MUMBAI: Efforts have been made to create more ecologically-conscious initiatives with the primary purpose of hosting live music in the country. And 2016 now welcomes a similar entrant to the exclusive list of music festivals bringing the fans nearer to the nature than ever before. ‘Echoes of Earth’ (EoE) festival – that serves a similar purpose – will host its debut edition in Bengaluru with a stellar line-up featuring an impressive mix of established and emerging international and Indian music acts.

A joint initiative of innovation agency Swordfish and Bengaluru's popular dive bar Watson’s, EoE found its home in the Embassy International Riding School for the first edition, on the turf spread across 150 acres. With three stages and multiple pop-up stages, the festival director – Roshan Netalkar – has ensured no compromises on the music front would be entertained. Usually, in order to create something ‘unique’, these music festivals focus on the factors beyond music gradually pushing it into the secondary preferences. “Swordfish has been an active entity in the entertainment space for fifteen years now, and has played a key role in curating the line-up concerning the international acts.”

Multi-genre act British act Submotion Orchestra feature in the first line-up announcement for the debut edition of EoE, along with Danish producer Alo Wala and experimental one-man act Beardyman. Mumbai-based artist management agency Krunk curated the line-up for the Indian acts that feature Chennai-based rock act The F16s, Electronic acts Your Chin, Nicholson and Sandunes, India’s most popular Blues act Soulmate, folk fusion singer-songwriter Zoya and Delhi-based moody waltz act Peter Cat Recording Co. So be it an EDM act from Sri Lanka (Asvajit) or handpan instrumentalist from Australia (Sam Maher), the versatility in the line-up justifies the essence of the music at the festival.

“We have tried to stitch all the elements in a way that they justify the essence of the music festival. It’s a festival that celebrates music of the Earth – that is, from across the globe,” informed Nelatkar, who further added that in order to create a 100 per cent ‘eco-friendly’ music festival would take another 3-4 years, and “Echoes of Earth would try to work towards it.” The festival has advised its attendees to work towards minimising damages to the nature through simple basic steps that involves carrying own water bottles, consumption of beverages through bio-degradable cups and installations constructed through usage of bamboos. Netalkar also emphasised on the effective enablers like the French, Spanish and Peruvian embassies, and the brands like 100 Piper’s.

Three stages representing Electronica, World Music and Techno/Deep House and multiple pop-up stages revolving around collaborations and impromptu jams highlight the heart of the Echoes of Earth whose soul clearly lies closer to the nature, and far from mainstream.

The festival will be held on 26 and 27 November.