SINGAPORE — Electronic dance music legend Giorgio Moroder will be one of the key highlights at this year’s Future Music Festival Asia (FMFA), organisers announced yesterday. The Italian record producer, songwriter, performer and DJ is frequently credited with pioneering synth disco and electronic dance music (EDM).

He has produced some of the most recognisable music to grace the discos, from collaborating with Donna Summer on her greatest hits including Love To Love You Baby, Debbie Harry on Blondie’s Call Me and Irene Cara on the Oscar-winner Flashdance (What A Feeling).

Four decades later, the 74-year-old is still making music with some of the most celebrated female artistes around — he recently finished his first solo record in 30 years, which features a slew of singers ranging from pop princesses Britney Spears and Kylie Minogue to newer names such as Sia, Charli XCX and Foxes.

In 2012, EDM duo Daft Punk approached him to record a spoken-word monologue about his career for their Grammy-winning album, Random Access Memories. The finished result was Giorgio By Moroder, and it took him out of his self-retirement and back into the clubs and club festivals.

Also in the line up is hip hop group Public Enemy. Formed in 1982 and featuring the likes of Chuck D and Flavor Flav, they are known for their politically-charged lyrics and criticism of the American media, with an active interest in the frustrations and concerns of the African American community. Their first four albums during the late 1980s and early 1990s were all certified either gold or platinum and were, according to music critic Robert Hilburn, “the most acclaimed body of work ever by a rap act”.

Public Enemy was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012, making them only the fourth hip-hop act to be inducted after Grandmaster Flash And The Furious Five, Run–D.M.C. and The Beastie Boys.

Moroder and Public Enemy will join other acts — which include Avicii, Afrojack, Fat Boy Slim and Knife Party, as well as Singapore’s DJ Aldrin, Rave Republic and Lion City Boy — at the Changi Exhibition Centre on March 13 and 14. The festival will also include carnival rides, a food village with fare from Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, as well as sections with hammocks and bean bags for festival-goers to rest and rejuvenate.

“Singapore was the obvious destination of choice, because we recognise its value as an international hub and up-and-coming centre for music and entertainment in South-east Asia,” Muhammad Iqbal, Group Chief Executive Officer of The Livescape Group said.

Singapore was announced as the new host of FMFA on last November 19, after a three-year run in Kuala Lumpur. According to the organisers, more than 55,000 people from 85 countries attended FMFA 2014 in Kuala Lumpur last year.

Tickets from S$148 to S$388 available at SISTIC or at www.futuremusicfestival.asia.