All access to music

VJ/DJ Nikhil Chinapa speaks about Submerge and Global Edge bringing Access All Areas or #AAA, a gig-hopping concept to India, which will see Aly and Fila, Spektre, Ankytrixx and many more, spin some grooving music

All access to music

Lately, multiple hat-donning Nikhil Chinapa has been in the news regarding the end of his association with a long-running Dance music festival in the country (which had been his baby for six years now).

VJ/DJ Nikhil Chinapa

Acing his own act, Chinapa just announced the entry of a new Electronic Dance Music (EDM) festival in Goa, this December. While the details for this massive new event are still under wraps, EDM fans can be party of a unique international concept called Access All Areas. Popularly known as #AAA, it lets one attend multiple gigs over two days on just one wristband. Brought down by Submerge and Global Edge, this format will take place in four cities in the country including Mumbai.

“There are so many big-ticket events happening all around that people don’t feel the need to go to the clubs. With #AAA we will have multiple venues, in different cities and several artistes, all under one wristband,” says Chinapa. This event will see a mix of Indian and international artistes such as Spektre, Ankytrixx, Aly and Fila, Nawed Khan, Gms and many more. “Big names get in the crowd but I have always looked out for and supported home-grown talent. We have always been the early ones to spot great talent, such as Tommy Trash, and Sultan and Ned Shepard. Another young name you will be seeing here this year will be Felix Cartal,” he says.

On this note, we pop up the news about Dash Berlin gig’s mid-way shutdown in Pune. Chinapa answers, “It was a slip between the cup and the lip. We have learnt that attention to every little detail is very important and I have always followed the law of the land.” Chinapa is the only Indian on the board of advisors at Association for Electronic Music, and will be attheir conference at the Amsterdam Dance Event this month.

On the topic of growing competition among dance music festivals, he says, “I will give you an example: MTV and Channel V were in competition. But it was the people behind the channels such as Cyrus Broacha, Maria Goretti, Mini Mathur and Rannvijay who helped in forming a connect with the audiences. It is always about the people behind a project.”