MUMBAI: It's the festive season and multi-genre music and camp festival Enchanted Valley Carnival (EVC) is here to offer a distinctive experience to the festival attendees. The festival that will be hosting its fifth season on 16-17 December 2017 is looking at making this year a grand affair.

EVC that has played host to an array of artistes like Tiesto, Fatboy Slim, David Guetta, Martin Garrix, Ferry Corsten, Alan Walker, Markus Schulz's, Blasterjaxx, Taio Cruz, Flo Rida, Jeremy Olander, Bassjackers, Dubfire, Oliver Heldens amongst others has an interesting line-up to offer this year too.

In an interview with Radioandmusic Universal Music Group & EMI Music, India & South Asia, MD & CEO, Devraj Sanyal reveals his plans for EVC 2017. Excerpts.

The 5th edition of EVC is going to be bigger than ever is what we hear. What are the elements that will make this multi-genre music festival grand this year?

EVC has been built around four key pillars namely artists, camping, F&B experience and adventure. We have showcased some of the best talent from India and overseas. We are region’s largest camping festival. Our F&B experience is unparalleled and we offer exciting adventure options for fans. We are truly a multi-genre festival with offerings beyond just good music. We will endeavor to continue to exceed expectations for all our customers across all these four areas.

Two new IPs, EVC 365 and EVC On Tour are being introduced this year. Can you explain these in detail?

We’re curating various nightclub and mini arena experiences across India and the IPs are focused to give fans across the country a flavor of what to expect at EVC. We’ve also launched EVC Yowza for college students this month with the first gig scheduled in Chennai. With approximately 75 + gigs planned till April 2018, we are all geared up for a power packed season. The idea is to take brand EVC in all its multi-genre glory to our tribe nationally.

Most festivals are designed for 18+ audiences but EVC is looking at welcoming 12+ audiences. Now, that's a huge flexibility, but won't the parents have to accompany the 12-15 aged festival goers?

Since we are destination festival we believe that our offering should appeal to audiences who would like to enjoy the weekend get-away along with their friends, family or both. Our multi-genre artiste offering also ensures we have festival goers across all age group.

What is the footfall expected this year?

Our fan-base has grown consistently over the last four years. We firmly believe that as long as we continue to meet and exceed our customer expectations, there is no reason for not having a bigger turnout, compared to previous years.

What are the tickets being priced at?

EVC has always been premium with its experience yet affordable in terms of travel and stay which sets it apart from all the other festivals. It is important to maintain a competitive pricing for everyone, not just our loyalists. We have released our Early Bird tickets with prices starting from Rs 2240 for each day.

Who are the main sponsors of EVC this year?

Firstly let me speak about our long term partner Saavn who have been around us from the beginning and now celebrate their third year with us. But what I’m thrilled with is our title partner in the newest mobile handset brand in India – Comio. I have worked with the teams before and our visions are aligned in terms of the target audience that we are speaking to so we will ride on each other’s media and other vehicles to spread the word of Comio EVC 2017 everywhere. The management and founding teams of both these brands are awesome professionals and I can’t express my gratitude in their ability to co-own our vision and make Comio EVC powered by Saavn the coolest and largest festival in the region.

Cleanliness is a major concern at festivals. Is EVC doing anything in particular to keep the festival spot and the adjoining area clean?

Again, we’re very fortunate to have the support of our venue partner Aamby Valley who take the maintenance of the venue as seriously as we do. Our in-house team helmed by our Production & Operations head works closely with Aamby Valley’s team to ensure the festival is spotless by midnight each day.

EVC promises to never change its venue. What is the reason for the same and what does it take to maintain a venue.

We have never promised that we will never change our venue simply because these things aren’t in our control. But yes, we have and will continue with our brand promise that we will never stop becoming a destination festival and become city concerts pretending to be festivals. There are many factors that go in finalizing a location and these factors vary across different aspects such as logistics, ambience, ease of access, environment, safety, security etc. Once you lock a location, it’s up to us to enhance the space and we always work on adding value to the area by finding systems, community building, beautification, etc. We’ve had Aamby Valley City as our venue partner since the beginning.

Enchanted Village wouldn’t be the same without the view of the valley and we have the option to be flexible with our inventory depending on the demand each year all thanks to this great venue. If we ever had to move due to extenuating circumstances we would move to a place that has the same vibe, values and spirit of our current venue.

Security is one of the major concerns at festivals these days. What security measures are you taking at EVC?

We take the security of the festival very seriously. Our security personnel ensure every bag is scanned before any camper enters Enchanted Village. We have several women security guards stationed at various checkpoints at the venue and after party.

Will there be free water because one does end up spending a lot on overpriced water bottles? And are there any offers on food?

Our sub-property Culinarium is known to have some of the coolest F&B brands any music festival has to offer. Our team very meticulously curates and overlooks pricing points with every partner to ensure every festival attendee has a well-rounded experience.

Lastly, what will the line-up be like?

EVC promises to bring a killer line-up like every year. We’ve always endeavored to showcase International and Indian talent of great caliber at the festival with our cutting-edge programming. This year will be no different. We’ve recently announced Electronic Family’s debut in India and our festival headliners- Armin Van Buuren and Arijit Singh. We’ve received a phenomenal response for both of them.