Gili Air Island, Indonesia – Paradise Festival
Gili, one of three tiny islands floating in the archipelago between Lombok and Bali, will be the home for the 2018 Air Festival.
There are no cars on this island, just horse-drawn carriages and bicycles. You can walk around the entire island in an afternoon and at night, the stars are so bright they reflect off the sea and white sand.
Now in its fourth year, The Air Festival has established itself as one of the foremost gatherings of visionaries, musicians, artists and dancers in the region. Its two stages merge underground dance music culture with ceremony and sacredness, creating an unforgettable three-day experience in which friendships are forged, hearts are opened and life is affirmed.
Musically, you can expect all sorts from house to soul. Fans of deep, spine-tingling house music will love the fact New York’s Fred P from Soul People Music is playing, while Tuskagee and Crosstown Rebels artist Bas Ibellini will bring plenty of fresh tech house. More dubbed out house will come from Sushitech’s Dutch star Makam, Rampa deals in warm, progressive and melodic house with his releases on labels like Innervisions and Kelinemusik and loopy tech house man Boris Werner will keep you dancing for days.
Sweden’s Art Alfie put out a fantastically cuddly album of charming house on Studio Barnhus recently so expect more of the same from him. Ata, DJ and founder of renowned club Robert Johnson whos labels include Playhouse, Klang, Ongaku also billed to play. Much more covered from Mimi Love, KMLN, Peak & Swift, Jonathan Kusuma, Esther Silex, Dave Dinger, Walker Barnard, Tiago Oudman, Sylvie Forêt, Dr. Kessler, Ricardo Who, Archie, Trigan Young, Dr. Yez, Kai, Kusaki and more.
Founded by a group of friends in 2015, Air Festival started out as an intimate event. The original team comprised of Walker Barnard, Sylvie Forêt, Tiago Oudman, Kelly Ariella and Alexander Bonkas — all of them rooted in underground dance music, who started the party with a “letʼs just do this and see what happens” kind of attitude.
With their commitment to leaving the beautiful island of Gili Air better than before, the folks behind Air Festival offer support to the local community in ways of waste removal and reduction, plus renovations at their local school. They will also be challenging themselves to go completely plastic free. Above all, expect to have the best time with more intention, love and light on the dance floor under the stars.
Apart from holding space for the more epic dance floor moments with DJs from around the world, 2017 saw the introduction of the Awan Stage – the festival’s living heart where the sacred fire burns, the cacao flows, and super-inspiring live musicians and slow DJs share their songs and organic earth vibes. The Air Stage and the Awan are complimentary zones where festival goers can move from peak time party to relaxed and grounded gathering and back again all within the same container.
The Air festival measures its success not only in ticket sales and dance floor eargasms but also in terms of how lightly we tread. As in 2017, they are virtually plastic free and as always they leave the beautiful Gili Air cleaner than it was before the festival started.
