Music festivals are lands of the impossible – a chance to get away from your regular self and sway to the unknown. This is also one of the reasons why festival stories are some of the craziest ones.
The territory of Rajasthan has always been a breeding ground for music festivals of various genres, and, includes the experiential ones, too. The picturesque terrain and forts serve as the perfect venue for festival lovers. One such festival is “DISTRICT”, India’s first and one of its kind premier techno music fest that witnessed an unmatched sound in control by some of the biggest disc jockeys of the music domain with its second edition held from March 1 to March 3, held at Castle Kalwar, Rajasthan. Every individual who was invited was committed to exact music experiences.
On the whole, it was a beautiful, mystical shindig which took place in the midst of a gorgeous heritage backdrop. Some of the snazziest names dabbled the fest with techno and house music turning Castle Kalwar into a place to be in for techno aficionados for the first three days of March 2019. It was the second edition of the festival this year, in continuation of a luminous first, a quintessentially comprehensive music festival that facilitated the visitors to witness more than 40 artists on four different podiums.
DISTRICT was beautiful from start to finish; the music throughout was phenomenal. There was not a single point in the 72 hours of nonstop music that any of the attendees felt a drop in the quality of music.
The luxury, Swiss tents made for the festival’s own residence city, not so far and just that close to Castle Kalwar. The tents had been mindfully crafted to usher a true gypsy-life experience for the attendees. Harlem was a melting pot for the residents where they kicked back their heels, relaxed, rejuvenated and interacted, all that and more before taking a short walk back to the castle for any next big performances. The city settlement was abuzz with much activity including local crafts, music, live performances and an exclusively curated interactive retail space called Ginza, all making Harlem an obvious choice of stay for the attendees.
Day one of the festival itself started off as a banger. The pool stage Aruba featured Hamza and Manu Idhara. Tech house music at its best and their vibe fit in perfectly to the stage. The main stage Check Point Charlie was all power. A massive sound system and larger than life visuals were enough to make one feel like a part of an international music festival. The day featured some amazing artists like Leonoel and Breger.
The After Party Stage De wallen was probably one of the most intimate settings at the festival. Stereo Express from Berlin was the main act that commenced there and he had people glued to the dance floor. The day ended with two pop-up stages in the wee hours of the morning. The Cellar, which was a rough basement to visit, was the armoury of the castle during its glorious years in history. It was turned into a truly underground stage as well.
The second pop up was Secret Sunrise. The topmost terrace of the castle was turned into a beautiful stage to bring in the sunrise with Suduaya, one of the most awaited artists for the festival and the only Psy artist at DISTRICT in the last 2 years. His music could only be called beautiful. The setting and the music together almost felt like a dream. Undoubtedly, the second day only got better. Bahaar closed the pool stage for the day with some brilliant house music. Sequel and Bullzeye did a crazy back to back set later that evening and the fans went into the night with Pole Folder, Martin Eyerer as Rodriguez. Jr. headlined the day and he simply nailed it bringing in the sunrise.
Lastly, Robbie Akbal, Ankytrix, and that weren’t all as the party continued with the Qilla experience featuring audio units Kohra and Sunju Hargun, a total mind bender that was. The legendary Kevin Suanderson all the way from Detroit was one of the pioneers of Detroit Techno. Listening to him was an experience in itself. The festival came to an end with the customary sunrise stage Diamond Fuji emerged with Perel. The artist from Berlin has been making waves with her style of music, where she also adds in live vocals to her Dj set. Finally, the crowd got to hear Blot as he officially closed DISTRICT with his live set – it was pure magic.
Not just 72 hours of non-stop music with some of the biggest acts from India and across the world, DISTRICT was also made whole with organic music and activities like tattoo artists, yoga workshops, Jugglers, fire performers and so much more just to create that community experience. DISTRICT had an absolute zero tolerance policy towards possession, sale, contribution, or use of any illegal or illicit drugs or substances at the festival. Drug enforcement laws were imposed, making it a secured fun-filled experience for the attendees, artists, and performers.
(The writer is a Delhi-based independent contributor to print and online publication)