Ask Tony McGuinness of trance act Above & Beyond what he expects of ZoukOut in Singapore this year and he'll tell you 'lots of beautiful people singing and dancing to our tunes'. Based on the all-night dance music fiesta's history, he sounds right on the money. Now in its eighth consecutive year, ZoukOut is Southeast Asia's largest and most famous dance music festivals. Thousands of fans flock to the tourist hotspot of Sentosa Island's Siloso Beach every December for the event - organised by famed Singapore nightclub Zouk - which showcases an A-list lineup of the world's top DJs. And this year ZoukOut will embrace Singapore's newly liberated partying spirit by opening its doors at 6.30pm instead of the previous 8pm. Above & Beyond will share 56,000 square metres of sandy beach space with the likes of DJ Erol Alkan, renowned for his remixes of Franz Ferdinand and the Scissors Sisters, and the Grammy-nominated DJ Sasha, a permanent fixture on DJs' top 10 lists for the better part of a decade. But it's not just the DJs who'll be attracting more than 20,000 sweaty party-goers to Sentosa on December 13. This year's festival will also include an alluring list of live bands. The French alternative act Nouvelle Vague, much-loved around the world for their bossa nova treatment of new wave and post-punk classics, will play at sunset. And adding to the Gallic flavour are quirky Parisian pop darlings the Teenagers. Throw in Singaporean talent such as Electrico and you have a truly cosmopolitan mix. The lineup at ZoukOut 2008 offers the quality that fans have come to expect from the festival, which in the past has featured Paul van Dyk, the German DJ whose name has become synonymous with electronic dance music, as well as his Dutch counterpart Armin van Buuren. One man who clearly has an eye for musical talent is the Turkish-born, British-based Erol Alkan. Already the poster boy for electro-house, his reach has crossed over to other musical genres in his role as the founder of acclaimed London nightclub Trash, which hosted the likes of LCD Soundsystem and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs during their fledgling years. Alkan was also tapped by Scotland's Franz Ferdinand to work on their upcoming third album Tonight, but had to pull out as 'other commitments prevented it from happening'. Considering he's been working on tracks by everybody from the above-mentioned Glaswegian art rockers to Daft Punk and was named DJ of the year by Mixmag in 2006, you would think it would take quite a bit to get him excited, but that's exactly how he feels about ZoukOut. In an e-mail interview, Alkan says he hopes only for 'some good weather', and that he's particularly keen to visit Singapore. 'When you mention Asia, ZoukOut is the one event everyone talks about ... its reputation is legendary.' While he says that agreeing to play at ZoukOut was a 'natural decision', he admits that he was heavily influenced by his friends and agent who told him that it was an 'amazing' event. How 'amazing' is it to party with a crowd of 20,000 or more? McGuinness would be the best man to answer that question. Above & Beyond, who often find their tunes played by Van Dyk and Van Buuren, appeared before an estimated crowd of 1 million on New Year's Eve last year at Rio de Janeiro's Barra Beach, an experience he calls 'mind-blowing', 'awe inspiring' and 'surreal', while inviting you to 'add a million adjectives here'. He's looking forward to replicating this experience in Singapore, noting that he was looking forward to the challenge of 'making sure people on the edges aren't lost in what you're doing'. The size of the crowds descending on the island just off Singapore led to rumours that ZoukOut would have to find a new location to accommodate everyone. But they remain rumours - for now. Tracy Phillips, marketing manager at Zouk, says there's 'no doubt part of ZoukOut's magic is owed to its idyllic location. It's hard to beat an outdoor festival on the beach in terms of good vibes'. Alkan agrees. He says part of what attracted him to the event was its beach location, 'where it will be much more free. When you play in a club you are trapping people in a box and playing to them. The dynamic is very different.' With a wave park in the middle of the beach set to be completed by next year, however, there remains the chance that this could be the last for ZoukOut on Siloso even though Phillips promises to try 'to keep ZoukOut on the beach'. ZoukOut, Dec 13, 6.30pm-8am, Siloso Beach, Singapore, S$38 (HK$192) (advance happy hour tickets for entry before 9pm), S$48 (until Dec 12), S$58 (on the door). For more details go to www.sistic.sg or www.zoukout.com