Global Attraction

Much like the first season,there’s an interesting mix of musicians encompassing a variety of genres. Monica Dogra will continue to be the host,or as she prefers to put it,“I’m a guide,or an interested and active member of the artistic community with relationships with many of the people featured,even sometimes a history of having worked with them myself.” The director,however,for the better part of this season will be New Delhi-based director and producer Ayesha Sood. Besides,it’s also almost instantly evident that some aspects of the line-up are different from last year.

For one,this season will feature many more partially or completely electronica acts than last season. Among these are Dualist Inquiry,Shaa’ir + Func,Asian Dub Foundation,DJ Nucleya,Brooklyn Shanti and Hari and Sukhmani. This,however,isn’t an offshoot of the popularity of electronic music in the country,Manish Seth tells us. “The fact that there are more electronica artistes isn’t a trend-based decision,but one that came from finding an artiste with a story and the right sound within a collaboration,” says Seth,Director Sales and Marketing,Bacardi India Pvt Ltd. “There are a whole lot of fantastic electronica acts across the country and they all fit really well within the show’s format,” he adds.

Last season had some electronica — the Midival Punditz,for instance,collaborated with Sikh-Canadian rapper Humble the Poet and Monica Dogra. But none like DJ Nucleya,Asian Dub Foundation or even Dualist Inquiry. How,then,will such acts — that are normally believed to belong in the club or festival circuit — work on the show,and will the acts they can collaborate with be limited? Dogra doesn’t believe so. “Much of the bass heavy music we listen to today uses samples from classics anyway. It’s natural to be inclined towards bridging the gap between what is considered extremely contemporary,and what is considered extremely traditional — what’s interesting are the collaborations that are slightly more grey,” she says.

The other noticeable difference is that there are more international acts. This includes London-based singer-songwriter Fin Greenall,better known as Fink,London-based electronica act Asian Dub Foundation,London-based rapper and poet Akala and New York-based DJ/composer/producer Brooklyn Shanti. The reason for this,Seth says,is merely the fact that many more artistes from around the world now want to be a part of the show.