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As I get dressed for an evening of loud music, blinding lights, a magnificent stage, and sweaty people, my father from another room is going on and on about the kind of music concerts and festivals he used to attend in his youth. As he details the obvious differences between a music concert in a tier two city of India way back in the 80s and the musical extravaganzas we are so used to attending (personally or through the countless social media story updates) today — I am forced to, briefly, mull over the evolution of India’s music industry at large.
Those who grew up before the dawn of ‘modern India’, as we know it, couldn’t have imagined music, art, and technology converging as seamlessly as they do today. Whether it’s Disrupt Music Festival’s unique audio-visual experience or the glamping aspect of Magnetic Fields, every festival today — no matter how big or small — has something wildly different to offer. And I’m not just talking about the stellar artist line-ups. Going beyond all this is Bangalore’s Echoes of Earth — India’s only “ecologically crafted music festival” which will be held from 1-2 December, 2018.
With the idea of showcasing great music around the world to an Indian audience which is constantly evolving in its music taste, Festival Director Roshan Netalkar wanted Echoes of Earth to represent something more. “Living in Bangalore, we’re exposed to the rapid erosion of natural resources right in front of our eyes. This made us realise that we need to start creating a responsible ecosystem and this was the driving force behind the festival”, he explains.
Currently in its third year, Echoes of Earth produced by Swordfish and Watson’s is a weekend-long celebration of music, art, culture and the environment through the lens of ‘recycle, reuse, and reduce’. Music curation for the festival is carried out by all-India artist management and booking agency KRUNK. From renowned Indian names like When Chai Met Toast, MALFNKTION, and Mind Map to international artists like Stavroz and ENTROPY, this year’s lineup is a combination of live as well as electronic music performances.
Every year, the festival has a different theme that bleeds through the infrastructure of the space. Whether it’s the solar-powered stages or the upcycled art installations, the focus is always on two main things — reduction of waste generation and plastic footprint, and actual production of the festival using recyclable material. For their third edition, the Echoes team plans on championing ocean and marine conservation through a variety of on-ground initiatives as well as the decor of the festival. They’re collaborating with the NGO ReefWatch Marine Conservation to create awareness about plastic pollution in the ocean. “We also plant a sapling for each ticket sold by partnering with NGOs”, adds Roshan.
But to be India’s only music festival with the intention of becoming intrinsically sustainable came with its own hurdles. To begin with, Roshan and his team had to start their research from scratch and found efficient ways to combine technology with sustainability.
However, with the festival attracting increasing number of tourists every year, the team at Echoes has managed to learn with time and come up with newer, more creative methods. “This year we are using a lot of material from the last two years and living up to our motto of recycle, reuse, and reduce. Our 100% solar powered stage is also something we are taking forward this year”, Roshan tells us, while delving into the details of how much effort goes into planning and organising a responsible large-scale event. “It is a year long process to bring together Echoes of Earth. Apart from marketing and business development, there’s a dedicated team of researchers that works throughout the year to find ways to make the festival more sustainable. We also have teams that scout for discarded materials across junkyards and collect them over a period of three months.” And after all the preliminary planning is done, the production of the festival itself takes another 5-6 months.
In 2016, when Echoes of Earth made its debut in the music space, it was their unique concept and a phenomenal line-up that attracted an eclectic mix of young festival-going enthusiasts and eco-conscious family-oriented people — along with their pets! Moreover, keeping in mind the overall philosophy of the festival, people showed up with their own bottles, kept from littering, and were respectful towards the environment. “In terms of numbers itself, in the last two years we have seen a 3x jump in ticket sales – and despite the large footfall, we were able to sustain the warm and safe vibe for our visitors”, Roshan tells Homegrown.
As a festival that caters to multiple sections of the society and not just the regular festival loyalists, Echoes of Earth is extremely community-driven and inclusive in its setup. Unlike other festivals, Echoes of Earth is extremely children and pet-friendly, with activities and arrangements for both. “We make sure that our choice of music genres is very diverse to appeal to people from all walks of life,” explains Roshan.
The art installations at the venue are placed across the festival site in order to keep things exciting. Additionally, the Echoes team ensures that workshops and other interesting activities start earlier in the day so that the children can enjoy as soon as they reach the venue. This year, children will be able to interact with marine biologosts and participate in other interesting workshops being conducted by ReefWatch. People can also expect a flea market of organic and eco-friendly products for both humans and pets.
As someone who spearheads such an ambitious project, Roshan works very closely with all aspects of the festival — especially the stages which are a true reflection of the festival’s theme every year and are sometimes, the trickiest part of production. Roshan narrates an incident from the first edition of Echoes of Earth, “We decided to use discarded drain pipes as a backdrop for our main stage. The challenge came in where we wanted these 60 ft drain pipes to stand tall sustainably without using any cement. We consulted a person who restores temples using rammed earth technology to erect large pillars and brought in labour and technicians from small towns to execute this approach. It was a pathbreaking solution but till the last minute we weren’t sure if it would work.”
But beyond its larger-than-life art installations, multi-genre line-up, and creatively upcycled stages, Echoes of Earth is a reminder of what the world needs. An acknowledgement of the fact that it’s possible to embrace the capitalistic lifestyle without having to put the environment at stake.
Festival details:
Date: 1-2 December, 2018.
Where: Embassy International Riding School: Bengaluru
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