The party scape might reach cacophonic levels this December in Goa. Following a rather public fallout with Sunburn organisers, Nikhil Chinapa has announced on social media platforms that he has parted ways with a festival that he had been a part of ever since its conception. His prime focus instead is going to be Submerge, a rival EDM festival which will take place in Candolim Beach, Goa, organised along with Viacomm. Chinapa does not hide his discontent in a personal post on Facebook, “Many of you have known for a while that all was not well between Sunburn and me, but I’d hoped things would be resolved. But it now appears from videos and other public statements that I’ve been pushed out of Sunburn – a festival that I conceptualised, gave its name to and helped create. I guess that’s life. Score one for big business.” He is confident that the large fan base for EDM and his contacts with music powerhouses all over the world, which helped brand Sunburn in the first place, will work for Submerge’s new festival as well.
Meanwhile, Axwell has announced that he will be headlining Sunburn Goa 2013. With little more than two months left for the festival season to start, things have reached a fever pitch level, and this has ruffled up quite a few feathers. The music fraternity has reacted strongly to the tussle doing the rounds, with several artists who have purportedly even been told that they must choose one festival over the other. Arjun Vaghale of ex- Jalebee Cartel has decided to stay away from the brickbats and decided he won’t be playing at any festival in Goa. “We have all worked together…some more than others, for sure, but shouldn’t we keep trying to push things forward, rather than breaking things down to this degree?”
For worried music fans, Chinapa assures that things are not going to go downhill, “Let’s not forget that the scene we have in India today with festivals and the world’s biggest artists playing here has been built on a foundation of DJs and fans that have been championing this sound since the late 80s. Ask MidivalPunditz, Whosane!, Asad, Jazzy Joe, Ivan, Ashley, Kris Correa, Nasha, Akhtar, Sanjay Dutta, Clement, Rummy Sharma, Akbar Sami, LLoyd, Sunny Sarid and countless DJs who’ve been around since then.”
Submerge hopes to create the same magic with the new-format festival that has been a part of their well-known Sun Down Sessions at Zanzibar, Goa. Music lovers will hope otherwise that this won’t turn everyone’s scene sour, and there still will be good music left over from the brouhaha to groove to. The EDM scene is still young in India, and vulnerable to external factors, and a public spat like this affects the burgeoning music scenario. After all a good festival’s always one where you forget about the organiser and other secondary factors and submerge yourself into some good music, isn’t it?
