MUMBAI: With an aim to support and promote reggae music, Monkey Radio India and Bass Sanskriti organised a daylong event- Sound System En Masse. The team will next look at promoting anothergenre- Carnatic music, through a concert.

Sound System En Masse took place on 25 January from 5 to 9 pm and attracted around 350-400 people from across the age group of 5-60 years at Victory Play Ground, Hyderabad. The expenditure for the event, which included performances by artistes and workshops, cost Rs 1.64 lakh. "We needed funding for the event as we had to pay the artistes. So we decided to raise money through Wishberry and till 10 January, we were not able to reach the target. So we requested them to extend the date. We finally managed to collect Rs 1,66,210," states Monkey Foundation founder and Sound System En Masse director Bala Subramanyam.

He added that they paid the artistes and other expenses from their pockets, and is hopeful of getting the money from Wishberry soon. The overall expenditure of the showcase is divided into six categories. Two categories- artistes management and stage production is estimated to have cost Rs 64, 000 and Rs 35, 000 respectively, which is highest spending categories followed by license fee of Rs 25, 000.

The free-entry event witnessed performances by Reggae Rajahs, Delhi Sultanate, Begum X, King Jassim, Daktadub and Irieboy. Subramanyam goes on to say, "We wanted to make it a street event and make it accessible to as many people as possible. The event called 'Nottingham Carnival', in a way, inspired us to do this in Hyderabad."

Promoters of the event plan to make it bigger and better next time as they want to make it an annual event. "We would like to more Reggae music and workshops, and get more kids to get interested in the music. During our workshop, there were couple of kids who showed interest in poems and we want to take their liking to another level. If possible, we hope to do weekly or monthly workshops to develop the skills of these kids in Reggae music," claims Subramanyam.

Subramanyam who is also an RJ and DJ with the stage name 'Daktadub', hopes to do many cultural events that are not commercial in nature but are heavily cultural. Talking about curated online radio, Subramanyam states, "Monkey Radio is promoting all culture forms, music, literature, and arts to the community." The online radio has been operated by Monkey Foundation since 2011, in Hyderabad.

He has very clear thoughts about his future plan in terms of organisation, which promotes cultural activities. He wants to partner with schools so he can paint their imagination by promoting cultural activities like arts and music.

Meanwhile, Bass Sanskriti and Monkey Foundation are planning a monthly stint at the venue 'The Farm' in Hyderabad. The first event is expected to take place on 21 February.