Party monsters, dance music freaks, club kids, and college students came out in droves to Mumbai and Bengaluru pitstop of the Mad Decent Block Party over the weekend. Mad Decent, the American record label helmed by Grammy-nominated & AMA winning producer Diplo who has worked with artists like Madonna, Usher, M.I.A, Pharrell Williams, Bruno Mars, Justin Bieber brought America’s dance music event to India for the very first time over the weekend. Diplo’s label Mad Decent has the star power and curatorial credibility necessary to field a serious contender.
Fans clamored for a superlative weekend whose soundtrack ran the stylistic gamut from trap to tropical house as the venue reverberated with sounds from Saving My Life, Teach Me How To Dougie, Light It Up, Ready For Your Love, Faded amongst others. The group pushed their fascination with global dance music to the fullest while honoring their newfound pop tracks such as “Lean On,” while jumping off of banisters and surfing the crowd in a giant human hamster ball. EDM fans from across India relentlessly shimmied, hula hooped and gyrated in electric energy throughout the entire 6-hour Diplo dance party amidst the kaleidoscopic ambiance.
Big Gigantic sound tracked the sunset with tropical house and a live warbling saxophone over glossy, skating melodies. American producer Giraffage sampled familiar hip-hop choruses including multiple Drake, Sean Paul, remixes to a dizzying degree of haunting synth trap. British house-music duo Gorgon City showcased their nu disco dupstep soundscape, amping the audience with their poppy remixes. Diplo led the end-of-the-summer blowout to an explosive smash with his trio Major Lazer, featuring Jillionaire and Walshy Fire. Diplo started by throwing out a bunch of swag including whistles and bandanas into the crowd. A quartet of female dancers came out and flanked the stage performing seamlessly-choreographed dance routines. Confetti cannons, water guns, flags, exotic dancers twerking and Diplo’s crowd zorbing brought an element of showmanship usually lost in live EDM. With both delirious fans and exhausted artists taking to social media afterwards to extol the weekend’s festivities, the inaugural edition of Mad Decent Block Party was enshrined as a memorable experience for all involved.
Karan Singh, CEO, Sunburn says, “This is our 10th anniversary year which is a matter of celebration in itself as an intellectual property. This season we intend to deliver differentiated products for our loyal dance music patrons. Sunburn would have never been what it is today without the loyal patrons. This association with Mad Decent Block Party is the first step towards our mega celebrations.”
Mad Decent has been a pioneer in introducing eclectic and fantastic regional sounds from Brazil, Angola and famously Jamaica amongst many other countries into clubs and dance floors across the world with the very first Mad Decent Block Party taking place in a street in Philadelphia, USA back in 2008. Over the last few years, Major Lazer has become a staple at all big music festivals around the world – Coachella, Lollapalooza, Pitchfork and has gained notoriety as a fun-filled stage act. A Major Lazer show is party central, whether at a concert or a festival. Expect confetti guns that shoot colourful confetti into the crowd, inflatable animals that bounce around, constant blowing of vuvuzelas and dancers twerking and shimmying their way across the stage to the sounds of moombahton, reggae, trap hip-hop and even pop. Diplo zorbing across the crowd is a classic sight at any big Major Lazer show.
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