Magnetic Fields Festival is an annual music and arts festival held in Alsisar Mahal, a palace in the Shekhawati region of Rajasthan, India. The festival is known for its unique location in a historic palace and its eclectic lineup featuring a mix of international and Indian artists across various genres, including electronic, indie, and alternative music.
Magnetic Fields Festival typically offers not only music performances but also a range of cultural and artistic experiences, including workshops, art installations, and other immersive activities. The festival has gained popularity for its distinctive setting, bringing music enthusiasts and artists together in a captivating and unconventional environment.
Keeping it tidy and short, here’s our guide to Mag Fields 2023 and what we are looking forward to:
Each year the festival boasts a lineup of live acts, bands, and DJs/selectors popular in the underground international circuit playing sets that are relatively vibrant to what you would hear at conventional music festivals. The sound profile they collate has been consistent through the years with an alt-rock/post-rock headline band, some live electronica acts, and DJs playing sets that are the conjunction of house/tech-house/techno but with a more experimental vibe. Besides the electronic side of the fest, the lineups generally span jazz, reggae, Indie, and Indian classical/folk among other genres. Each year there is a selection of Indian acts debuting their new monikers, producers/DJs putting out their fresh live acts, and some Indie acts coming to mainstream for the first time. Names like Prateek Kuhad, Ditty, and Sijya Gupta and showcases like Tryell Dub Corp and Elsewhere in India are profound products of the festival.
Keeping up with its previous legacy and theme, the festival has billed 75+ acts for its 2023 edition scheduled for this weekend.
Working our way through the lineup, we see that the roaster of artists includes names that have played international festivals like Dekmantel and been regulars on Boiler Room(s) of the world. Even with the larger crowd disappointments of no major recognizable names like Four Tet, and Ben UFO in previous editions, the lineup remains musically sound. Headline acts like Glass Beams, Number’s Label Showcase at the Ray-Ban Afterparty (similar to Hessle Audio get-together last year), and the Indian debut of OR:LA will likely be on everyone’s radar but here are a few acts we are looking forward to:
The first act on our list was going to be Yu Su but the hinted cancellation has left us a little sad here’s what’s more to explore:
Deadbeat:
Having 13 albums to his kitty, Scott Monteith has played festivals like Sonar, Transmediale, and Mutek. His sound can be defined as a mix of dub, techno, and minimal elements. As someone who started his career in the development of music technology, one can expect his sets to be a display of utmost technical creativity. He can be seen playing two sets at the festival, one being his mainstream set at the midnight hour on Saturday at BUDx North Stage and a Reggae set early morning at the Peacock Club.
Otik:
Hard-beating techno is the mainstream club sound at the moment but what Otik brings together is some jungle-inspired tech sounds with an ambient kick to them. His sets have twists and turns in terms of melodic getaways that keep you craving for more. He is performing at the BUDx Yard stage on Sunday at 1:30 am.
Nosedrip:
The NTS Radio show selector Ziggy puts together sets that in one word can be defined as “Experimental”. He is known to be a “Digger”. He brings along sounds from his label Stroom Records. We were trying to categorize the label sounds but them being so experimental could not be put in a boundary. We now leave you with the label’s description of their sounds: The Girl That Won’t Return Your Love But Is Totally Worth It. You can catch him on the BUDx Yard stage on Sunday at 3 AM.
Sandunes: The Ground Beneath Her Feet (Debut)
From opening for Pretty Lights back in the day to playing DJ sets in dingy alleyway bars of Bandra, Mumbai Sanaya Ardeshir is a composer cum performer that always does something fresh. Playing one of the note-worthy sets at Lollapalooza India 2023 she returns with the debut of a new 13-track album which she will be playing with her full band at the Jameson Connects South Stage on Saturday at 8:30 PM.
Mixtress:
A genre that is relatively absent from the Indian shores is Drum n’ Bass. Mixtress returns to her homeland to fill this void in the desert with her high-octane, bass-heavy, hardcore, jungle, and DnB music-laden sets.
Gazzi:
Another midnight set at Budx Yard stage (Sat) on our list is Gazzi. UK Garage seems to have been well covered by Mag Fields and Gazzi is another highlight of the same. Playing key festivals like Sonar, Primavera Sound, Field Day, and more, his sets deliver post-dubstep, UK bass, deep house, and breakbeat kind of genres.
Taofu:
Vietnam’s underground scene is reflective of how deep-rooted dance music has become in South East Asia. The DJs in Hanoi are known for some of the most ecstatic sets of house, electro, and techno genres that are rich and diverse in terms of experimentation. Taofu is bringing that same sound from Vietnam’s clubs like The Observatory and Savage (where she is a resident DJ) and popular collective ATIPIK for you to experience in the sunny afternoons of the Ray-Ban Desert Oasis stage on Sunday.
Goya:
A setting like Magnetic Fields would be best accompanied by some experimental ambient and cinematic live electronica. This is what Delhi-based music producer Goya would be in charge of during the sunset on Friday at the Jameson Connects South Stage. He has previously opened for HVOB during their India tour last year and is likely to put up an immersive first act on the main stage.
Sanoli Chowdhary:
Last on our list is Sanoli as we could not just control ourselves while finding the best way to enjoy the sunny afternoons on one of the palace’s terraces. Bangalore-based singer-songwriter is likely one of the budding debut acts at the festival this year which we would mark as the artist to watch out for. Sunday at 4:30 on the Corona Sundowner stage, ambient textures, soul-soothing vocals, and flowy guitar elements remain a must-watch.
Individual artists apart, Mag Fields is about other multisensory experiences as well. On our to-do list away from electronic music are three things to look forward to:
Experiencing one of the Yoga or Meditation sessions at Magnetic Sanctuary with LifePlugin – The hard dancing needs some time off, a rejuvenation experience would prepare one for a more energetic experience once again. From morning to evening, there are a bunch of yoga, meditation, breathing exercises, and more planned across all three days of the festival.
Fieldlines: _RHL w/ Vaibhav Wavikar, Nusrat Apoorv, Anuja Zokarkar, Apoorv Petkar, and Vinay Ramadasan – What started as a concept in 2019 and has become one of the most beautiful highlights of the festival is the residency which denotes marriage of Indian music art forms with sounds of our generation. This year is another epitome of the same where Rahul Giri brings together his downtempo sounds with powerful classical vocals and percussion sounds from other artists who worked together through 10 days of stay at the Mahal.
Stargazing: Join the skilled team at Astroden Observatory as they gather on the palace rooftop. Utilizing their advanced 10-inch Dobsonian telescope, explore the expansive desert night skies, counting constellations and identifying stars, planets, and galaxies. Don’t forget to watch for the Geminid meteor showers, coinciding with the festival, for a chance to witness the mesmerizing annual celestial display.
That’s all from our side, do let us know what we missed and which artists you are looking forward to! This is not going to be your usual festival, 6 stages, 12 pm to 6 am with nice chilly temperatures, and how everything comes together at the palace would be something ‘hopefully good’.
Just one sleep away!
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