New Delhi: Magnetic Fields, widely regarded as one of the most beautiful festivals in the world for its fusion of traditional arts and modern culture, has fast come to stand for an India that is proud of its past and forward-looking in its vision.
In addition to music, Magnetic Fields offers a variety of other content, including interactive and immersive installations, a VR showcase by MUTEK, narrative in the form of Magnetic Words, and a space that mixes music and wellness in the Magnetic Sanctuary.
Jameson Connects Dungeon
The second night in the Jameson Connects Dungeon will see a crew of selectors headed by curator and Krunk label founder, Rafiki behind the decks. Joining him will be DJs Nida, Lady Rufflein and Sodhi.
Pursue Cosmic Disco Bar
An oasis of fun, shimmer, razzle and dazzle in the middle of the desert, the Pursue Cosmic Disco Bar is where the tunes never stop and the tap never runs dry. Pop in for a drink under the disco ball and relive the glam of Studio 54 with secret sets courtesy Dynamite Disco Club and friends.
Corona Sundowner
Everyone’s favourite sunset stage has been rechristened Corona Sundowner for this edition, and will feature an exclusive presentation by French hip-hop artist ONRA, debut performances from Delhi-based producer FILM’s alter ego Tyrell Dub Corp called ‘Futurhythmachine’, a live set from popstar Anuskha Manchanda’s alter-ego KISS NUKA, experimental producer Shantam, Bangalore-based lo-fi singer and songwriter Rudy Mukta, and chillwave producer CHRMS.
DRAGALACTIQ x Paradise at The Peacock Club
Four queer performing artists – an aerialist, a voguer and two drag queens – each possessing their own special skill and style, join forces to create havoc at Paradise at The Peacock Club, the perfect accompaniment to Amsterdam-based mercurial selector Young Marco’s taste in unusual musical delights.
Magnetic Words
Storytelling is an intrinsic part of music festivals around the world, and Magnetic Fields was the first music festival in India to bring together tellers of tales from India and around the world.
For the 2022 edition, we collaborate with creative lifestyle magazine Platform for Magnetic Words. Scheduled for Saturday afternoon at The Peacock Club, Magnetic Words x Platform showcase will feature Academy Award nominee Sushmit Ghosh, a filmmaker whose film Writing with Fire was the first documentary from India to be nominated at Oscars 2022; performance poet Pragya Bhagat, who is also the founder of The Poetry Circle, a community space that fosters a love for words; the Delhi-based architect, writer, and community artist Swati Janu and winner of the Moira Gemmill Prize for Emerging Architecture; and Delhi-based photographer Devashish Gaur who works with archives and found objects to explore narratives of intimacy, home and identity, like in his latest photo series This Is The Closest We Will Get, a photo series through which he dives into questions of belonging, inheritance and freedom using archival photos of his grandfather across the figure of his father to create a bridge between them.
Magnetic Sanctuary
Magnetic Fields was the first festival in India to curate a space that’s more about relaxation than dancing, and this year collaborates with transformational and wellness experiences platform LifePlugin for Magnetic Sanctuary.
LifePlugin is bringing the best teachers, facilitators and practitioners to provide attendees with wellness experiences and a space for ‘reconnection’ – also the theme for the 2022 edition. This is a space for people to meet, connect and seek to reimagine themselves through unique experiences.
Open all through the weekend, the Magnetic Sanctuary is a chill decompression zone that serves as a retreat from the bustle of festival life. Activities on offer include music and meditation, soundbaths, blindfolded sensory experiences, hot mess yoga and vinyasa yoga, aromatherapy, astrology, massage therapy among other immersive experiences.
The above mentioned activities will be available at Magnetic Sanctuary in the Bedouin campsite from 3 pm to midnight on Friday, and from 9.30 am to 10 pm on Saturday and Sunday.
VR Showcase: MUTEK’s Immersive Collection
With a promise of the most cutting-edge immersive experience, Magnetic Fields brings down the talent heads of MUTEK. The festival, globally recognised for its future-facing audio-visual performances, shares its latest chapter: taking its first step as extended reality (XR) content producer with Immersive Collection.
Reinventing shows previously performed at MUTEK, Immersive Collection defies traditional genres and defines a new category of audio-visual XR experiences that are deployed from original concepts, non-traditional narratives and advanced digital creation tools.
Entanglement XR by France Jobin and Markus Heckmann
Entanglement distills quantum physics theories into a swooping sensorial experience, illustrating the concept of entanglement, an uncanny scientific phenomenon that defies explanations. The piece oscillates between four theories: the fluidity of time, multiverse, Copenhagen interpretation and decoherence. These complex notions are filtered into radiant tableaus guided by science, technology, and sensitivity to illustrate what cannot be visualized.
House Of Moire by Chloe Alexandra Thompson and Matthew Edwards
House of Moire invites users into a void-like realm of transforming audio-visual architecture. In self-directed exploration, the viewer advances through rooms dressed in optical patterns, audio-visual programming, and minimalist spatial design. The result is an odd and inquisitive trip for this latest iteration of Moire, a series of A/V works investigating psycho-acoustics and sensory illusion through, among others, custom audio software and interactive design.
Installations – Cosmic Capsules
Scattered across the desert will be three towering installations that imitate the growing trash mountains across the cities and spreads the message of plastic recycling and the importance of handling trash in sustainable ways. The three Cosmic Capsules resting in the Magnetic Fields 2022 are named as Moonhead, Rosebud and play a role of navigation or interactive pavilions spread across the venue. Cosmic Capsules by BasicShit are made up of 280 kgs of recycled plastic and natural adhesive elements, and save 476 kg of CO2 from the environment.
Installations – Compass Presents Teleconfusion
Teleconfusion is a playful interactive installation – a network of phones designed to delight, confound and connect. These interactive messaging systems are installed around the festival and invite attendees to be imaginative, cheeky, or just randomly inspired.
Teleconfusion has featured at Glastonbury Festival, Shambala, Boomtown Fair, the Watershed’s BFI Gothic Season, Larmer Tree and Balter, and makes its India debut at Magnetic Fields.
Installations – SHED, bringing ancient Indian board games to life
Also making a comeback will be one of the festival’s most Instagrammable corners, Ahmedabad-based research and design studio SHED, whose interactive installations bring to life ancient Indian board games. Think life-sized chess, life-sized Pallanguli as well as Nine Men’s Morris, fabricated out of metal, with natural rocks, sand and other found natural materials and played on the floor.
TATVA Welfare Area
The festival continues its collaboration with Goa-based mental health first aid and emotional welfare providers TATVA. The TATVA welfare area is a dedicated safe space providing 24 hours emotional support, information and care. Attendees have access to the TATVA welfare area in the Bedouin Village, and a new TATVA satellite welfare area in the palace, offering a listening ear, SOS response, and a place to rest.
Sustainability
The team has over the years been taking steps towards making Magnetic Fields a more sustainable festival by doing as much as they can to respect the land and people of Alsisar. The festival encourages a mindful approach to consumption during the weekend and provides attendees with solutions on how they can help.
The festival is working with a third party environmental impact auditor, Pranoy Thipaiah to assess impact from pollution (including noise) to soil fragility, water usage, electricity usage and carbon footprint. The festival will also employ the use of two high efficiency incinerators on site to reduce emissions to nearly nothing (98 per cent less than pollution control board norms) and waste management experts SKRAP to optimize waste segregation and recycling.
In addition, the festival is focusing on general reduction in flex or single use printing, avoiding single-use plastic on site (other than water bottles) and encourages use of biodegradable plates and cutlery, alongside providing attendees with free water refill stations.
_IANS
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