Opening Doorz

By Lisha Gomes | Opening Doorz Editorial | February 09, 2020

The recently-concluded ‘Control ALT Delete’ which people described as a “chill and comfortable vibe” Music Festival catered to everyone’s music preference. The festival had music that ranged from slow tempo music to rap to hardcore metal to electronic music. The Festival was mostly thronging with people who knew exactly what kind of music they wanted to listen to and expected. Even those who did not know what they were getting into, were happy with what they experienced!

The Festival started off slowly, with calm, low tempo music by Ankur Tiwari and bands like Second Sight and then went on to loud, high tempo music by the different metal and rock bands. The Festival had music on mental issues to songs on issues about the situation in Kashmir by Ahmed Javed and then went on to a mix of different genres by BFR Sound System. Slumdogs and street style had all the 5 elements of hip hop—MCing, DJing, B-boying, Graffiti and Knowledge in their performance on the Mumbai 95 stage where they had a crew who was B-boying.

Sharyan and Mihir who were present at the Fest said, “The festival met expectations.” They also said that this festival was different from the other music festivals that happen because it has a chill and comfortable vibe and also has people who are really into “Indie Music”.

The lighting and décor was very relevant to the type of music that was being played at each different stage. Nikhil, one of the main two people heading the Festival said that, “Most of the decor was made by using the different elements that were found within the farm itself like, coconut leaves, wooden barks etc.” because they tried to source as less material from outside as possible. Even the seats where people were sitting at certain stages were big stones that were painted for a subtle tribal effect. The décor looked exceptional once it got dark and all the lights came on. The lighting was a whole different view altogether and it gave stages like the ‘Electronic Jungle’ and ‘Survive This’ a whole new feel. The Mumbai 95 stage being the hip-hop stage had graffiti for the backdrop.

There was a variety of merchandise available at the venue—from small badges to T-shirts, a lot of things were put on display. Everything sold was related to the music that was part of the festival. Any performing artiste who wanted to sell their merchandise were given a stall at the venue and the money collected was theirs, without anything percentage going to the organisers. For music lovers who wanted to stay back late, there was also a campfire to soak in the mood.

In all, even though CAD was a public-funded festival there were no missing elements. Everything from security to décor to the artiste was handled to perfection. Nothing was dramatized and the preference and respect was given specifically to art more than money or funds. Even the food stalls were not too expensive. No one judged anyone and everyone were in their own vibe listening to their preferred choice of music. Inspite of money being of prime importance, CAD crossed its goal of Rs 5 lakhs before the Festival itself and collected around Rs 3,75,000 on the days of the festival.

It truly was ‘Music for All’ at CAD. Here’s looking forward to the next edition!

(Lisha Gomes is a third year BMM (Bachelor of Mass Media) student at St. Andrews College, Bandra, Mumbai. She is passionate about reading, enjoys singing and has also participated in a few dance shows. She plays soccer for her college after being a star performer for her school, Mary Immaculate Girls High School, Borivali).

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