Mid November marks the end of festive seasons but the beginning of Festival season in India! And what better way to start the Festival experiences with one perched high aloft hills with a glimmering open sky above and a sense of adventure encompassing you?! DFusion at Della Adventure, Lonavala certainly lived up to its motto, “..where Music meets Adventure”. Some of the best Indian and International artists spread over a superfluous lineup of genres, under a serene natural setting and adventure sports all around..now that’s one weekend worth returning to every now & then!
Among nearly 100 adventure sports, all happening simultaneously, three different stages were set up which covered DJ sets and live acts to create a prodigious event. Indian artists with the likes of Mental Martians, Toys in Panic, Sequ3l, Ma Faiza, Aditya Wanwari, Helium Project, Lost Stories, Tuhin Mehta to name a few, played alongside International giants such as Oliver Smith and Ramiro Lopez. With the music stages going live at around 3 pm on Saturday, the artists exhausted devoted audience members with a plethora of genres and a parade of beats & melodic bliss for nearly 13 hours non-stop as the music echoed around the hills of Lonavala well into the early Sunday morning! Adding to the musical experiences were a host of additional features such as Carnival dancers, acrobatics, pyrotechnics apart from food courts, indoor gaming centers and the many adventure sport experiences such as dirt bike tracks, Zorbing, Grappling, Bungee jumping, and many many more! Della adventure welcomed us with open arms, as staff and event organizers cordially smiled at us at every inquiry as we explored the huge arena. We were really excited to be part of this wonderful and unique experience and couldn’t wait to be under the influence of the spectacular music headed our way!
Starting proceedings amidst dirt bikes swiveling around and Flying Fox lines suspended above were Pune duo Moazzam Kantawalla and Ankit Goel’s moniker Lab Monkeys. Starting with a typical deep house and deep tech warm up set, the boys provided a perfect minimal start to what was seeming to be a long night of musical adventures! With tracks such as “Japanese snowbell (Guy J remix)” by Hernan Cattaneo & Soundexile and “Where you been (Original mix)” by Chris Meehan, the duo started with a finely composed tempo to warm up those dance buds.
Following them were the super talented Mental Martians comprising of Sarvesh, Piyush and Tarang. With an aggressive Bass peppered playlist, the Martians dabbled across genres from Drum and bass to Drumstep, glitch hop and dubstep. While Sarvesh and Piyush form the DJ duo who sparkle behind the decks, Tarang infused some real power on the percussion. With improvisations on the Bongo, Djembe and Darbuka and a drum & bass loop in the background, one can only imagine the destruction this group can cause with their live performances! Besides all the heady and heavy sounds orchestrated in their set, we fell in love with their beautiful live rendition of One Million Toys euphoric “Ohara (Original mix)” . The collective provided the perfect seasoning to the boiling broth of bass and melody!
At around 5:30 pm, upcoming Indian wonderboy Nakul Ambilkar aka Sequ3l, began his set of deep and progressive music. Not one to shy away from experimentation, Sequ3l’s sound was as charismatic and soulful as the setting itself with tracks such as his “We Evolve (Original mix)” and that still unknown mystifying mashup of Pryda’s “Shadows”. Fresh from his international success, including a track in Markus Schulz’s prestigious Buenos Aires ’13 compilation, Sequ3l unleashed his yet unreleased Steve Ness’s “Veterans (Sequ3l Remix)” . With a melodic lineup that included the likes of “Stethoskop” by Chopstick & Johnjon, “Serious (Calvin Harris remix)” by Manufactured Superstars feat. Selina Albright and Smooth Vision & Alaris’s “Liberty (Sequ3l remix)” , Sequ3l molded the atmosphere into a euphoric and uplifting one. Doing poetic justice to the setting sun, and a gentle breeze kissing our feet, Sequ3l’s set charmed us into a state of progressive trance and with “Another World (Andre Lodemann remix)” by Joey Negro & Akabu ,our return seemed highly improbable!
Following Sequ3l’s stellar set were Indian group Toys In Panic. With one member behind the console and another on the drums, the boys certainly got the party people excited as they turned up things a notch. Playing tracks ranging from deep house, tech and drum and bass, Toys in Panic soon had company on stage! While carnival dancers and acrobats entertained the audience members visually, the duo provided the perfect auditory entertainment. Their set proved to be quite a turning point as dusk allowed the visuals and lighting to be on full display giving audience members a real sense of the immense hard work put behind the event.
At about 8 pm, we were graced withpowerhouse duo Electrovertz. Besides being drop-dead-gorgeous, the twosome Mallika and Nina provided some groovy and smooth tech vibes with their exorbitant house music selection. With tracks such as “What We Want (Original mix)” by Do Santos, “Where House” by Catz ‘N Dogz & Eats Everything and “Together (Hollen remix)” by David Herrero, the duo showed how beautiful melodies can compliment beautiful faces and beautiful settings. Despite a number of technical glitches, which caused their sets to be interrupted regularly, Electrovertz more than made up for it with their serene set and tracks like “Stained” by Alex Karakasis and “Lust (Original mix)” by Luca Cassani just reiterated their status as one of the best in the business.
Ma Faiza took to the stage at prime time 9 pm. Beginning her set with stormy electro house numbers, Ma Faiza spun the party way out of control! Her’s was perhaps the set that pumped the crowd up the most as her bass filled set infused torrential energy to the audience members. Described as ‘the queen of electronica in India’ by the presenter, Ma Faiza has had undisputed success in a career spanning over a decade in the Indian Dance Music industry. From the shores of psy-trance, Ma Faiza’s sound has seen genre-defining alterations in her sound as she traversed from progressive house, dirty house, electro house, drum and bass to even chill-out and ambient music. With tracks such as “Touch The Stars (Nick Corline & Andy F remix)” by Nick Corline feat N.U.M and “Open Your Eyes (Original mix)” by Yann Fontaine, Ma Faiza’s set had probably the maximum attendance in the entire event as her mix traveled across a multitude of genres.
Headlining the event and following the blistering set of Ma Faiza was Anjunabeats legend and London resident Oliver Smith. It was no surprise that Oliver was the most awaited artist of the night and this was ratified with the thunderous applause he received as he started his set. Smiling wildly as he patiently awaited his turn to spin his set, Oliver shot off with “Mondays (Original mix)” by Estiva & Johan Vilborg. Those caressing synths fused with the man-of-the-moment Mat Zo’s “Lucid dreams (Original mix)” was an auditory delight. With stars above our heads shimmering the night skyline, while the dancing lightwork on the stage giving us blindspots, Oliver’s set was as surreal as walking over water. Surrounded by a landscape right out from Animal planet, we danced like raging animals ourselves to Ce3sar’s blistering “Lakota (ilan Bluestone remix)” and Tom Swoon feat. Taylr Renee’s “Wings (Myon & Shane 54 Summer of Love remix)”. From his own portfolio, he played the freshly garnished “Evermore (Original mix)” which was tested by Anjuna bosses Above & Beyond at their ABGT050 celebrations in London. As fresh as his own sound was, our feet stomped away to the intense sounds of Mord Fustang’s “We are Now Connected (Original mix)” . As the melodic riffs flowed through the crowd, uniting us as one, Tritonal feat. Cristina Soto’s “Lifted (Mat Zo remix)” was more than apt to justify the feeling hanging over all of us. Some moments define experiences for us, and Oliver’s set had so many experiences that made this event unforgettable for us. One of them had to be when the magical breakdown of Above & Beyond’s “Walter White (Original mix)” echoed off stone and earth, vibrating the ground beneath us. And with the mystifying Underworld’s “Dark & Long (Jerome Isma-ae & Maor Levi remix)” , Oliver Smith provided an emotional and perfect ending to his incredible set as he dropped London Grammar’s stupefying “Hey now (Arty remix)”. Closing our eyes, we could imagine ourselves travelling to other dimensions and back, as Oliver Smith’s set provided us with smiles, happiness and everlasting joy!
Lost Stories followed up the London based DJ’s stellar set with a toe-crushing, dance-melange of blistering anthems and mashups. Starting with a remix of Hardwell’s anthemic “Spaceman” fused with Bingo Players’s “Out of my mind”, Rishabh Joshi started off exactly where Oliver left us – in dance utopia! With midnight approaching and a gratifying sense that the night was still young, Rishab’s track selection was energetic and effectual to say the least. Starting off with progressive house sounds with the likes of “Midnight (Original mix)” by Farrel 8 to monster mashups such as the one of Omnia vs. Avicii’s “Fusion vs. Fade into darkness (acapella)”, the Lost Stories set had something for all the dance music fans. Encircled among tireless fans, who had kept dancing for 8 hours straight, we were forced to ceremoniously jump when Fatboy Slim’s celebrated “Eat Sleep Rave Repeat (Calvin Harris remix)” was played! With massive tunes such as Tiesto’s “Chasing summer (R3hab & Quintino Remix)” and Pryda’s “Layers” , Rishab Joshi unleashed powerful mashups such as Deadmau5 vs. Above & Beyond vs. Steve Aoki & Chris Lake’s “Sun & Moon Boneless Strobe (Mat Zo Mashup)”. Switching through tracks as quickly as possible, Lost Stories set showed their superior skill as festival headliners as snippets, samples and acapellas transitioned carelessly across their set! Tracks like Daft Punk’s “One more time”, Armin Van Buuren & W & W’s “#DFat”, Nirvana’s “Smells like Teen spirit”, Martin Garrix’s “Animals” and Zedd feat. Foxes’s “Clarity (Tiesto Remix)” were all custom tailored and shuffled around to make the set wildly unpredictable and yet familiar in feel and sound. Somewhere in the middle of the set, an acrobat put on a perilous performance garnering applause from the crowd and the DJ as well, as Bruno Mars’s “Locked Out of Heaven (Sultan & Ned Shepard remix)” made the act looked asif it was synced with the music! With a monster mashup of W & W vs. Adele’s “Lift Off vs. Rolling in the deep (Acapella)” matched with the throbbing bassline of “Big Bang” by Twoloud, the Lost Stories set provided us with a sense of wonder and amazement as the night of adventures continued with fireworks adorning the night sky. Shortly after Lost Stories’s set, the presenter announced the launch of a brand new clubbing lounge adjoining the Main stage and the end of the Outdoor Stage segment.
Post midnight, the party moved to the other stage, which was the Indoor Stage aptly titles ‘EDM Ballroom’! With a much more intimate setting and dim lights, techno vibes were in the air as the indoor party promised to be as fulfilling as the outdoor one. Once again with a stellar second-half lineup, and a much anticipated star-studded lineup, we were in the mood to tighten our dancing shoes and continue with the dance marathon! At around half past midnight, we entered the Ballroom to find the talented Helium Project working his magic. Sounds of techno and chill-out music were ringing around the hall, as a small audience swayed away to the smooth sounds showered upon them. The energetic soundscape from the outdoor landscape was evenly complimented with the soulful riffs of patient deep sounds now being played in the indoor stage. Rightfully so, DFusion was turning out to be one holistic musical experience.
Following Helium Project was the uber cool Tuhin Mehta, playing his usual set of sleek techno and deep and progressive tech. A master sound technician and one half of the beloved Brute Force, Tuhin’s set had the same magical feel that all his sets have. A careful transition between tracks and genres and a lot of work put on each selection as he handpicked his weapons of choice on a late night ensemble of dance fanatics. Tuhin Mehta showed how Techno can make an individual dance by himself as he dropped “Secret Strobe (Original mix)” by Hans Bouffmyhre and “Loco and Jam (Original mix)” by Titus. His track selection was sublime as he maintained a balance of energy, allowing audience members to simply sway away or do a breakdown as they would please. Dancing for 12 hours long, no one could shy away from Tuhin’s eclectic talent as he fired up Filterheadz’s “Earth (Original mix)” . A magical transition into “Anymore (Phonique remix)” by Bad mouth just verified his dominance as India’s premier dance music mogul, as his set caused no one to go out of breath and yet made us all sweat it out!
Ramiro Lopez‘s set began at about 10 minutes to 3 am, and he was welcomed by a cheer and applause. Techno giant and one of the most prolific producers of deep house music, Lopez got a taste of the action as he unleashed his set on a hapless crowd of techno revelers. Playing an assorted pack of deep and progressive tracks, his short set turned out to be one of the smoothest renditions of the night and a memorable set for everyone present. It was unfortunate that one of the most awaited acts of the night had to be cut short, as management intervened 35 minutes into his set and called off the remainder of the night.
After 13 hours of non-stop dancing, we were easily quite exhausted! Although the musical festivities were cut short, one must admit that the artist lineup was one of the finest of recent times, and accompanied with the top notch production details such as stage setup, sound setup and lighting, the event was a modest success! Although having a few more people would have helped, the experience became all the more intimate and exclusive as genuine dance music fanatics surely had a fun filled adventure!
Many thanks to the team and crew at Power Struggle and Della Adventure for putting such a fabulous concept and show together!
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Reviewed by: Hamed Khalidi
Edited By: Shule Puri
Reblogged this on Hamed Khalidi Blogging.
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