Of dance and DJs - The Sunburn Arena
A big chunk of the credit for electronic dance music's newfound popularity, at least within the country, can be attributed to Sunburn Arena.
Dj Tiesto spinning his magic
A previously underground, unheard and unexplored genre, electronic dance music (EDM) has become as commonplace as the ubiquitous pop sound that dominated the music scene in the past. Today, EDM is the preferred sound belted out over local radio stations, played at bars and spun at nightclubs. And a big chunk of the credit for its newfound popularity, at least within the country, can be attributed to Sunburn Arena.
Conceptualised and spearheaded by entrepreneur Shailendra Singh (joint managing director of Percept), Sunburn started out as a small musical festival held in collaboration between Percept and DJ Nikhil Chinapa on the beaches of Goa in 2007. Today, it has grown in leaps and bounds to become synonymous with the Electronic Dance Music scene in Asia. Enraptured by the long roster of live acts comprising globally celebrated artistes and DJs to reverberating acoustics and psychedelic stage settings, some of the more enthusiastic fans say that Sunburn is not just a festival but an experience in its entirety.
"I am a whore," comes the very matter-of-fact response from Shailendra Singh when asked what piqued his interest in this area. "I like to please people." For Shailendra, it seems as simple an issue as that. The man likes to party, and he's making sure we're all invited. Establishing a musical connection between the Indian youth, Singh and Company have introduced extended formats such as Sunburn Afterburn, Sunburn City Festivals, Sunburn Arena and Sunburn Campus Tours. This year alone, they have had mammoth acts such as Swedish House Mafia's One Last Tour, Armin van Buuren, Tiesto and Avicii playing at arenas across the country.
Having attended Tiesto's gig, it was easy to see that this is a trend that's headed only in one direction - upwards. It was hard to put a number on the hoards of people milling in, happy to spend their Sunday driving an hour or two to the outskirts, braving winding traffic jams and the long mud-trodden approach by foot to the venue itself. The air surrounding the arena seemed charged, a powder keg of collective energy waiting to combust into music.
The high point for me, apart from the live performance, was meeting the man himself. Lasting all of 20 seconds by a stopwatch amidst high security, I managed to get little out of Mr Tijs Michiel Verwest aka DJ Tiesto; what with a very intimidating bouncer staring me down and barricading me from the star once my time was up. Nevertheless, I did manage to get his thoughts on a thing or two.
As would be expected in a country where dance music is still in its nascent years, he found that the fans in India were more excited and enthusiastic as opposed to global crowds. Interestingly, Tiesto is one DJ who started out purely with music sans lyrics. However, more recently, his sound has been interrupted by the odd chorus here and a soulful crooning there. On being asked whether this was a way of giving voice to his emotions, Tiesto didn't exactly affirm or deny, just replied that he has started to 'like using lyrics of late'. Well, the crowds seemed to like it too, as was apparent just ten minutes later when a resounding 'wooot!' greeted the artiste as he took the stage to spin his sound.
Conceptualised and spearheaded by entrepreneur Shailendra Singh (joint managing director of Percept), Sunburn started out as a small musical festival held in collaboration between Percept and DJ Nikhil Chinapa on the beaches of Goa in 2007. Today, it has grown in leaps and bounds to become synonymous with the Electronic Dance Music scene in Asia. Enraptured by the long roster of live acts comprising globally celebrated artistes and DJs to reverberating acoustics and psychedelic stage settings, some of the more enthusiastic fans say that Sunburn is not just a festival but an experience in its entirety.
"I am a whore," comes the very matter-of-fact response from Shailendra Singh when asked what piqued his interest in this area. "I like to please people." For Shailendra, it seems as simple an issue as that. The man likes to party, and he's making sure we're all invited. Establishing a musical connection between the Indian youth, Singh and Company have introduced extended formats such as Sunburn Afterburn, Sunburn City Festivals, Sunburn Arena and Sunburn Campus Tours. This year alone, they have had mammoth acts such as Swedish House Mafia's One Last Tour, Armin van Buuren, Tiesto and Avicii playing at arenas across the country.
Having attended Tiesto's gig, it was easy to see that this is a trend that's headed only in one direction - upwards. It was hard to put a number on the hoards of people milling in, happy to spend their Sunday driving an hour or two to the outskirts, braving winding traffic jams and the long mud-trodden approach by foot to the venue itself. The air surrounding the arena seemed charged, a powder keg of collective energy waiting to combust into music.
An impatient crowd waits for the act to begin
As would be expected in a country where dance music is still in its nascent years, he found that the fans in India were more excited and enthusiastic as opposed to global crowds. Interestingly, Tiesto is one DJ who started out purely with music sans lyrics. However, more recently, his sound has been interrupted by the odd chorus here and a soulful crooning there. On being asked whether this was a way of giving voice to his emotions, Tiesto didn't exactly affirm or deny, just replied that he has started to 'like using lyrics of late'. Well, the crowds seemed to like it too, as was apparent just ten minutes later when a resounding 'wooot!' greeted the artiste as he took the stage to spin his sound.
