When three isn’t a crowd

It was a dream alliance: Submerge,the independent music promoter,and Percept,corporate conglomerate. With the intention of promoting indie music,they worked together on several projects,most importantly,Sunburn — the country’s largest Electronic Dance Music (EDM) festival. But following differences,the two are heading for a separation. While people in the music industry have been talking about it for months,the launch of the yet-untitled festival,which has Submerge’s Nikhil Chinapa joining hands with Viacom 18,ends all possibilities of a reconciliation with Percept.

The festival will take place in north Goa (the exact location is still under wraps) and will be held from December 26–30. For the uninitiated,Sunburn is held around the same time every year. Talking about the new festival,Chinapa says,“My focus is to bring music back to the people who care about it,and not who come to experience a spectacle.” There is a lot that Chinapa cannot reveal,but the festival will have multiple stages,all dedicated to EDM. The Submerge team is still in the process of signing both headliners and Indian DJs. Chinapa says it was Viacom 18 and the venue partner (still unnamed) that approached him with the project. His role in the festival will mainly be restricted to curation,which will have a “mix of underground and commercial acts”.

At last count,between Christmas and New Year this year in Goa,there are going to be three mega EDM festivals (Sunburn,Goa politician Fransisco Miccky Pacheco’s Goa Beach Grind,and Chinapa-Viacom 18 new project). This really begs the question: Which one do you go for? But Chinapa believes the curation of the artistes as well as the communication of the festival will define that. His target audience,he says,includes those who actually love music.

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The EDM promoter has big plans for his new festival. He promises that in a decade,it will be a 17-stage extravaganza that will have both indie and EDM as part of the line-up. “It’s the direction I wanted to take Sunburn in as well,” he says.

Chinapa,however,is eager to move on. He has partnered with Vishal Shetty’s Edge Global for AAA,a gig that allows you to pub-hop and check out different acts with one pass. They have many more such gigs lined up. “I am focusing on developing new and innovative ideas. I am happy in the space that I am in,” says Chinapa.