Music festivals are all the rage right now. A night or two letting loose to bust some stress always sounds like a good idea. But this quick fix has a very material reality. The kind of reality that is detrimental to the health of the environment. Excessive waste generation and usage of colossal amounts of plastic may soon be a thing of the past as Echoes of Earth makes a return. The Bangalore based music festival is back for its 2019 edition with their distinct theme being, The Sanctuary. As the festival picks a theme most relevant to the environmental crisis plaguing us each year, this year is dedicated to the rapid climate change that has led to the extinction of various species. The Sanctuary will celebrate the various species whose numbers have been dwindling in India and the world. The theme will translate into the stages, art installations and various informative campaigns amongst other things.
This ingenious festival started with the aim of using music as a means of uniting the community into a deep commitment for the preservation of our planet. With an eclectic line up of 40 artists from across the world, the festival boasts of sustainable means of construction, energy and waste management all in conjunction with the latest technology. What really piqued our interest in this green festival were their offbeat stages. With extremely meticulous planning the team set out three months in advance hunting through various junkyards across the city. All the installations and stages centred around the endangered species pan India have been built using scrap from piles of junk and by upcycling a major chunk of the material used for their last season. The stages are further fully powered through solar panels.
We reached out to the artists behind these stages and prodded them further about the material used and challenges they faced through the process. Bheemaiah, the man behind 'The King Kong- silverback Gorilla' stage talked of the 25 foot tall kinetic gorilla made with recycled metallic armature, gunny bags and coir. He added, 'This will be my 4th year with Echoes. The challenge faced every year is not knowing how the installation might turn out, since we use eco-friendly, natural material. But we're always able to pull it off in the end!'
Siddhart Kararwal, the brain behind the Hangul Stage explained, 'The Hangul stage will stand 40 ft tall and will be 60 ft wide. Using polygonal structure modeling, this stage will be made out of recycled metal and cloth. The Hangul will be projected on for a unique audio-visual experience.'
Echoes of Earth isn’t a frivolous initiative that merely preaches about sustainability. The no plastic zone festival has also incorporated biodegradable cutlery and RO water filters as part of their design. It is a conscious movement that celebrates musical heritage in a manner which maintains the dignity of the land we inhabit.
Where: Bangalore
When: This weekend, 7th & 8th of December
Text Unnati Saini
