If you needed any more proof that India’s electronic dance music community is not just about raves and partying, it’s time to head to the second edition of dance music showcase series RESET this week in Bengaluru.
Hosted by event and artist management agency UnMute and event management company Phoenix Live, Bengaluru will be the first among the six metro cities to host RESET, which plays out in a standard back-to-back set format.
So that means the music never stops.
UnMute’s director Dev Bhatia says it was a conscious decision not to call RESET a music festival.
Bhatia says, “When we were conceptualising RESET, the focus was clear – one day, large scale showcase events featuring the best of Indian talent along with world class production.”
“Unfortunately many promoters here abuse the word ‘festival’ usually tagging their multi-artist club events as a festival when it is not and we wanted to define this clearly.”
The line-up features a mix of local and nationally well-known DJs and producers, from DJ Pearl, Arjun Vagale, audio-visual duo BLOT!, Audio Units and local artists such as Praveen Achary, Vinayak^a, DJ Gokul and upcoming deep electronic music producer Jayanth R aka The Sine Painter. Pearl, who has been a DJ for 15 years now and is also co-founder of Submerge, one of the earliest catalysts in the electronic music scene in India, says being organised and having a community is the most important thing right now.
Pearl says, “We deal with the international market now and new DJs in India today are born into that standard. They have come to expect that there will be agencies taking care of their needs and managements who will help steer their career. With RESET they are attempting to retain the cohesiveness that was part of our scene and is essential for any electronic music community to grow.”
The DJ returns to spin her set in the city after a long break. She adds, “I’ve been on a long hiatus and am back with this gig. It’s a great way to begin again – in my favourite clubbing city.”
Although Pearl is not much for back-to-back sets, and firmly believes that DJing is a “very instinctive art”, she’s ready to go with the flow . She adds, “I’m curious to see how we will construct this set since you can’t rein in my musical shifts in one set. Audio Units know this and I also know them to be versatile DJs. So I’m not worried. I’m not one for planning anything – especially my sets, so we’re just going to start somewhere and take it from there.”
If Pearl is the veteran, then Jayanth aka The Sine Painter is the new kid on the block. The producer, who was recently selected to represent India the Red Bull Music Academy in Paris later this year, has been performing across the country and says RESET is one of his biggest gigs yet.
“I had actually applied for the opening contest last year, so it feels like a major level-up to have been invited as one of the artists for this year’s edition. Looking forward to sets by Vinayak^a, BLOT and Arjun Vagale,” he says .
Possibly inspired by the growing number of showcases and festivals in electronic music, he’s also launched his own gig series called Hybrid Cycle, with shows slated to take place before he leaves for Paris in November.
He’s happy representing Bengaluru on the global map in Paris but also at RESET.
Jayanth says, “I’m happy about it. Sometimes it feels as if electronic artists from Bengaluru aren’t given the recognition they deserve, almost to the point that a lot of people in the city aren’t aware that there are a decent number of people here who make good electronic music. I think RESET’s decision to showcase artistes from the host city is definitely a step in the right direction with respect to that.”
RESET takes place at Hotel Royal Orchid on September 19.
Tickets available on resetindia.com
