For three days in October, Bacardi NH7 Weekender in Pune gave festival goers a chance to forget all their worries and be part of an experience unlike any other. They call Bacardi NH7 Weekender “the happiest festival in India”, a title we believe it truly deserves. We got to Pune on Day 2 and prepared ourselves to make up for lost time, entering a very colourful venue to find a smile on every face. We made our way to the Eristoff’s Wolves Den to see Vachan start off our Bacardi NH7 Weekender journey.
Bangalore based Vachan began his electronic music career with minimal tech but now sways to a very different sound. When Vachan started his set, there were just a few people dancing by the bar as he was the first one to play at the Eristoff’s Wolves Den on Day 2. By the end of his set, every hardcore drum and bass fan had gathered at this stage to watch him fire off hypnotizing tracks one after another. It felt like Vachan was right where he wanted to be. The Eristoff Wolves Den remained jam packed from Vachans set till pretty much the end of the festival.
Following Vachan was former Bandish Projeckt member Nucleya who came on stage in his “Fuck That Shit” t-shirt. Nucleya had by far the best visuals at Barcardi NH7 Weekender in Pune, his bass heavy sounds boldly amalgamated with Bollywood & Indian folk tunes were complimented by the old Bollywood movie clips projected on the screen behind him. To say the least, Nucleya’s set was brilliant and one of our favourites!
Every track dropped by Nucleya was greeted by thunderous roars, especially tracks from his latest EP “Koocha Monster”. His set lived up to and exceeded all expectations of one of the leading Indian producers. We had a chat with him after his set and got a chance to understand the background of his music that got the crowd roaring!
Before we headed to Pune, we read on twitter that Blot!, the audiovisual performance collective and Madhav Shorey a.k.a Kohra who were going to play together had a surprise for everyone. Little did we expect that they would play an entire bass heavy set for us. They’re known to all the DJs who spearhead #TechnoTakeover in India so to hear them play a set infused with heavy bass was a very new experience for many. The crowd was eager to hear their selection of tracks as this was completely out of their comfort zone. It took people time to get used to them playing a different sound but slowly the sea of slightly bobbing heads jolted into a dance frenzy.
We’ve got to appreciate the effort they put in to creating a cohesive set. The mood was joyful, magical for many though not for all. It takes a lot of courage to do something different if you’re an artist playing to a big crowd at a music festival, especially if the crowd is filled with experienced and mature music enthusiasts.
We got to end Day 2 with the wizards of analogue production, the uber talented british duo, Simian Mobile Disco. Doing what they do best, they took over the Eristoff Wolves Den. Playing one of the most beautifully mixed and well programmed sets we have ever heard, the two hours they performed seemed to fly by in an instant.
For the 2 hours that they were on stage, the entire audience was mesmerized. It was one of the most surreal 2 hours of music we have had the pleasure to witness. They dropped their age old surefire hits like Hustler, It’s the Beat and an instrumental version of the Justice remixed, We Are Your Friends.
Their set was a cascading waterfall of auditory bliss that effortlessly flowed from one delicious melody to the next with complimenting beats so harmonious, it all seemed like one seamless piece of music. What added to that wondrous experience was the vivacious electricity in the air that reverberated off each and everyone that lost themselves to the music. The stage added to the allure and exquisiteness. The lights, and the visuals, everything came together so perfectly, it could only be described as magic.
The sky was clear, the weather was divine and the heavenly full eloquent moon was glistening right above the stage. By saying it felt like a small little slice of heaven, is not giving it apt description at all. But then again, we have no other words that can bring justice to what we experienced by watching them play.
Day 3 at Bacardi NH7 Weekender in Pune saw us drawn to DJ Sa playing at the Bacardi Breezer DubStation stage. We were keen on seeing the kind of set he had rallied up because most of us know him as “the best hip-hop DJ” in India (also proclaimed at the inaugural MyFav Awards). So what kind of spin would a hip-hop DJ bring to a stage that showcased only bass heavy music? We had to find out! Needless to say, we were blown away by his set.
Dropping such heavy bass, trap and moombahton bombs, the stage felt like a warzone massacred by his weapons of bass destruction. The sheer energy was off any measurable scale and we’re also pretty sure the nearest geological office would have confused the madness of his set for a minor earthquake. To add to it, DJ Sa kept bouncing on stage feeding off the crowds vibration. Throughout his set, he made one thing constant: the power of the heavy, demolishing bass. He played destroyers like the Bare Remix of Carnage & Tony Juniors Michael Jordan, the stellar collaboration on Higher with Bauuer, Jay-Z & Just Blaze, and the filthy Crizzly Remix of A$AP Rocky’s F**kin’ Problems.
Needless to say, by the time he was done, our faces had melted off. Some of us had our expressions juxtaposed with a permanent “Bass Face”. It took a while for us to gather ourselves before we could head to catch festival headliners, Chase & Status.
Photo credit – Parizad D
It was time for the set we were all looking forward to. Even more so, because these guys were our artist of the month for October. For those of you who don’t know, Chase & Status are possibly the most respected and well known bass heavy acts from the UK. Chase & Status is composed of Saul Milton (Chase) and Will Kennard (Status). In addition, MC Rage & Andy Gangadeen also make up the live band and they both help Chase & Status when recording and putting together albums and so are also considered as full members.
They’ve put out a bevy of hits and remixes and most of their productions are an essential part of any drum & bass DJ sets out there. However that night, the only members present were Chase and their MC Rage. The set was an eclectic and curious mix of DnB, Dubstep, Brostep, Hip Hop and Bass House. For die hard Chase & Status fans, their set was rather generic. They played many commercial bass heavy tracks that really struck a chord with most, but did not bode well for a lot of the fans who expected much more, and rightly so. They did however drop some of their originals like the wonderfully ethnic Eastern Jam and also drove the crowds insane with End Credits.
They worked the crowd with Skrillex’s Breakn’ A Sweat and his remix of Nero’s Promises as well as Knife Party’s remix of Crush On You. What we loved about their set was that Chase & Status embraced UK Bass music! If you’ve ever seen them before you’d understand how their set speaks volumes of the music culture in the UK. Ni**as in Paris spiced it up and had everyone singing along.
One thing that’s undeniable is that they had literally everyone we could see present at the Arena Stage to dance like there was no tomorrow. They even got the usual wallflowers, standing at the back to groove and bob their heads a little. A view from the back saw the whole mass of people heave and sway as though it was one giant wave. Though MC Rage was primarily responsible for keeping the energy that high by pumping the crowd up.
Photo credit – Parizad D
In terms of electronic music, Bacardi NH7 Weekender in Pune seemed to focus on Bass-heavy dance music with hints of house and techno and absolutely no trance. A mix of it all would have been great but we’re not complaining, though we would have loved to see BLOT! vs Kohra play a Techno set because of the overwhelming number of artists playing drum and bass and dubstep. It’s safe to say out first Weekender experience left us wanting more. We look forward to raging at the rest of them, be sure to watch this space to keep up with all the latest about Bacardi’s NH7 Weekender.
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Reviewed by: Shule Puri & Angelica Pereira
Edited by: Kabir Uppal
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