Three years is a long time to wait for one’s favourite music festival to return. Which is why, when Far Out Left Festival came back with a bang on February 10-11, they made sure to showcase almost every feature an underground production has to offer. Hosted in the Todi Mills Alleyway in south Mumbai, the two-day festival was set up with three stages — namely Outdoor, Basement and Anti Social. Each of the stages had their own vibe, depending on the type of music, decor and setup, production and even time slots.
While the Outdoor stage took off in the afternoon or early evening and ended by 10pm, the other two stages were on till the wee hours of the night. Bars and food stalls were easily accessible, and although the scene was a packed one, there was little hassle to dance freely. What was best about the festival was the vibe it created. It was less about socialising and more about listening to the music that was being played by the international and national artistes.
Bars and food stalls were easily accessible
The Far Out Left Festival, organised by Regenerate Music and Social Offline (Impresario Entertainment & Hospitality), ensured their audience received a new experience with a variety of new sounds. Their line-up was a mix of national and international names, which not only helped them support the local scene, but also opened new avenues of music to the crowd.
On the first day of the festival, the Outdoor stage showcased Baawra x Mogasu during a four-hour non-stop set. The Basement stage had artistes like Manaalina, Chaz, Kohra, Tasha x Chhabb and Aurora Halal and the Anti Social stage had Watashi, Kiss Nuka, Zequenx. Gigi FM and Anthony Rother. Vinay Agarwal, the sound engineer of all three stages, ensured a crisp and clear sound.
The vibe at the Anti Social stage
While a music festival’s main objective is, of course, the music, it would be unsuccessful without a larger experience. Which is why the venue decor was done by Lauren Periera, while Dhananjay Naidu was in charge of the light design and visuals.
My Kolkata brings you a glimpse of what went down on the second day of the festival:
Outdoor stage
Matrixxman during his Outdoor set
The Outdoor stage was the first stage, and was all about upbeat refreshing sounds with disco, house and funk tunes. The second day saw artistes like Soo.B x Himay, Twokid Wickid x Rishi Sippy x Alina, Zokhuma and Matrixxman. This set was a special one for Rishi Sippy, as it was in association with Jackfruitdanceparty, which is a monthly dance party curated by the artiste. The party has been active since 2019 in Bangalore, where the colourful vibe along with its house/acid house and breaks were showcased in his set. Zokhuma taking over the console with his mixed electronica set was just the push that was needed to end the Outdoor stage with Matrixxman, who played a two-hour house set.
Basement stage
London-based OK Williams closed the Basement stage
As the name suggests, to enter the Basement stage one had to… well… walk down to the basement. The Basement was a closed area with pillars in the middle, a dark shadowy ambience with red hues. The sound here was much harder with experimental electronic music — exactly how a basement scene should be. One could almost feel the kick of the bass through their body because of how clearly the sound was engineered. The beats, too, were quite rapid, and the audience was loving it. One of the biggest highlights of this stage was that the lineup was an all-female one as it took off with Alina, followed by Jay Carder, Rafiki x Anushka and ended with the powerhouse OK Williams from London.
Anti Social stage
Wata Igarashi from Tokyo on the Anti Social stage
This was where one got the concert experience. Being the main stage, it covered an array of techno sounds from acid to minimal and more. Almost everyone from the audience was facing the major stage, taking in every build up and drop that the artistes were playing. This, too, had a dark setup with some minimal and colourful tube lights here and there. Although the place was packed, the management ensured that it did not get too stuffy. This stage had taken off with Dot Dat and then went on to Naty Seres, Wata Igarashi and ended with DVS1.
Drawing the curtain
“Far Out Left Festival is one of the best festivals we run in the city. It had three stages running simultaneously and was well received on both days. There were 11 international acts and a big local lineup with a lot of female representation. Next year on, we would like to spread to other cities, along with Bombay. We don’t want to limit the experiences, so we are looking at Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad and Calcutta,” said Mayank Bhatt, CEO, Impresario Entertainment & Hospitality said.
Mayank Bhatt, CEO, Impresario Entertainment & Hospitality
Although Far Out Left Festival was only a two-day affair, it gave its attendees an experience of a lifetime. While the artiste played, the audience responded with their floor moves. Some dressed up in netted all-black outfits, while others could not add more colour to their look! Different people from different parts of the world were present for this showcase, all of whom left satisfied.
