Conceptualized with a mandate to showcase diverse, future-facing sounds from India and around the world, and shine a spotlight on talent from the region, Magnetic Fields returns for its seventh edition from December 13-15.
Tickets for the December festival are available on http://tickets.magneticfields.in/
Representing an exciting vision of modern India, and its focus on curating exciting music and introducing new concepts and experiences to attendees, Magnetic Fields’ lineup features heavyweights like live electronica acts, Maribou State and Brainfeeder signee Ross From Friends for the BUDx South Stage, and one of dance music’s most charismatic personalities, The Black Madonna on the Red Bull North Stage, among many others.
The festival will showcase artists from South Africa – Esa and DJ Lag, Almaty-based selector and promoter Nazira, Toulouse-based Tunisian DJ and producer Deena Abdelwahed alongside a special festival commission and immersive sound residency called Fieldlines.
The sunset stage, JioSaavn Sundowner will feature debut performances from live electronica acts like
The three-day festival continues its collaboration with Red Bull – now in its fifth year – and with
Palms Trax | Photo Courtesy: George Nebieridze 
Ross From Friends | Photo Courtesy: Fabrice Bourgelle 
Hunee | Photo Courtesy: Dan Medhurst 
Deena Abdelwahed 
The Black Madonna | Photo Courtesy: Aldo Paredes 
DJ Lag
The BUDx South Stage
The BUDx South Stage will host some of live electronica’s most exciting acts, like Maribou State who come to India on the back of a very successful, sold-out tour of Kingdoms in Colour across the United States and United Kingdom. Chris Davids and Liam Ivory, better known to the world as Maribou State have created a timeless, colourful and immersive sound universe – one that they will recreate live for Indian audiences with an accompanying band and vocalists.
Felix Weatherall’s moniker Ross From Friends is a name that has won acclaim for his versatile productions, as well as its reference to one of 21st century’s most endearing TV shows. For Magnetic Fields, Ross From Friends brings his live show that has toured at venues and festivals around the world.
Curated commissions are an important highlight of the programming and for 2019, Magnetic Fields presents ‘Fieldlines’, an immersive residency program, that will see international/Indian sound artists live and work together – alongside traditional folk musicians from the region – and make a live presentation at the festival. This project has been made possible with a Goethe-Institut Coproduction Fund grant, and through a collaboration with Gebruder Teichmann, made up of German siblings and cultural activists, Andi and Hannes Teichmann.
The F16s last performed at Magnetic Fields in 2016, and return to Alsisar this year with a new EP, WKND FRNDS and new tricks.
Each year the festival draws attention to a new talent with its opening act slot – Kumail in 2015, Burudu in 2016, Aerate Sound in 2017, Paraphoniks in 2018 – and this year, Delhi-based Okedo will play a live set to open the festival on Friday evening.
Red Bull North Stage
The night stage christened the Red Bull North Stage for 2019 – like always – will feature DJs and producers that have established themselves as pioneers of a certain style or sound.
Over the past four years, the Red Bull-curated stage has become a platform where up-and-coming names make a mark alongside established legends, and Indian audiences are introduced to fresh and diverse sounds. From 2015 till now, it has hosted stalwarts like DJ Koze, Hunee, Antal, Floating Points, Roman Flügel, Helena Hauff, Ben UFO, Four Tet and Daphni among others, and showcased fresh Indian talent like FILM, Spacejams, Aqua Dominatrix and Kini Rao to an international audience.
This year leading the charge on the Red Bull North Stage will be one of dance music’s most charismatic performers and an outspoken advocate for gender equality, The Black Madonna. An increasingly-respected DJ, known for playing uplifting sets that balance established anthems with idiosyncratic selections, The Black Madonna will make her India debut at the 17th century Alsisar Mahal this December.
Keeping her company will be Toulouse-based Tunisian DJ and producer Deena Abdelwahed, who can mix disparate sounds together in an idiosyncratic but natural way. Marrying modern club music with synthesized versions of Arabic instruments, Deena Abdelwahed’s abrasive, percussive techno has been one of the most exciting original propositions in recent years. Red Bull North StageKeeping her company will be Toulouse-based Tunisian DJ and producer Deena Abdelwahed, who can mix disparate sounds together in an idiosyncratic but natural way. Marrying modern club music with synthesized versions of Arabic instruments, Deena Abdelwahed’s abrasive, percussive techno has been one of the most exciting original propositions in recent years.
Almaty in Kazakhstan is far removed the bustle of Berlin and London but that hasn’t stopped DJ and promoter, Nazira from creating a space for herself in dance music. Her artistic vision and ability to deliver emotive sets have made her beacon of light in the Central Asian region, and a Room 4 Resistance – a Berlin-based queer femme and non-binary forward collective – resident DJ.
It mutated out of Durban townships but gqom – a tense, hypnotic club genre – is fast claiming fans all over the world, thanks to efforts of artists like DJ Lag, one of the genre’s biggest stars. Mumbai-based DJ and promoter Chhabb will bring his bag of 303-based, textured industrial techno for his Magnetic Fields debut.
BUDxYARD
The garden, which turns into the BUDxYARD this year, will feature late-night, lively sets from beatmakers that inform and entertain crowds in equal measure. One of the finest selectors in the scene, HAAi has gone from being a resident at London-based club Phonox to playing all around the world. Joining her will be Paris-based DJ and producer Simo Cell, who is known for unpredictable and dynamic sets, and Delhi-based, London-native DJ Shama Anwar.
Paradise at The Peacock Club
One of the special highlights of the weekend will be the return of Berlin-based Dutch selector and producer Hunee to Alsisar. Paradise at The Peacock Club will see Rush Hour co-founder Hunee take over the velvet-draped space for an extended set of big tunes and joyous anthems.
The Jameson Underground
The Jameson Underground will reverberate with the sounds of Africa when creative polymath and South African selector Esa goes underground for his all-night set focused around the theme of ‘Amandla: Music to the People’.
JioSaavn Sundowner
Everyone’s favourite sunset stage, JioSaavn Sundowner will feature debut performances from live electronica acts like Monophonik, poetess and producer Pulpy Shilpy, San Francisco-based sound architect and synthesist, OSE and a special show, Abhi Meer Presents: ‘Spektra’.
Sunday night closing set by Palms Trax
Having played at Magnetic Fields before in 2015, London DJ and producer Palms Trax returns to the desert to play the festival closing set, a slot filled by BICEP in 2018 and Ben UFO in 2017.
Theme for 2019 edition
The festival, like every year, will be limited capacity, and promises to be an immersive, curated experience unlike any other on the Indian circuit.
The theme for 2019 is “the law of seven”, and how it can be observed everywhere in the natural world and in everything we do internally and externally.
About Magnetic Fields
Magnetic Fields is an independent festival that was founded by artists for
like-minded people. It is produced by Wild City, THOT, Kunal Lodhia, Alsisar
Mahal and Smita Singh Rathore with support from Red Bull, Budweiser, Jameson,
JioSaavn, Goethe-Institut, Border Movement and Luxembourg Export Office.
