Electron India, Geneva April 2011

Part of the festival ELECTRON 2011, the objective of Electron India is to serve as a platform for Switzerland to discover Indian artists in music, visual performances and dance. [dated April 2011]

Part of the festival ELECTRON 2011, the objective of Electron India is to serve as a platform for Switzerland to discover Indian artists in three main fields: music (concerts, DJs), visual performances (VJs, video-makers, installations) and dance (contemporary and traditional).

The following artists have been invited to Switzerland to participate in Electron India 2011:
1. Avinash Kumar (visual artist) - BLOT
2. Gaurav Malaker (musician) - BLOT
3. DJ Hamza - Hamza Rahimtula - musician producer
4. Manu Idhra - musician percussionist
5. Latif Khan - musician percussionist
6. Udyan Sagar - musician & DJ (Nucleya)
7. Ritnika Nayan - publisher of the book HUB (India's first and only anthology of electronic music)
8. Amit Saigal - manager of Global Groove festival in New Delhi
9. Rea Krishnatraye - contemporary dancer
10. Shilpika Bordoloi - contemporary dancer
11. Gilles Chuyen

The 8th edition of Electron Festival presents Electron India 2011, an electronic cultural rendez vous in Geneve, Switzerland from 21-24 April 2011 presenting modern Indian electronic scene and disciplines within the festival framework. Launched in 2004, the ELECTRON Festival is part of an innovative and evolving venture, aiming to promote current electronic music, lively shows and the plastic and visual arts. Resolutely urban, this event is set at the heart of Geneva and takes place every year in seven to eight sites during the four-day Easter weekend: in the Palladium, in the Alhambra Theatre, in the Màd (Moulin à Danse), in the Zoo, in the Kab/PTR, in the Spoutnik Cinema and in the BAC (Contemporary Art Building).

With the development of electronic cultures being the main goal, the festival will serve as a platform for Switzerland to discover Indian artists in April 2011 and, following that, for India to discover Swiss artists in three main fields: music (concerts, DJs), visual performances (VJs, video-makers, installations) and dance (contemporary and traditional), all related to a conference providing the context, and a second conference providing an update on contemporary Indian electronic scenes.

Electronic music and, beyond that, electronic cultures, are booming in India today. Indian urban milieus have swiftly mastered the electronic tools used by the new media. The techniques of IT-assisted composition are no longer the exclusive preserve of cinema professionals but are now accessible to non-professionals. VJaying (mixing images and videos in real time) exists in various cultural milieus and, as in Europe, is not confined to nightclubs but has developed in other contexts like arts center performances and installations. Electron India intends to make Indian electronic cultures more widely known; a sustained focus over the four days of the festival on various disciplines, including a more theoretical presentation and encounters with various cultural actors (guest artists, organizers, labels?) who have travelled to Geneva especially for this event.

The festival is organised by Headfun, an association that organises events, concerts, festivals, exhibitions etc and is based in Geneve. www.headfun.ch