Excitement levels had been on the rise ever since Vh1 Supersonic announced its new home in the student-centric city of Pune, after 3 glorious years on the sandy beaches of Goa. Aiming to curate a grand experience, Vh1 Supersonic had already amassed plenty of excitement prior to the festival purely by the virtue of booking the legendary maestro Eric Prydz as a headliner and bringing along prized talents such as Macklemore and Zedd as the other headliners. As volume levels bounded upwards and people proceeded in throngs, we headed to Laxmi Lawns, Pune on Feb 10-11-12 to catch one of the country’s most stunning dance music festival and what a #Super fun time it turned out to be!
Photo by The Unusual Effects
As the gates to Day 1 of the festival opened up, the beautiful entrance of its curated flea market, Super Flea welcomed us to the premises. Nothing short of a magical set up with chilling zones, food counters and shops for raving essentials, the Super Flea paved the way towards the stunning main stage of the festival which was aptly named Sonic Realm. This stage was a lush paradise with sprawling greenery and an enchanted appeal that only enhanced the visuals flowing from the electronic screen. It took a few minutes for us to grasp its beauty as Praveen Achary began warming up the stage with his ever-evolving, wonderfully chaotic style. There was also a reggae effort called the 10,000 Lions Sound System that kicked off the good times at 12 noon and kept the groovy vibes coming all through the day featuring indie potentials like Major C and Reggae Rajahs.
Next, we went on to the semi-indoor Spectrum stage (which also hosted the Awakenings Stage on Day 2 and 3 of the festival) that had a vivid and visually stimulating set-up. Catching Teri Miko and Kerano at the Spectrum stage, who both spun splendid sets, we made our way to the Gionee’s Laboratoire Stage, a set up fused with design elements and visuals that gave it an attractive edge. Designated as the grounds for bass music, some seriously heavy vibes were being fired up by Tarqeeb, a rising name in the Indian bass music scene.
We rushed back to the Sonic Realm to catch Boris Brejcha, who simmered up the venue as he kept the crowd grooving with his pure trail of some fine minimal techno. Back at Spectrum, Zaeden was busting out some classic crowd-puller tracks that kept the gathered groups wildly entertained, until Thomas Gold arrived at the stage and took things up a notch. Belting out some power-packed remixes and captivating originals, his set was tailored for the bouncing energy that encompassed the stage.
When it came to the Gionee Laboratoire stage, lucid deep vibes were reflecting all over. Featuring the likes of BREED and the latest crowd-craze Oceantied, this stage had some killer tunes flowing along to a trippy beat. The Spectrum stage saw Quintino working up a sweat on the dance floor with some big room numbers, while Sonic Realm bore witness to a sublime set from Pearl, getting the stage ready for the man of the hour: Eric Prydz.
The energy was already ripe as the Super Swede took centre stage at Sonic Realm to the screeching excitement of his fans. He then proceeded to grant his huge following of expectant devotees a set that was colossal, smooth and filled with some blooming vitality. Fans, who had travelled from different parts of the country just to catch a glimpse of a man widely considered as dance music’s divine authority, were in a permanent state of frenzy as they leapt and lurched to the mighty beats of Prydz’s arpeggios and snares. Keeping the energy dialled up to ecstatic cheers, Prydz blasted out rigorous renditions of tracks like Rebel XX, Generate, Personal Jesus, Juletider among others before his sweeping conclusion with the massively melody-infused Opus that saw the spirited crowd swoon throughout, ending Day 1 with a bang.
Come day 2 and nothing could pull down our spirits as we started our experience off with the beats of DJ Uri. After starting off, we reached the Spectrum Awakenings stage, which had an actively intensifying atmosphere as underground authority Eagles & Butterflies built up sick vibes.
We then headed to the Brew Garden, an entertainment haven lined with food trucks, a centrally located bar, roomy picnic tables and a range of options to unwind and chill as you caught your breath between all the raving, including giant seesaws, lvy-wrapped LED swings, amusing Velcro football, foosball and even a blissful house of balls!
After stopping by at the Brew Garden, we took off to the Laboratoire, slated as the Trance stage for the day, where Aneesh Gera and Paul Thomas spun out an eclectic warm up, setting the stage for the Anjuna boys, Genix and Sunny Lax. It’s safe to say that the b2b set blew off the roof with thumping music as dedicated members of the trance family came out early just to shake a leg and take in the vibes. The Trance experience at the Labortoire stage was only elevated with the onset of Protoculture’s follow-up act.
Another gem of the day had to be the all-time veteran of Deep House scene from Germany, Henrik Schwarz. As he positioned himself on the Spectrum Awakenings stage to dish out a mean live set with frisky, deep edits, he sent out vibes and vibrations across the grassy lawns of Supersonic. Each set grew into an enhanced experience with all the glowing visuals that accompanied it, a splendid spectacle of bright flashing lights, beaming lasers, swirling patterns and fractal designs that gave out some serious encouragement to all those shaking a leg out there. Spectrum stage was in its full glory as darkness loomed and the atmosphere turned heavier, making way for our homeboys Ash Roy and Tuhin Mehta to take over with a b2b set. With its dark and intimate setup, Spectrum highly accentuated the delicious music that the Indian Techno heavyweights dished out.
As the setting sun approached Day 2, we had Bogl belting out some powerful tunes that overflowed with bass as he warmed up the audience with an engaging set. Meanwhile, Labortoire shifted gears as the legendary Aly & Fila took to the stage for a closing set. Fadi left no stone unturned to give the Trance Family an experience which they will not forget for a long, long time with emotional breaks and high-paced, uplifting music. On the Awakenings stage, the moment was intense as it was a monster of a task to follow up what had just happened with Ash Roy and Tuhin Mehta’s b2b set. But, this is the exact time when Supersonic levelled up and unleashed the Techno kingpin of India, Arjun Vagale for a closing set. It’s simply out of scope for words to describe the mayhem that went down. You can easily make an estimate from the facial expression of Arjun in the picture below!
Finally, we ended the day on a high & hip note filled with some of the happiest vibes as we threw our hands up for the sensational Macklemore, who absolutely smashed the stage up with his spirited set that included a whole crew of singers, musicians and dancers. Featuring his signature songs like Thrift Shop and Can’t Hold Us, Macklemore was not only super fun to dance along with, but really knew how to maintain a terrific stage presence with all the love he preached to his audience, as he alternated his power packed set list with some softer numbers like Same Love and even dropped an infectious tune that opposed the Trump presidency in a hilarious yet catchy tone. It’s safe to say the dance floor was engulfed by a raging fire as Day 2 drew to a close in an epic manner. We hung around and got ourselves some fine eats at the Super Grub area, featuring a variety of locally sourced options that served up everything from crispy munchies to wholesome nourishment and some neat seats designed like trippy cabanas. We then strolled around the Super Flea market, eyeing all the interesting items that had set up shop, contributing to the Supersonic experience in a rich way, followed by an excursion to catch the Budweiser curated Madboy/Mink performance at Pune’s popular haunt High Spirits, ending our Saturday night on a high note!
On the day 3, Sonic Realm was set to go Progressive and Big Room while Spectrum continued the Awakenings treat for another day. The Labortoire stage was set to feature UK Bass veterans like DJ Marky and Breakage. The excitement was at an all-time high as people flooded into Vh1 Supersonic’s last day to catch a glimpse of the artist list that included Zedd, Joris Voorn, Secret Cinema, Curbi and more.
After a great warm up set from Sickflip, Nerm took to Labortoire to blast those heavy vibrations. It was an absolute treat for any bass head as he fused Indian influences with fast-paced Drum & Bass. Soon after, the bad boy of bass, our very own Sound Avtar took the stage for a killer DnB set with DJ Sa, dishing out aggressive basslines one after the other at Labortoire!
Meanwhile, British wonderboy Curbi took to the Sonic Realm after New_ID and Marcus Schossow belted out an amazing b2b set. In his unique bouncy brand of Future House, Curbi was a treat for modern house music lovers. He kept the mainstage crowd jumping and dancing to his incredible take on blending genres.
At Spectrum, the bossman Joris Voorn had taken over for two hours of pure magic. The Joris Voorn experience was a colour-splattered visual delight as he dished out his classic brand of Detroit techno and kept the masses gathered around Spectrum in a permanent sway-state. Lost Stories on the other side at the Sonic Realm was a completely different ball game as Rishab wrecked the stage playing catchy remixes of classic crowd-pleasers that guaranteed his audience a major rave, but even this was just foreplay leading to the climax that Zedd had up his sleeve.
For the closing set, Spectrum was ready to be taken over by legendary Secret Cinema and Reinier Zonneveld going b2b, playing a live set. Both the dance music heroes playing the complementing styles with melodic and heavy music, this closing b2b set was awe worthy. With a prior knowledge of Indian crowd’s demands, they catered what was required and more!
As the clock struck 8:30, the Sonic Realm changed shape as Zedd literally rose to another level. With the addition of another huge LED wall, Zedd elevated the stage to give a visually appealing taste of his ‘True Colors’ shows. Props to the Supercrew for pulling this off! Without wasting a minute, Zedd opened with Beautiful Now and the energy was unmatchable! Zedd’s set was a thrilling treat, replete with tweaked about versions of popular chart toppers as well as his trademark heavyweights like Clarity and Spectrum. The bass hit hard, the energy was resplendent, the displays were dazzling as Zedd maximised rage levels under a sky ablaze with confetti, a finale of massive proportions only appropriate to how majorly, crazily, heavy super this weekend was at Vh1 Supersonic 2017.
The 4th edition of Vh1 Supersonic truly delivered on their “Experience The New” phenomenon. It was not just a music festival where people came to see their favourite artists and DJs live, but a wholesome experience with chilling places like Brew Garden and Super Flea. The delicious food at Super Grub was impressive. Making the festival not only wheelchair accessible but also awarding them the best view was heart-touching. Keeping the women’s safety in mind, a separate women-only bar was also set up. The festival’s efforts on keeping the premises clean were commendable. Allowing no bottles or glasses outside the bar was a great move.The cleaning crew actively kept the places clean and emptied the dustbins on time. To appeal to the visitors and encourage them to do their part, interactive dustbins were set up at places which took the fun in trashing stuff to the next level. It was a great step towards making this festival world class. The vibes of the festival were so inclusive that you are bound to feel like a part of the Super-family. The thoughtfulness of Supercrew about the visitors won our hearts as it was visible with everything that convenience of the Superfamily was at the core of every decision.
Musically, Vh1 Supersonic was off the hook this year. The efforts on keeping the lineup balanced were visible while bringing a legendary figure like Eric Prydz to India for the first time. The diverse styles of music ruled different stages. Techno taking the main stage – how often do we see that? While Awakenings was a mesmerising two-days experience, the Labortoire stage featured some of the best Trance and UK Bass and Hip-Hop artists. The second day saw Hip-Hop taking the mainstage and how! In short, Vh1 Supersonic left no stone unturned to give an amazing experience to people and artists.
Thanks to the Supercrew for giving us a chance to witness this year’s Vh1 Supersonic. See you next year!
Written by Shamani Joshi and Harsh Makwana
Edited by Pranav Gupta
Photos by Rukes, The Unusual Effects and Vh1 Supersonic
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