Magnetic Fields 2014: The Second Edition

India – 

Music till dawn, kite-flying parties at sunrise and a disco in the desert made the second edition of Magnetic Fields unforgettable. Magnetic Fields is produced by Wild City, WeThePPL, Undercover Agents, THOT and Alsisar Mahal in collaboration with Border Movement, with support by Goethe Institut, Austrian Cultural Forum, Initiative Musik, Red Bull Kuwait and Resident Advisor. Having made a mark for introducing the freshest sounds from India and around the globe with its debut edition, Magnetic Fields, a music and arts festival held from December 12-14 at the 17^th century palace in the heritage village of Alsisar in Shekhawati, Rajasthan, upped the ante in its second year.

 Featuring rising stars from India and international legends, that included bass music don Mala, the three-day festival was an aural treat for the discerning music fan. But, like last year, the fun wasn’t limited to just music. The festival was a sensorial delight: there were stargazing workshops, morning yoga sessions, art installations and wandering poets that wrote haikus on the spot, dawn-breaking parties with kite-flying sessions, a treasure hunt with an attractive booty, traditional Rajasthani delicacies for the gourmand and even some local minstrels around the palace who added the Rajasthani touch with old folk tunes.  

Monica Dogra played at Magnetic Fields as a solo act, and performed material from her up coming debut album © Nishant Shukla 

  With acts like Mala, Weval, Dream Koala, DJ Vadim, Zahed Sultan, Nicholson, Sulk Station and Nischay Parekh on the line-up, Magnetic Fields had something on offer for every kind of musical taste. It introduced to music fans new-and-upcoming Indian talent like Begum and Soulspace and international rising stars like Dream Koala and Weval, as well as the sounds of pioneers like Mala, who closed the festival on Sunday night – with what can only be described as an incredible performance.  Mala, one of the formative names in the contemporary London bass scene, for many played the set of the festival that ended with a singalong to Bob Marley’s “Is this love”. Playing in India for the first-time, Mala teased and treated the audience with sounds that borrowed from different genres like reggae, jazz and drum ’n bass and showed why he is a revered name for bass music fans across the world. Dream Koala and Weval had generated a lot of buzz among music fans in India ever since the line-up went up and at Magnetic Fields they kept their fans’ faith. The Parisian dream pop sensation had the crowd swaying and moving to his music, that can be best described as ethereal. Weval, a young Dutch duo, closed the South stage – day stage – on Day Two with a set that had people dancing and screaming for more from the moment they started.  They made another surprise appearance on the North Stage (night stage) a few hours later when they played a DJ set.   Zahed Sultan, a multi-media artist and producer from Kuwait, closed the South Stage on Day One, and gave a glimpse of the music that has made him a force to reckon with in the Arabian Gulf. Bangalore-based downtempo duo Sulk Station drew the loudest cheers on a cloudy Saturday afternoon and were even asked for an encore, which they duly obliged with. Makers of dreamy psychedelia, Begum, a band from Delhi, impressed with a set that was tight and music that stood out from the pack.   

The chai cycle at Alsisar Mahal the venue for Magnetic Fields for a popular haunt during the cold weekend © Nishant-Shukla 

  For those who preferred to be closer to nature, the Bedouin tents were no less luxurious and had every little detail taken care of, including hot showers and electrical points. There was even a dedicated music stage for the campsite this year – Desert Oasis Disco – that started at noon on Saturday and Sunday till the festival site came to life. The campsite had close to 200 tents and was a beehive of activity through the night and day.