The capital’s music lovers are getting set for this year’s edition of Sunburn, featuring a stunning line-up of international music producers
Asia’s largest music festival, Sunburn, is back with the giants of EDM all set to rock the capital with sensational music, a star-studded musical line-up and experience zones. On new things to look out for in this edition of the festival, Harindar Singh, vice chairman and managing director at Percept Live, shares, “Each year, we try and incorporate as many elements of surprise and intrigue as we can and this time around we are focusing on presenting a ‘fresh’ outlook to music via a whole bunch of talented, globally renowned musicians like DJ Snake, the noted French DJ, rapper and producer who mixes Trap and electronic dance music; R3HAB, a Dutch DJ and record producer who is one of the proponents of the modern ‘Dutch house’ subgenre; Chuckie and many more.
They have some fresh sounds, atmosphere and setup to offer and we are making sure that the stage and the experience that we have put up for the fans after extensive consumer research, will be a hit. Besides this, we also have multiple experience zones, numerous multi-cuisine food stalls, cocktail bars, flea markets and experience stalls like kite flying festival, mechanical bull, stilt walkers and walk-around artist areas.”
Talking about the steady rise in footfall each year for the fest, he adds, “The first ever Sunburn festival in 2007 attracted a crowd of 2,000. Last December, Sunburn Goa was attended by almost 3,00,000 people. In 2014, 96 Sunburn events were held across India and 7,00,000 people attended them. This year, we expect double the attendance on ground.”
French DJ William Grigahcine, better known as DJ Snake, shares his excitement about the tour as he says, “I have heard a lot from the other DJs who have performed in India that the energy is amazing. I am also fascinated by the fact that people here are open to new ideas in all aspects including music. So, I am looking forward to that energy and playing a great set here.” He adds that he has been to India before, but that was for a small event. This time around he is, besides the music, aiming to try out several different things. “I am definitely going to try out cuisines from different parts of India as I have heard so much about them. I love Indian people, culture and I’ll have to see if I like the food too,” he shares with a chuckle.
Fadil El Ghoul a.k.a. R3HAB, who last performed at the Sunburn Arena with Hardwell, recalls, “People in India are very warm and welcoming. I had an amazing time the last time I performed here. I’m the type of guy who interacts with the crowd. Performing for me is not only playing amazing music but it’s all about the experience. It’s my workout basically!” The Dutch DJ, who is working on a few tracks at the moment, adds, “The vibe of playing to audience of 25,000 plus, nothing can really beat that. I get to see how my fans respond to my music in person.”
The Sunburn fest in Gurgaon will also witness Chuckie, Shaan, Matisse & Sadko and MojoJojo. Clyde Sergio Narain or Chuckie who is a Surinamese-Dutch DJ and producer is also a social media addict. Besides asking his fans if they wanted to hear his mashup version of one of Arijit Singh’s songs, the DJ asserts that he is going to take over the country. “Playing in Mumbai was awesome and I got a chance to taste Indian food as well. After Hyderabad’s vibe I am eager to see what the capital has in store for me. Man, I am so going to take over the country, it is so beautiful and blessed with loving souls.” Quiz him on what he’s going to play for Delhi/NCR and he replies quickly, “My own unique beat!”
The entire country is lapping up EDM music as it is music without any boundaries, says Harindar Singh about the rise in the genre’s popularity.
“It is inclusive and unites us all. Having said that, we have been surprised by the response that we have received from Tier-II towns and their ever-growing adoration and need for good music, good experiences and good artists.”
Talking about organising such a huge live event, that too in a place like Delhi/NCR where previously many concerts have gone wrong, and the challenges that he has faced before and is going to approach differently this time around, Singh concludes, “There are multiple challenges that are associated with putting together events of this stature, but we are thankful to the Delhi government and police as well as multiple government agencies for having lent us their full cooperation. Along with this, we have our production partners and volunteers to thank for coming together to put this labour of love and music together for all Sunburn fans.”
