Mela festival based in Oslo Norway is distinct in terms of it's curation as well as ethnic diversity. Something not often felt and seen inside most big 'exclusive' music festivals of Europe. Mela festival is multi-ethnic in terms of it's ownership, curation as well as showcasing artists. The word mela itself derived from Sanskrit, meaning "when you meet" or "meet". Hence the idea of creating "a meeting point of various cultures, languages, skin colors and sounds" says Ashley Siri, Producer of the festival. The festival now in it's 18th year, has featured musicians and bands from Norway, England, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Somalia, Egypt, Tanzania, Sri Lanka and Australia to name a few. Switching between Nordic Bhangra or Sufi Qawali or Femme Rap or Techno or Jazz Metal or Kathak, the emphasis of the festival is on openness and inclusivity, in it's curation as well as audience. Oslo, though very small city in terms of european metropoles, is witness to very high diversity as well as influx of migrants from many nations. Mela festival 2018, spread over 5 different locations and 3 days, including it's home turf, the Radhuplassen port of Oslo attracted thousands of norwegians, indians, pakistanis, bangladeshis, swedes, latinos and many folks of african origin, almost all living in Oslo.



Envisioned and founded by Khalid Salimi (Pakistan) in 2001. Mela festival is a product of activism and progressive social politics. Lahore born Khalid Salimi, a noted human rights activist, cultural critic and music writer based in Oslo forged the foundations of the festival and it's native grounds. Trine Skei Grande, leader of the Liberal Party of Norway and member of parliament, has been an active supporter of the festival since the festival's advent. The festival crew consists of a small dedicated team headed by Ashley Siri and Aud Digernes along-with a dozen plus freelance designers, sound technicians, writers and operations volunteers. Endre Dalen, an editor, designer, writer and electronic music enthusiast living in Oslo, had much to reveal about the diversity and balance of acts at Mela and how the festival has grown in terms of audiences, funding and reputation. The Mela festival is closely linked to Samora Magazine, Norway's leading platform for anti-racism, anti-discrimination and open society. Though Norwegian society has been considered very liberal and open towards migrants and non nordic communities, the country has also witnessed many extremist nationalist formations in the last twenty year. The countries population growth ticks very slowly at 0.5% per year and 75% of the nation remains inhospitable, with most of Norwegian urban culture and population clustered around it's southern edge. Oslo has a big underground music culture which is colored by Africans, Asians, Latinos as well as Norwegian artists in a sense way more 'visible and arguably progressive' than Berlin or Paris.

Last time we featured emerging electronic music from Norway, it lead us deeper into the scene, listening to new norwegian artists, producers and curators. The Norwegian scene is brimming with action and intersecting waves. For a small country of 8 million people, who live 'way up there' the emerging Norwegian artists are also mirroring the growth of electronic music worldwide. Similar but very different, as we see in India with a visible surge in electronic music culture, however microscopic inside a giant populous of 1.3 billion. Yet both the nations are unconnected in terms of contemporary youth culture and institutions, given the distance, being located at antipodes of the earth. This ongoing interaction soon turned into an idea, an opportunity unforeseen and potent. We are talking about connecting the electronic music scenes between Norway and India. A new 'north-south dialogue' outside the institutional norms. A 'first interaction' between the electronic music 'scenes' of Norway and India. We began inviting producers, composers, experimental artists and DJs from Norway and India to participate. The initial response has been stupendous! Innovative ways to step over institutional, cultural and geographic barriers and distances. A new peer-to-peer alternative. The first Indo-Norwegian electronic music compilation, in 2020.

We are following a new trail, discovering underground and emerging electronic music from Norway. Usually electronic music lovers at best recall Todd Terje, the star-icon of Norwegian post-disco or Røyksopp, the ambient trip-hop sensation. That is rather passé and hardly covers the contemporary Norwegian scene. However, the small country (5.3 million people) is currently brimming with electronic music, made of thousands of producers, DJs, scene-makers and experimental artists, colouring the spectrum in curious little ways. We recently spoke to Endre Dalen about the emerging and underground 'scene' in Norway. Endre is an editor and writer based in Oslo. He is working in Samora Forum, an institution and magazine highlighting cultural diversity. His formative years made of funk, soul, rap, punk-rock and electronic music. For more than a decade he has worked as graphic designer, advisor, writer and editor for the Mela Festival and it's native venue Melahuset (Mela House), which opened in 2016. Consequently cultivating his interest in ancient, retro as well as emergent new sounds from all around the world...

As we merge musical energies and aesthetics, the output can emerge as new music, creating new pathways. Merge Emerge, the first Indo-Norwegian electronic music compilation in the making, is a spin off on a similar idea. That by merging styles between a diverse group of artists, the effect is of emerging prospects, full of surprises. Merge Emerge is made of 18 artists from India and Norway, audible across 13 songs. A passionate response from electronic music producers based in India and Norway, who are clearly diverse in age, background and experience. Spanning one hour and ten minutes, the songs often conceal the roots and gender of the composers, which then makes us wonder if electronic music today as any correlation to nativity. Via electronic music culture, a new north-south link is being established, call it a direct synergy between artists and curators. Despite the global hiatus within the music industry due to the Covid19 pandemic, the curators and producers have persisted through 2020 in their efforts to bring the compilation to life. An eclectic leadoff into Indo-Norwegian electronic music - Merge Emerge. An eagerly awaited release!

Spanning almost three generations of music enthusiasts, DJ Goa Gil is an imposing cult figure in the world of psy-trance music. Released in 2007, Goa Gil's innate vision is clearly imprinted in the name of the album Worldbridger. He is the bridge between the physical, spiritual, sacred and the hallucinogenic, or so he claims to be. The album cover is decorated with motifs from sacred sites around the world and appropriated tribal iconography. The protagonist of this world-bridge, Gil is seated cross-legged upon a Mayan temple. As the album’s cover artwork confabulates the artist's ego, it is also perfect eye-candy for the post-modern hippy. There's much to uncover behind the formation of 'cyber-baba' - the 'techno-shaman' - Swami Mangalanand - A history parallel to that of modern Goa and it's bygone psychedelic era. The long winding trail over decades, of the Californian hippy morphing into a living 'god' of the psychedelic tribes, is truly panoramic. As Goa Gil turns 70 this year, this article is demystifying his cult status - exploring the inextricable links between the evolution  of psy-trance culture, shamanic lifestyles, LSD and Goa.