BFR Sound System Brings BiG BANG! Festival of Love to Assam with Help from Studio Monkey Shoulder
by EVENTFAQS Bureau Industry Watch | September 25, 2024 | News
BFR Sound System BiG BANG! Festival of Love
The Bass Foundation Roots Sound System (BFR), operated by Delhi Sultanate, is set to revive the BiG BANG! Festival of Love in Dima Hasao, Assam. BFR is one of the few hand-built Jamaican-style sound systems in South Asia, created to provide reggae artists with an alternative platform outside of the traditional club and festival scene.
“The idea was to find spaces that were not dominated by commercial interests, that allow free artistic and cultural expression and to search for alternative contexts for the raw power and potential of music, specifically reggae music, to move people to foster a sense of unity and shared consciousness and to speak of social injustice,” says Delhi Sultanate, also known as Taru Dalmia. Over the past few years, BFR has held street and block parties across India, celebrating Black culture and anti-colonial resistance.
BFR's application for the Studio Monkey Shoulder initiative—a collaboration between Worldwide FM and Monkey Shoulder whiskey—was successful, providing £10,000 in funding to help support grassroots music communities globally.
With this support, BFR will host two days of programming in Nanadisa village, Assam, curated by musician activist Mr. India (Daniel Langthasa). The festival will showcase sound system culture alongside local folk artists and cultural traditions, aiming to unite various tribal communities in the region. BFR has participated in this festival since 2017.
“This initiative came at just the right moment in my life,” confesses Dalmia. “Just when I was unsure about how to proceed with BFR, being selected for this initiative made us believe in ourselves and gave us the means to think big. We knew we wanted to celebrate Dimasa tribal culture and organize a reggae sound system session out in the open in the jungle,” he adds.
In October, a team from Worldwide FM, including founder Gilles Peterson, will document BFR's journey from New Delhi to the tribal villages of Haflong in Assam for the BiG BANG! Festival of Love. They will also participate in an event called aQI, scheduled for October 12 and 13 at The Crashpad in Mangar village near Delhi, celebrating dance music with classic vinyl records.
The festival will showcase sound system culture alongside local folk artists and cultural traditions, aiming to unite various tribal communities in the region.