Globally recognized as one of the most beautiful festivals in the world for its blend of heritage arts mixed with contemporary culture, Magnetic Fields has quickly come to be associated with pushing future-facing sounds and alternative artists from India and around the world. Red Bull Music Academy a global institution committed to fostering creativity in music will take over the North stage of the festival, 2^nd year in a row, for a showcase that brings together RBMA alumni and artist affiliates from around the world. The eclectic talent on display reflects both Magnetic Fields’ ethos of exploration and RBMA’s continued commitment to celebrating music, its culture, and the transformative minds behind it.

The theme for 2016 is “navigation”, drawing on sound and vibration to navigate the realms of space and time using the sacred knowledge of ancient astronomers, alchemists, mystics and mathematicians. The festival aesthetic, using materials like reclaimed wood, bamboo, handmade paper and muslin, will illustrate the theme. Hosted in a 17^th century palace-turned-hotel, Alsisar Mahal, the festival will be held from December 9-11 this year.

Red Bull Music Academy North Stage: The Line-up

The first wave of artists featuring on the stage are:

Floating Points (DJ)

Growing up in Manchester as the son of a vicar, some of Sam Shepherd’s first musical experiences took place in the church, where he sang in the choir and experimented with instruments. At school, he received a classical education, learning music composition while also developing a profound love of jazz, funk, soul, disco and more. After moving to London for university, he eventually adopted the Floating Points moniker, debuting in 2009 with a 7” on Eglo Records, the label he founded alongside Alexander Nut. In the years that followed, he continued developing a uniquely soul-infused hybrid sound via numerous single and EP releases, all while completing a PhD in neuroscience. A notorious vinyl hound, his DJ-ing – which generally incorporates sounds from across the musical spectrum, from Brazilian tropicalia to vocal house – has not only taken Shepherd around the globe, it’s allowed him to thoroughly indulge his insatiable appetite for records. At the same time, that same level of dedication colours nearly everything Shepherd does, whether he’s collecting vintage gear for his studio, designing a DJ mixer for Isonoe, or spending five years assembling his debut album, Elaenia, which appeared to widespread critical acclaim in 2015.

Roman Flügel

Roman Flügel is committed. Not to one style, but to electronic music itself. Whether with his long-term collaborator Jörn Elling Wuttke or under one of his various monikers, Roman is changeable like a chameleon. You get his ambient or folky side on one day, Sensorama; abysmal house music the next, Roman IV, or quirky big room anthems at another time (with Alter Ego_’s “Rocker” or “Geht’s Noch?” under his given name). Roman co-ran the Klang Elektronik-Playhouse-Ongaku label, released on Ladomat, Source, Cocoon, Harthouse, Turbo or R&S, and has an impressive string of remixes for Primal Scream, The Human League or Baby Ford, to name but a few, under his belt. This man not only has wings, he knows how to fly. Flügel is also a DJ to boot and plays the best of the best – no matter if you call it house, techno or disco music. His first album as Roman Flügel for Hamburg’s Dial imprint, Fatty Folders, probably puts that all in one box: smart and clever, soft and hard, caring and witty at the same time.

Pinch

Pinch was born in Scotland and lived there until he was six years old when his family moved to Newport in South Wales. At 18 he relocated to Bristol and has been there ever since, enjoying the relaxed and bass-heavy vibe of the city. After getting recognised around town for mashing minimal, garage, and grime into his DJ sets, Pinch started to incorporate some dubstep plates. But it was the experience of seeing Kode9 at the monthly FWD>> night in London that really turned his head, and from then on it was pure dubstep. In 2005 he founded Tectonic Records with the motto ‘If your chest ain’t rattlin, it ain’t happnin!’. It is a label that has gone from strength to strength, creating its own sound. Receiving great respect from music lovers across the globe, it has eventually become one of the most visionary labels in the world of bass music.

Oceantied

When he’s not playing guitar in the post-rock outfit Until We Last, Ketan Bahirat explores a wide range of electronic sounds in his solo Oceantied project. Inspired equally by Tycho and DJ Rashad, as well as a childhood heavy on Indian classical artists, Oceantied’s music moves from lush downtempo numbers to skittery footwork cuts. Often times both sides blur together, dreamy keyboard notes giving way to harsher moments. Bahirat absorbs and decodes many disparate genres of music to constantly morph his style, and he’s also keen on helping others achieve the same goal – in his home of Bangalore, he started an event called “Producer Circle,” where local creators come together to listen to each other’s creations, discuss them and then collaborate.

Also on the line-up for 2016, on the South Stage, is Austrian multi-instrumentalist and beats prodigy Dorian Concept, Japanese experimental electronica producer Daisuke Tanabe, ambient electronica act Napoleon Gold from Luxembourg, US-born, Pune-educated and London-based jazz composer, percussionist and producer Sarathy Korwar, singer-songwriter Prateek Kuhad, Delhi-based dreamy psychedelia band Begum, collaborative electronica act Nikhil Narendraand Shreyas Dipali and Mumbai-based ambient duo Burudu.

More names will follow soon.

Tickets and accommodation packages are available at tickets.magneticfields.in.