By: Dr. Dakter Esse, Editor-ICN
ITANAGAR: The seventh edition of Ziro Festival of Music (ZFM) is set to commence this September with off-the-block offering for all music lovers. ZFM aims to raise awareness of northeast India and bring it into the mainstream consciousness of the country through music, art and culture. It is hosted by the Apatani tribe people at Ziro, a beautiful, serene valley in central Arunachal Pradesh and supported by the local and state government.
With a sustained growth in festival followers over the years, Ziro Festival of Music is now taking its role as India’s most eco-friendly festival very seriously. ZFM 2018 will see increased efforts in eco-friendly practices and waste management. This year also includes a month long sustainable design residence workshop. A call for submissions led to two candidates being chosen to work with ZFM’s bamboo architect Kollol Brahmadutta for a month before the festival.
The festival is supported by the Government of Arunachal Pradesh and its Tourism Ministry. This year again sees Doordarshan as the official TV partner. Doordarshan will be airing parts of the performances across its nationwide channels. ZFM has also tied up with US-based independent record label – Chicken Ranch Records – which will release a compilation of select live recordings across stores in the US.
This year sees one of Japan’s greatest rock acts – MONO – making their debut in India. India’s first female ghatam player Sukanya Ramgopal will feature on the Danyii (day) stage and make sure you don’t miss Arunachal’s rap sensation K4 KEKHO among others.
This festival is as much about the local experience as the music. It calls out to compassionate music-lovers and tourists to spend four blissful days living with the Apatanis and soaking in the sounds and stories around them. It is a chance for the northeast and the rest of the India to understand, experience and enjoy its diversity and rich ethnic culture.
ARTIST LINE-UP (so far)
MONO (Japan)
MALOX (Israel)
K4 KEKHO (Arunachal Pradesh, India)
MADOU SIDIKI (Mali)
SUKANYA RAMGOPAL (Karnataka, India)
OORALI (Kerala, India)
PRABH DEEP (Delhi, India)
SAM PAA (Manipur, India)
BLUE TEMPTATION (Meghalaya, India)
SEARCH & FOUND (Nagaland, India)
AVORA RECORDS (Mizoram, India)
WINE O’CLOCK (Assam, India)
TAKAR NABAM TRIO (Arunachal Pradesh, India)
GAULEY BHAI (West Bengal, India)
KOLOMA (Tripura)
CRYPTOGRAPHIC STREET POETS (Meghalaya, India)
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