Music festivals, while still great places to listen to good music and meet interesting people, are no longer the novelty they used to be. From NH7 and Submerge to City of M, which was held in our very own city in December 2013, everyone’s trying to do their own version.
It’s probably for this reason that the organisers of RESET, electronic dance music ‘showcase’ steer clear of the festival tag.
“There has been a lot of thought put into the production and experience we want to create,” explains Dev Bhatia of UnMute Agency, “RESET is not a festival, and as with big music festivals worldwide, the focus is definitely not on big names and flashy lights but more about taking one on a musical journey.”
While flashy lights and larger than life audio-visual displays have come to characterise EDM, with RESET, “the idea was to have good national artistes who've been on top of their game, playing 'back to back sets' combined with fantastic upcoming local talent,” says Bhatia.
“Well, the major EDM players have a lot of drama surrounding their performances but I personally feel quality music supported by good progression, keeping in mind the time and place is key,” says artiste Kohra.
While a few big names – Arjun Vagale, Praveen Achary, Adam, Vipul,Murthovic, Anil Chawla, Audio Units and Kohra – will take the stage, the showcase will also feature local talent. “We held a DJ competition via our Facebook and Twitter pages where we received over 65 entries from local artistes in Hyderabad,” informs Bhatia. The winners, selected by DJs Arjun Vagale and Anil Chawla are Ankit Pandey, Huzefa and Nephra. This weekend’s event, held at Leonia Holistic Destination, is the first edition of RESET which will then make its way to other cities including Bangalore, Mumbai and Goa. Some folks however are not so patient; Bhatia informs us that they’ve had people from Bangalore and Chennai buying tickets. While Indian listeners are no strangers to dance music, EDM, which typically includes genres like Dubstep, House and Trance, has been on an upward curve across the country and in Hyderabad too, thanks to some local artistes and venues.
“There has been a great line of Indian artistes leading the way since the early 2000s. Guys like Midival Punditz, Jalebee Cartel are pioneers followed by promoters like Submerge Crew, who took things ahead and then of course the big festivals like Sunburn, Invasion, Supersonic, EVC, and NH7 among others,” says Bhatia.
RESET however is not about popular EDM. “We’re going to take things underground,” Bhatia points out.
“As far as the audience is concerned, I hope they will be open-minded and expect something fresh, as a complete experience,” says Kohra.
“It is cardinal to have the audience with you at all times, it is a bit of give and take between the artiste and the audience,” says DJ Murthovic who adds that the audience should be ready to hear various styles of music and the ever-strong Hyderabadi energy.
RESET, organised by UnMute Agency in partnership with events company Phoenix, at the main convention centre of the Leonia Holistic Destination on March 22.
