crowd, who have been active on the scene for the past four years or so. The band have already released their debut single under Wall of Sound, “Unus Mundus,” along with a music video, and will release their debut album later this year.
Other signings include EON – a 20-year-old solo artist — and the Jeddah-based alt-pop duo Fulana. “We want to push the agenda of focusing on original artists,” Shawly said. “This is a long-term project. Success won’t be immediate. We want to work on consistency and building a fanbase for the artists.
“I love to work with artists who are really committed, especially here,” he continued. “We don’t have a major scene. It’s always been about artists recording and releasing whenever.”
Wall of Sound wants to shift that mentality by focusing on building artists’ sound and identity over a sustained period of time. Creativity and teamwork are other qualities they look for in any artist they sign.
“Taking risks and being experimental is important for us as well,” said Shawly. “We don’t want to go the commercial route; we want to create music we love and our artists love — something authentic and artistic.”
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