Infinite Cartwheels festival: A platform for diversity

Infinite Cartwheels Festival, known to host bands with an eclectic mix of genres, gears up for its final edition in the city this weekend. The bands ‘As we keep searching’, ‘Diarchy’, Hyderabad’s ‘Pandora’s Box’ and Rishabh Seen form the lineup for the evening facilitating a unique exchange of musical cultures. Besides presenting a fusion of sounds, the fest is also known to promote homegrown music talent.

Pune-based ‘As we keep searching’ comprising Uddipan Sarmah, Shubham Gurung, Robert Alex, Gautam Deb specialises in modern post-rock, more ambient and instrumental in nature. The form is personalised, complex, comprises synth-layers and touches upon universal topics, facilitates emotional expression with mild vocals. “Events like this help us see bands we haven’t seen or heard before. When you watch an artist perform, there’s something you can take back, the production, the music. We are returning to Hyderabad after four months, we find the city’s atmosphere incredible. We wish we could explore the city more though as musicians, it’s a hard bargain,” the band says.

Diarchy, meanwhile will ring in a raw, riff-dominated twist to hard-core rock for the evening. The Bengaluru-based duo has Prakash Rawat (guitar, vocals) and Gaurrav Tiwari (drums) and their music features influences from Planet of Zeus, Orange Goblin, Karma to Burn, Alabama Thunderpussy to name a few. Rishabh Seen will complete the traditional arc for the finale, the sitar-player, composer’s music bears nuances of the ‘Etawah Gharana’ and is known to present a unique blend of classical and metal genres.

Hyderabad-based Pandora’s Box , a five-year-old progressive metal/experimental band, will play a few originals from their yet-to-be released album Divergence besides a few famous covers from the likes of Textures, Scale The Summit, Plini, Opeth, Porcupine Tree. “The fest is special because musicians from the rock/metal genres don’t get many avenues to play. It is a niche market, it’s not the easiest of genres to listen to. It’s our avenue to express beyond our regular day jobs. We bands rarely get to meet each other on one occasion, that we have one platform now where get to share the stage, talk to them on a one-on-one level should be a good learning curve for us.”

(Infinite Cartwheels Music Festival - The Final Edition is on @ The Moonshine Project, Jubilee Hills on April 15, 5:30 pm)