Asia’s biggest electronic music festival, Sunburn sprung to life at the aesthetic 100 acres Oxford Valley by Shapoorji Pallonji, encircled by the aesthetic valley of Lavale with multi-cultural dance music devotees congregating to surrender to their favourite artists. The musical extravaganza raised its’ 12th edition curtains for its loyalists from across the globe who count every single day, anxiously wait round the year for the EDM giant’s indulgence to begin their new year with zeal. Four exhilarating stages hosted by MC Noizee — the 300 x 100 feet (that’s as tall as a 10 storey building and as wide as the Statue of Liberty horizontally) with over 7000 sq. ft. of LED ( equal to 1 1/2 basketball court) “Cubezoid Stage 4.0”, the brilliant LED-packed “Zee 5 Stage”, flea market inspired “Kingfisher Good Times Stage” and “Britannia Stage” with immersive visuals—gave the attendees completely inimitable, and individualistic experiences within the overall festival.
Day 1 was an exhilarating commencement to a pristine chapter in Maharashtra’s music tourism, a festival that brought together a sense of promise and community to the fore. With a theme of “welcome to paradise”, the festival hosted India’s biggest campsites that gave every camper a comprehensive festival vibe. The artist village reverberated by all sorts of bass-lines buoyed by the incessant energy of a crowd that was nothing but love, excitement and positivity. The animated flea markets, multiple adventure zones, and lip-smacking gastronomical delights added to the celebrations. From appreciating a bird eye’s view of the festival atop the Ferris Wheel and Hot Air Balloon Rides to regaling in chilly cascades in the Aqua Roller to pedaling through the festival on the ostentatious Twin Cycle, there was something in store for all kinds of festival goers. Adrenaline junkies rejoiced with sundry selections – from football-dart game themed “Kick” on a 23 feet heightened Velcro wall to a clandestine castle of 300 meters with 50 odd obstacles to overcome at “Monster”.
Karan Singh, CEO, Sunburn Global said
“With Sunburn moving to Pune, the festival has become more affordable and accessible to our audiences. Pune is a fantastic host city with the right mix of the people and the infrastructure to support a festival of such magnitude. This year due to heightened security measures, we have adopted extensive state approved measures to ensure a catastrophe free festival given that visitors’ safety has always been paramount at the event”
The stunning CUBEZOID 4.0 was lit with LED’s, pyros, SFX sampled the seamless festival experience and witnessed spectacular performances from Kash Trivedi, Amann Nagpal, Ritviz, Anish Sood, Siana Catherine, Julia Bliss, Paratra (Live), Sara Santini, 39 Kingdom, Zenith, GREFF, 18 East, Dual Vibes, Basspatch and Progressive Brothers creating a perfect celebratory atmosphere. Following suit, the energy levels kept reaching for the sky with stellar performances by techno Parisian mistress Louisahhh!, an exponent of the trance 2.0 sound and Armada’s protege David Gravell and Hugel who amped up the crowds effortlessly mixing house and hip hop. Nucleya proved how he is still at the top of his game, with the crowd at the palm of his hands, lapping up his street style-infused hits from Raja Baga to Bass Rani to Tota Myna to the occasional Bollywood drops. He commanded the stage the entire time with his showcase worthy of an A rating.
Vini Vici showcased the prowess of psytrance by creating an unmatched intensity level and sampling their vintage psytrance baselines. From melodic presence to big atmospheres to feel-good moods, Don Diablo delivered an effortless set leading upto the headlining set.
The 2/3rds of the Swedish House Mafia, Axwell Λ Ingrosso ensured the audience had the time of their lives playing out a more variated set compared to their last domestic showcase. The legendary DJ/production duo never fail to nail crowds right in the feels with their everlasting anthemic songs like ‘Sun Is Shining,’ ‘Reload,’ ‘Out Of My Mind’, ‘Daning Alone’ and ‘More Than You Know’. Axwell Λ Ingrosso, towards the end, also played their respect for the passing away of Avicii playing ‘Wake Me Up’ on ‘Don’t You Worry Child’. The pair closed out their emotive set with Klahr’s “Falling In Love” under an aura of flushed smoke and slowly rising sparklers – a sight that is forever burned into memory. As per speculations this may have been one of the last heartfelt performances by Axwell Λ Ingrosso, as Swedish House Mafia prepares for their 2019 relaunch. The world awaits in nail-biting anticipation for this iconic moment in dance music history, beginning with their first-confirmed performance in their home base of Stockholm, Sweden next May.
FEATURED IMAGE CREDIT: THE MONETA
VINI VICI IMAGE CREDIT: MONISH BHATT
AXWELL^ INGROSSO IMAGE CREDIT: THE MONETA
Follow Me