There’s something in the water. There’s something in the air. For whatever reason, we find ourselves in the midst of two extra-terrestrial themed electronic music festivals.
From the 19th – 20th we have Shalanaya, which reads like a massive hippie fest, vamping off the belief that ‘we are not alone, that there are other forms of consciousness that share this present moment of existence.’ It’s more than a festival, it’s an opportunity to open unto other things, to ‘lay the groundwork for creating open contact between ourselves and other civilizations, to explore what these avenues may be, to explore what avenues you are attracted to, to help expand the lines of opportunities for first contact.’ All in a single breath. It’s a pretty bold rhetoric that is definitely intended to be taken seriously.
The site of the fest is located about 50mins from Shanghai’s centre on a private farm, breaking away from the concrete jungle. There’s even promise of geese and water buffalo sightings. Priced at 100RMB for pre-sales and 180RMB on the door, even with travel costs included it works out at a bargain. Line-up includes DJ Email, Yoshinaga, Atoned Splendor and Chewie.
On the other end of the spectrum we have Storm Electronic Music Festival. Look out for the promo video on Facebook, a bombastic affair featuring extra-terrestrial girls in small pink suits with matching manicured nails. You won’t get water buffalo, but there’s rumour of a Nicki Minaj sighting (will leave it at that). It’s a big line-up that we won’t go into details over, not when we have this:
In the distant Andromeda galaxy 2.5 million light years from earth lives a humanoid civilization called Arctaurus. Arctaurians are a festive species with hearts that keep pace to the beat of music, creating joy and happiness among their people. They cannot be detracted from their need to party and have done so for millions of years.
2000 years ago, a conservative regime took power and banned all parties and festivals in Andromeda. The desperate Artaurians fled Andromeda and roamed the galaxies seraching for the perfect place to party.
They found Shanghai…
It’s been mentioned before that building a narrative around a festival – whether it be a specific cause, a founding story, or something tied to a scene or genre – can really add something special. Just how special you want that something to be though is the question. Can’t wait to see the merch.