Festival Review ”“ Enchanted Valley Carnival Day 2: Raising Expectations

The crowd swarms the Azbor stage as French producer David Guetta headlines day 2 of Enchanted Valley Carnival at Aamby Valley City

They say you can tell a lot about a star by the way they make an entrance. If you’re David Guetta (and if rumors are to be believed), that means cruising in by seaplane and landing on Aamby Valley City’s private lake. The 47-year-old French producer, who headlined the second day of Enchanted Valley Carnival, performed for over an hour and delivered a set that spanned from the most famous hits in his catalog, to lesser known remixes of songs by artists such as Nirvana, Iggy Azaelea and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, among others. As soon as the opening notes of the Grammy-winning artist’s set began, the crowd gravitated toward the Azbor stage like moths to a flame.

Guetta’s ability to transcend and appropriate other genres into electronica is part of what gives him such a widespread appeal and is what makes him a regular at the biggest music festivals in the world. But he wasn’t the only artist at the festival who was mixing, meandering and amalgamating styles. Joined by Rishab Joshi of Mumbai EDM duo Lost Stories, Goa-based producer Anish Sood played a house remix of American alternative metal band System Of A Down’s “Chop Suey,” introducing metal to a festival that was already home to everything from nu disco to dubstep. London producer Neev, who is known for her blend of tech house and deep house, dished out a remix of the classic Bollywood song “Mehbooba Mehbooba” composed by Indian music director R.D. Burman. With electronica infiltrating most other forms of music, it was welcome change to see the torchbearers of dance adapt and promote other disaporic influences.

Delhi’s electro rock poster boy Dualist Inquiry is a prime example of how, when done with the right mix of technical knowledge and creative vision, electronica can be a platform to promote other styles. Although performing alone on stage, sans his band and the interactive visuals that we’ve come to associate with him, the artist’s combination of organic and electronic instrumentation was powerful enough to draw crowds from the nearby stages. Mumbai’s electro swing duo Madboy/Mink are another example of an act that marries the two opposing concepts well. Performing tracks off their latest EP All Ball with Imaad Shah on sampler and bass guitar, his other half Saba Azad’s infectious energy and powerful vocals are what kept people grooving at their stage even though their set was during the hottest time of the day.

Other interesting acts included artists such as Ahmedabad-based DJ Kash Trivedi who opened the Analog stage with a flawless mix of progressive house and techno. Mumbai band Alien Chutney’s performance wasn’t as tight as we’ve come to expect, but keeping in mind the comedy rock act’s aggressive fan following, their mid-afternoon set was still one of the most well-attended at the Artemis stage. Mumbai band Shaa’ir and Func, of course, never disappoint. Performing crowd favorites from their repertoire, as well as songs from their new album Align, the four-piece group, with drummer Jai Row Kavi filling in for Ox7gen aka Aditya Ashok, seemed intent to reinforce what we already know ”“ that they are India’s defining electro rock band.

The afterparty, which was held inside the city limits, was exclusive to festival goers who were accommodated at Aamby Valley but was still brimming with party-goers. Techno producers Joshi, Chhab, Bullzeye, Karan Third Eye and Vishal Shetty performed B2B sets through the night, interchanging decks and dishing out beats until till the wee hours of the morning.