Think Alice in Wonderland...in a 17th Century palace in the middle of the desert in Rajasthan. Cue background score, swinging from eclectic electronica to grime bass to modal and free jazz. And that only just begins to describe the experience that is Magnetic Fields. Started in 2013, this little community of festival lovers has now grown to form a village amidst the dunes of the desert, with the Alisar Mahal standing the test of time, inviting you into its lair of surrealism.
Every year, we leave thinking it can’t get better than this. And then it does. This year’s Magnetic Fields 2017 lineup is one for the books, and they’ve only just released the first wave of artists. The day stage, now known as the Bira 91 South Stage features London-based producer of Indian origin Kieran Hebden aka Four Tet who just announced the release of his ninth full-length studio album New Energy, out on September 29th. This stage also features a live AV set by Los Angeles-based producer of R&B- and-hip-hop-laced electronica Machinedrum and Brainfeeder beatsmith TEEBS alongside Indian acts such as The Ska Vengers, Mumbai-based producer Sid Vashi and makers of emotive electronica, Ape Echoes.
In what appears to be a first, this stage will host the premiere of ‘Different Trains 1947’ - a collaboration between music artists Actress, Jack Barnett (These New Puritans), Indian music producer Sandunes, percussionist Jivraj Singh, Hindustani vocalist Priya Purushothaman and filmmakers/artists Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard. This is an audio-visual composition which responds to the events of 1947, and this will be shot exclusively for Boiler Room.
The Red Bull Music Academy North Stage (RBMA) is all set to host the likes of Ben UFO, Canadian producer Jayda G, Special Request, the rave and jungle inspired outings of techno producer Paul Woolford, who recently announced the release of a 23-track album, Belief System, and Indian DJ Stalvart John, who will open the stage on Friday night. As per tradition, the reggae and dub sounds of Desert Disco Oasis will groove to BFR Sound System featuring Delhi Sultanate and Begum X. 2016’s addition to the festival repertoire was a sound collaboration with the Piano Man Jazz Club, and this year is all set to see The Latination, a Latin-jazz quartet featuring Pradyumna Singh Manot (piano), Emmanuel Simon (percussion), Premjit Dutta (drums / percussion) and Bijit Bhattacharya (bass) alongside founder The Piano Man Arjun Sagar Gupta and musicians like Sanjeeta Bhattacharya, Kunal Netrapal, Sonic Shori and Rainer Pusch.
“This year’s theme is “laws of attraction”, exploring the fine and beautiful line between philosophy and science apparent with the laws of attraction, and centred on the hypothesis that we are all connected.” As for the creative barter, if you can design either a spectacular costume – think headgear, wigs, masks, accessories, or conceptualise an activation in sync with the theme of the festival, you stand to win a free ticket and tent.
Visit the Magnetic Fields website for tickets to dance under the desert moonlight.
Dates of the festival: December 15th - 17th
Feature Image Credit Zacharie Rahebi