Magnetic Fields 2017

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  • Two years ago, when I first visited Magnetic Fields, I wrote that the star of the show was Alsisar Mahal, the centuries-old Rajasthan palace the festival calls home. In 2017, that feels like an oversimplification—as jaw-dropping as the location is, Magnetic Fields' music curation is now on a par with many of Europe's best small festivals. Two bookings in particular will have attracted envious glances from other events: Four Tet's first live show in 18 months, which happened on Saturday, the festival's second night, and Sunday's Different Trains show, an audiovisual piece focused on India's 70th anniversary of independence featuring Actress, Indian producer Sandunes, percussionist Jivraj Singh, vocalist Priya Purushothaman, These New Puritans' Jack Barnett and British filmmakers Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard. Those shows were two of the weekend's standout performances. After starting out in 2013 with just a few hundred guests, this year Magnetic Fields attracted nearly 4000 people from across India and beyond. Though the format remains roughly the same—three nights of music in and around the palace—organisers made several small but pleasing improvements for 2017. New this year were The Peacock Club, a temporary jazz venue replete with velvet curtains built in the middle of the desert, and a hidden bar (located in Tent 47) serving gin cocktails each afternoon. The festival's growing popularity hasn't been lost on locals. Back in 2015, the small dirt path that connects the palace to the desert had a couple of stands ladling out chai tea. This year, it had transformed into a bustling makeshift high street. Food, drinks and knick-knacks were being sold from a dozen or more stalls at all hours. Cows and camels milled around the dusty road. One afternoon, a snake charmer attracted a crowd of curious onlookers.
    Friday, the festival's first day, began with Boxout.fm, a DJ crew hailing from across India, playing feel-good tunes by Marcos Valle, Fela Kuti and Trio Ternura at the outdoor Desert Disco stage, whose soundsystem could be easily heard by those lounging on the palace rooftop. As nighttime arrived, Jayda G laced her set with classic disco and house (Gwen McCrae, Inner Life) on the RBMA stage, located in one of the palace's inner courtyards. Then, as a late-night fog set in, Sassy J wove together tunes by Grace Jones, Patrice Scott, Leif and Outkast in her own deep, idiosyncratic way. (The airing of "SpottieOttieDopaliscious" was one of the festival's happiest moments.) Earlier that night I'd watched as a group of Rajasthani musicians performed on the palace rooftop. They'd been selected from across the region by the local prince, who gave the crowd a brief history of the region's folk instruments and musical customs. Among the interested onlookers were Ben UFO, Four Tet and Machinedrum, who sat and watched intently, hands clasped beneath his chin. Many hours later, the festival's first afterparty started with Taqeeb's raucous selections, The Bug's "Skeng" and a Kanye West instrumental both getting rewinds. Josey Rebelle then showed why she's one of London's best DJs, keeping the dance floor bouncing with a rowdy yet well-paced set that took in Michael Jackson and Kicks Like A Mule's "The Bouncer."
    On Saturday, Sandunes delivered a mesmerising performance of percussion and live electronics on the palace rooftop just after dark. From there, the audience flowed down the stairs and to the main stage for Four Tet's live show, which saw the UK artist showcase material old and new ("Kool FM," "Two Thousand And Seventeen"), before Special Request and Ben UFO closed out the RBMA stage with jungle bangers. Sunday evening saw Machinedrum race through his repertoire of footwork, jungle, trap and an edit of Prince, before shouting out the late DJ Rashad, all while wielding his DJ TechTools Midi Fighter like some kind of demented wand. Four Tet then got behind the decks, filling his set with well-known (and well-received) tunes by Floating Points, Daphni and Joy Orbison, though the track of the night was "Main Disco Tu Disco" from the 1982 film Khuddaa.
    For the final stint of the festival, the action moved to the outdoor Desert Disco stage. All weekend temperatures had plummeted as soon as the sun set, but the last night felt especially crisp, and organisers set up a ring of oil-drum fires around Desert Disco dance floor, giving the whole scene a vaguely ritualistic feel. Willow played her second set of the weekend, and her high-energy session culminated with Mosca's "Bax." As the sun came up, Ben UFO took over, with Four Tet watching on from behind the booth, itching to get involved. Eventually he did, and the two DJs played back-to-back as the sun rose and slowly began to warm the cold desert air. A few hours later, palace staff had already begun hosing down the venue's stone courtyards, and festival-goers started their journeys home. Photo credit / Rebecca Conway - Lead, Four Tet Zacharie Rabehi - Boxout.fm Carys Maggie Lavin - Dancer, Folk musicians Polina Schapova - Actress, Sandunes
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