CHENNAI: Pulsating beats, gyrating bodies, colourful electric light shows and splashes of neon accessories everywhere, the Electronic and Dance Music (EDM) night at the IIT Madras annual festival Saarang recently, turned out to be an enthralling experience for the students and others who flocked the open air theatre of the institute.
IIT, which raises the bar in the field of education, is also known for its unique and creative annual festivals, and this time they have managed to take EDM — the latest fad among youngsters these days, to a higher level.
“Today, electronic dance music is everywhere. It’s becoming the most sought after and enjoyed music. I just came back from Supersonic in Goa, this one seemed no less,” said Pradyot Kumar, a student of MCC.
“Every year we have one night dedicated to party animals and music alone, last year we had Sunburn and this time we have Supersonic,” said Rajat Shringi, a second year B Tech student at IIT Madras.
The ‘party night’ had an attractive line up of DJs like the Progressive Brothers, adjudged the best Trance DJs by Vh1 last year, Thermal Projekt and Nucleya – who recently collaborated with Benny Dayal.
As soon as the high tempo music started booming from the loudspeakers, students went into a frenzy, moving to the beats. The variety in the line-up of artistes was complemented by the variety in the crowd, with a few grey-haired elderly folks quietly enjoying the dance and the psychedelic lights.
Nucleya aka Udyan Sagar, who has been a regular on the EDM circuit since 2011, won the approval of the revellers when he started off with a few Tamil tunes from his latest album which features Dayal. He also played songs from his other EP Koocha Monster, and the Hindi street music made the audience dance to his tunes.
Variety was the spice of the day with the Progressive Brothers playing an eclectic mix ranging from Swedish House Mafia to Maroon 5. Thermal Projekt had the crowds in a tizzy with their signature mix of high-tempo EDM and Dubstep, which is a favourite these days.