Rocking on a bigger stage

KK's popular music festival - The Big Chill - is coming to Goa and could be a grand opportunity for Indian bands and artistes.

As dusk sets in, Goa, in what can safely be called its time off after the New Year frenzy, prepares for yet another night out by the sea, only this time it will be one huge party that moves from stage to stage unlike the traditional shack-to-shack party-hopping. Once again the state takes centrestage as the host for one of the UK's most famous music festivals "" The Big Chill "" that comes to India for the first time this weekend.

Very rarely has Goa seen so much activity during its off-season. Very rarely have the shacks gone almost full on occupancy in the summer. And very rarely have long-term tourists and others found employment during their yearly, lazy fiesta time.

With three stages playing different kinds of music, an exciting amalgamation of audio-visual multimedia, kids' corners, art and artists, musicians and dancers and thousands of music lovers synergising on the sandy beach, there seems to be an excitement in the air that is ready to welcome the footprints of people from all over the country... and abroad.

While music is the soul of The Big Chill, technology may be called its soulmate. And at its very heart lies an honest cause "" to create an atmosphere for the growth of music, art and culture across cultures and boundaries.

Interestingly, the festival does not boast of big-name artistes. Instead, it takes to stage artistes who have created creative music that goes beyond lyrics and harmony to include ambience and presentation, generating an experience to remember.

Pete Lawrence, co-founder of The Big Chill, says, "We started as a non-commercial event and I believe that is the reason why we continue to have a soul in our festival that others don't. People come to The Big Chill to celebrate the coming together of music and life. They become emotionally attached to the festival and that's what makes it unique."

Besides being a celebration of music, the festival is also a door of opportunity that opens into a greater stage, a global stage, for lesser-known artistes.

The torch that was lit by the recently held One Tree Music Festival is being carried forward by The Big Chill that is bringing in names like Coldcut, The Bays, Norman Jay, Hexstatic and Chilled By Nature. Incidentally, The Bays are known to perform live and extempore only.

Their music is never rehearsed. The range of music will start from Indian classical and extend to include folk, jazz, punk, reggae and electronica.

While one stage will resemble something of a sea at peace with relaxed music playing live, the main stage, standing in a coconut grove, will comprise acts of all genres including visual art forms that will be translated on the screen.

Rock has already made a comeback in the country. The Big Chill, however, is being perceived as a grand opportunity for Indian bands and multimedia artistes to entertain an audience that comes from beyond their hometown and loyal followers.

"The Indian audience has always been receptive to different kinds of music but there haven't been any people investing in these sounds. Now festivals like this are starting again and I think they are great places for meeting people who don't consider boundaries a hindrance to music," says Randolph of the band Shaa'ir+

Func who will be performing at the festival. Shaa'ir+Func is one of the Indian bands like Raghu Dixit and his band The Raghu Dixit Project and five-member band Jalebee Cartel who have prepared for days together for a performance that might change the course of their musical careers.

Funnily enough, Dixit had never heard of The Big Chill. When the organisers approached him to perform at the festival, he grabbed the opportunity only because "it meant performing on a stage".

It was only after the band accepted the invitation that they undertook a background search of the festival and realised its enormity. Not only is the festival expecting an Indian attendance, cult followers from the UK are also heading to Goa for a chilled-out weekend under the coconut grove.

And so, for bands like Dixit's, this means a never-before-experienced exposure, a performance to an unknown crowd and a mailbox that will receive invites from organisers and artistes from across Europe to perform with them.

"We are probably the most unheard of band at the festival, so we aren't expecting anything really," laughs Dixit. "But I'm sure of receiving invitations from Europe, which is why we are very nervous about our performance. That and the anticipation of performing on the main stage," he adds.

Considering it's their first time here, The Big Chill has managed to garner enough goodwill and support from the Indian industry and government. For starters, their sponsors include Kingfisher, VH1 and Sula Wines.

Swati Langeh, head of marketing for Sula Wines, attributes its interest in the festival to its strategic fit with the Sula ideology of having fun and enjoying life. Supported by the tourism ministry and the Goa Tourism Development Corporation, festival organisers have promised to donate a significant percentage of their profits to NGOs working on projects for HIV/AIDS-affected children in the country.

With its heart in the right place and soul on the right note, The Big Chill promises to bring the celebration of music back into India this year... an experience that music fanatics have been missing for decades.

(For tickets, log on to https://bsmedia.business-standard.comticketpro.in/)

INDIAN ARTISTES AT THE BIG CHILL

The Raghu Dixit Project "" Their music is appropriately called Indo World Folk Rock. The music is accompanied by powerful lyrics, an acoustic guitar, violin and flute. His most popular numbers include "Mysore se ayee", "Mumbai", "Antaragni" and "Har saans mein".

Jalebee Cartel "" A livewire five-member band that synthesises music and technology to churn out some brilliant electronica. The band's own compositions are infused with electronic sounds from clubs all over the world.

Shaa'ir+Func "" A true East-West blend, the duo of Shaa'ir and Randolph, aka Funcinternational, create music that strives to build bridges across genres. The latter has shared the stage with Incubus, Aerosmith and The Off-Spring, and produced tracks for films like Don. Shaa'ir began her career performing at venues like Carnegie Hall, among others.

(This is an updated version of the story first published on April 14, 2007)