Echoes of Earth, India’s Greenest Music Festival, is back with its 6th edition in December. Known for delivering unique live music experiences, Echoes of Earth has become a celebration of music, art, culture, and conservation efforts. This year, the festival is showcasing a stellar line-up of music headliners and installation artists.

This year, the festival’s theme, Ensemble of the Wild highlights the interconnectedness of India’s richest biodiverse hotspot, the Western Ghats.
Joining the festival this year are the talented installation artists Haribabu Natesan, the Aravani Art Project, and Siddharth Karawal. Haribabu Natesan, renowned for his unconventional artwork, including the notable and Make in India has captivated audiences worldwide. The Aravani Art Project, is a transformative art collective led by transgender women and cisgender women, who focus on creating a safe space for artistic collaboration and expression.

1. What’s the line up for the upcoming fest?
   Echoes of Earth boasts a diverse range of music genres, offering a unique blend of Electronica, Jazz, Indie, Afrobeat, Funk, World music, Folk, Soul, and House Techno. The lineup for this edition is filled with top-tier artists from around the world, including Sid Sriram (US), Len Faki (Germany), and three-time Grammy Award winner Tinariwen (Mali). Joining them on the stage are talented acts like Jitvam (US/India), Mezerg (France), Parra for Cuva (Germany), Mansur Brown (UK), 8 Kays (Ukraine), and Giant Swan (UK). Additionally, you can expect captivating performances by Modern Biology, Matsumoto Zoku Band, Sahil Vasudeva, and many more exciting acts.
   
2. What are the big headliners this time?
   Our headline and line-up have always been carefully curated, identifying artists from various niche genres who are making waves globally.

This year we have –

Tinariwen – 3 times Grammy Award Winner ( Mali ) ; Sir Sriram (US/IND ); Len Faki (Germany) ; Jitwam (US/IND) ; Mezerg – One man band (France ); Parra for Cuva (Germany ) ; Mansur Brown ( UK ) ; 8Kays ( Ukraine ) & Giant Swan (UK )

3. What is different this time?
   Roshan Netalkar, Founder and Festival Director of Echoes of Earth, is excited to announce the launch of the 6th Edition of Echoes. the festival has resonated with a credible community over the years, and our endeavour is to continue to build our experience this year as well.

Every year, our themes vary, but the central message remains the same: to spread awareness about conservation and sustainability. This year, our focus is on spreading awareness and the diverse flora and fauna of the Western Ghats. We have facilitated conversation, discussion and action around conservation through workshops and panel discussions by experts across Bangalore, Mumbai & Kolkata. Our 2 day festival is inspired by the Western Ghats and includes art installations created using scrap and discarded materials. Among these are the Chameleon Zelanicus by the Alt Native Artist Collective, the Southern Birdwing Butterfly by Bheemstyx, the Paradise Flycatcher bird by Naama, and the Indian Pangolin by Yadhu. Additionally, in memory of the Late Bhogeshwara — also known as Mr. Kabini, the revered elephant with the longest tusks in Asia — who resided in the Kabini reserve in Karnataka and passed away in 2022, we have dedicated one of our stages to him. The Tusker Stage is a tribute to his memory and has been creatively designed by Siddharth Karawal, utilizing recycled materials such as used carpets, bamboo, jute, and metal scraps.

We have great partners we have on board – WWF – India, Felis Films, Bangalore International Airport, and Hasirudala Innovations, who come together to create a festival that celebrates music and the world around us.

4. Please share some details about each of the performances with their quotes with their images.
   Sid Sriram – I can’t wait. I performed at Echoes Of Earth a few years ago and recall how powerful of an experience it was. As I’ve already said, the SIDHARTH album is super close to my heart and I’m truly excited to present the whole album during the set. I’m curating the whole set in a special way, it’s going to be a journey; can’t wait to connect with the fans in Bangalore after a long time!

Sijay – I had, of course, heard of Echoes of the Earth, and I’d been an admirer of their lineups—but I first got properly introduced to the work they do when they organized their three-city tour with The Cinematic Orchestra. It was then that they reached out to me to open for the band. I absolutely love this festival in its entirety; it’s really, truly different from other music festivals in India. It’s got an earthiness that translates to the musical curation—no fluff, just really good live music. I’ve been in the middle of writing a lot of music lately since I got back from my UK tour in October, so I’ll be testing out a bunch of new material alongside Young Hate. I’m super excited.

Mary Ann – I’ve been looking forward to playing my own music at Echoes ever since I featured in Till Apes’ set last year. I love the festival so much, and I can’t wait to sing my heart out and show you all the new Mary Ann tunes.

BY NAMITA GUPTA