Kappa CULTR’s 3rd Point Could Be A Turning Point For Kerala’s Electronic Music Scene

It is intriguing that Mathrubhumi, one of the most reputable newspapers I grew up reading, has become the driving force behind one of the most well-curated and, dare I say, the only superiorly produced electronic music festivals in Kerala. For many of us who grew up in Kerala, Mathrubhumi was the paper folded on the dining table every morning. It carried exam results, obituaries, political arguments, and Sunday supplements that felt like ritual. To see that same legacy institution now spearheading Kappa CULTR feels less like a pivot and more like a pulse check. A quiet acknowledgement that culture — especially youth culture — has shifted, and they’re willing to move with it.

This weekend, from February 20–22, Kappa CULTR returns for its third edition at Bolgatty Palace. And if you’ve ever stood on that waterfront at sunset, you’d know that it doesn’t need much to feel cinematic. But over the last two editions, the team has managed to transform it into something else entirely: a living, breathing, bass-thumping cultural ecosystem.

Branded “SAME SAME BUT DIFFERENT,” this year’s edition of Kappa CULTR leans into what they have been building. It is not just a music festival, but a multi-sensory experience where sound, fashion, food, gaming, and art intersect. The festival hosts 27 global and homegrown artists across genres that Kochi’s dance floors have slowly but surely fallen in love with — melodic house, progressive techno, hypnotic techno, drum n bass, psytrance. International names like Bart Skils, Carbon, Elias Mazian, Tim Taste, Ezequiel Arias, Racing Nokia, and Liquid Soul join a strong Indian lineup including Anushka, Anyasa, Kohra, Hamza Rahimtula, Tasnneem, Midnight Traffic and more.

Even though I am still someone who is stuck in her early 2010s House/EDM music, there has been an evident rise in electronic music in Kerala. It doesn’t exist on the fringes anymore. There’s a visible, growing community here - DJs, musicians of all genres, designers, photographers, dancers and people from all walks of life who are passionate about electronic music, shaping what nightlife and creative culture look like in Kerala.

Most pubs and bars in Kochi host regular techno/electronica gigs, and Kappa CULTR feels like a culmination of this movement in a more structured, high-production acknowledgment of this shift. If the pre-festival party turnout is anything to go by, this year’s CULTR is bound to be bigger than ever. Yo

But what makes this event distinctly Kochi isn’t just the music. There’s CULTR ART, which turns the sprawling outdoor space of Bolgatty with installations and responsive visuals that reimagine it to be an immersive experience. There’s CULTR Food, curated by Alex Jo Scaria, which promises to go beyond the usual festival staples and small bites, and root the culinary experience in Kochi’s coastal sensibility while still being globally fluent. CULTR Fashion, curated by Strada Sutairer, treats style not as an afterthought but as identity, with showcases and pop-ups that are curated to reflect the expression of the Electronic Music/Rave culture through fashion, rather than simply being merchandise stalls. And then there’s CULTR Games by Versus Arcade, tapping into the nostalgia-meets-future energy that is definitive of the current generation’s culture right now.

As someone from Kochi, what I find most compelling is how seamlessly this festival sits within the city’s contradictions. Kochi has always been a place where tradition and experimentation coexist — where the slow Kochi Biennale days and techno nights can share a calendar without cancelling each other out. You can spend the afternoon, strolling the streets of Fort Kochi and find yourself at a hypnotic techno set by the dusk, overlooking the backwaters.

A legacy organisation like Mathrubhumi stepping into this space almost feels like a signifier that youth culture isn’t a subculture anymore — it is culture. And instead of resisting it, one of Kerala’s most established media houses is choosing to platform it, invest in it, and shape it with intention. The previous edition drew over 12,000 attendees and massive online traction, but numbers aside, what lingers is the feeling of being part of something that is signifcant.

From stage design to sound engineering, from lineup curation to spatial planning - CULTR as an event has set a benchmark for production quality in Kerala when it comes to music festivals. In a state where large-scale music festivals have historically struggled with consistency, Kappa CULTR feels like it’s carving out longevity by staying true to its core genre and not diverting. It is not a one-off spectacle, but designed to be a recurring cultural moment, and maybe that’s what makes it matter.

Beyond the headliners, great production and picturesque setting, this festival captures something very specific about Kochi right now. A generation that is globally plugged in but locally rooted. That can appreciate a Bart Skils set, but will probably scarf down a plate of puttu and beef to debrief the night that was, at a favourite street shop.  While the Kochi Muziris Biennale is in full swing, this weekend, Bolghatty is where the biggest crowd is going to be gathering — not there just to attend a festival, but rather to experience the best-produced electronic music event they could dream of, right in their home state. And the people gathering here will be reflective of Kochi in its multitudes; nostalgic yet firmly focused on the contemporary, as well as being locally rooted but globally aware.

You can follow Kappa CULTR here.

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