KEY POINTS:
From the bright lights of Paris to the sunny skies of Auckland, DJ royalty Bob Sinclar is in town today to headline this year's Summadayze Festival at the Ellerslie Convention Centre.
Best known for his hit Love Generation, which became an unofficial summer anthem for beach revellers everywhere last year, Sinclar has cemented his reputation as one of the world's best-loved house DJs, and was recently named the Best DJ and International Dance Artist at last year's World Music Awards.
Sinclar first hit the music radar in 1998 when he sampled vocals from a Jane Fonda aerobics video on the track Gym Tonic. At the time, nobody had heard of Sinclar and whispers circulated that the mystery DJ was everything from a jewel thief to a high-class gigolo.
Alas, he turned out simply to be the alter ego of established French disc spinner Chris Lefriant, known for mixing acid jazz with hip-hop throughout the late 80s and 90s.
After hearing the hip-hop/house hybrids emerging from New York in the late 90s, Lefriant decided to try his hand at the up-tempo genre under the alias Bob Sinclar - a name taken from an old French spy film.
With more than 18 albums recorded under five different aliases, Lefriant is attributed with bringing the "French touch" to house music around the world.
Electronic mastermind Darren Emerson also heads the festival's line-up. Formerly part of the experimental trio Underworld, which produced infamous Trainspotting track Born Slippy, Emerson is renowned for his remix skills and has collaborated with chart toppers Bjork and the Chemical Brothers.
British DJs Judge Jules and Def Inc are joined by Sweden's Axwell and Australian breaks DJ Dopamine to round out the internationals on the line-up.
A selection of local spinners, including Greg Churchill, Dick Johnson and Jolyon Petch are also on the bill.
On stage
Who: Bob Sinclar, Darren Emerson, Judge Jules, and more
What: 2007 Summadayze Festival
Where: Ellerslie Convention Centre
When: from 4pm, today
How Much: $69 plus booking fee, from Ticketek, Sounds Music Stores and Real Groovy
