Assam's The BiG BANG! Festival Of Love To Be Revived By BFR Soundsystem & Documented By Gilles Peterson

In April, Monkey Shoulder and Worldwide.fm had joined hands to form Studio Monkey Shoulder and announced £10,000 as part of the initiative to support grassroots music communities, collectives or organisations. BFR Sound System, one of India's handful of hand-built Jamaican-style sound systems that is owned and operated by Taru Dalmia aka Delhi Sultanate, has emerged as the recipient within that initiative. Dalmia will be using the support to revive The BiG BANG! Festival of Love, a 2-day festival that used to take place in Assam's Dima Hasao.

Curated by Mr. India aka Daniel Langthasa and supported by BFR Sound System since 2017, the boutique festival last took place in 2019 having featured the likes of Prabh Deep, Seedhe Maut, Ahmer and Plastic Parvati from the popular indie music space. With the focus on bringing together various tribal communities in the area, The BiG BANG! has become a showcase of sound system culture alongside local folk artists and cultural traditions, attracting participation from local youth in BFR Sound System-led dub sessions, and will return on October 26 and 27.

For the festival, BFR Sound System will travel all the way from Delhi to Nanadisa village in Dima Hasao, Assam. To document this journey and the event, a team from Worldwide.FM, including its founder the popular broadcaster and selector Gilles Peterson, will come down to India, attending The BiG BANG! Festival as well as the Warehouse Mix and Windhorse Records-hosted event aQI which takes place at Crashpad Mangar on the outskirts of New Delhi on October 12 and 13.

“I’m excited to learn more about the deep-rooted connection in India to the sound system culture,” says Gilles Peterson, who adjudged the applications. “I’m really interested to follow the impact of this journey, sharing their passion for this music culture to help break down systemic class divides and reach new audiences in remote areas of the country,” he adds.