Darsana Festival This Weekend

This weekend, a new festival kicks off at eleven44 celebrating the power that music, art and people have. It’s called Darsana, a two-day dance music event, featuring special guest DJs Gonjasufi and Parson, plus a string of local performers and artists. In Hindi, “darsana” correlates to “visions of the divine.” Promoter Sean Coryell of EyeContact explained: “It’s meant as an analogy for how musicians can hold that space, for many people, especially in a live setting” and bring audiences to a euphoric state through art.

I spoke with Sean’s counterpart, Edward Hickman of Culture Kinetic, about the Darsana festival. Here’s what he had to say:

Roger Bong: How did the idea for this festival come about? “Darsana” is such an intriguing term.

Edward Hickman: I personally believe music has the power to uplift and transform us — not just as individuals, but as a society as a whole. We need to be mindful of the type of media we both present to others and consume ourselves. With that in mind, I’ve spent most of my time focusing on music with indigenous roots or uplifting messages. Audiences really seem to be connecting with the music more than during your typical night out, resulting in more opportunity for the entire Artists Collective known as Culture Kinetic.

Darsana will be the launching point for this vibe. We also plan to continue it on with our Culture Kinetic 2nd Fridays, every second Friday at eleven44.

What can you tell me about the collective?

Culture Kinetic originally began as a small media production team that was focused on creating dance-related media. However, in recent months, it has transformed itself, completely organically and effortlessly, into an open-ended artistic collective consisting of DJs, dancers, poets, visual artists, event organizers and filmmakers … We meet weekly to discuss our passions, artistic approaches, upcoming projects, opportunities and, perhaps most importantly, to hone our skills.

There is often this idea of an artist as a lone figure who stands out and does everything by herself, but the new paradigm seems to be one based around community. That’s an approach that I’ve been all too happy to be a part of at Culture Kinetic.

Why this lineup of guest DJs?

Gonjasufi (of Warp Records) and Parson (of Run DMT fame) are something any isolated region can use: new perspectives, new voices, new sounds and new ideas. We are focused on a musical vibe we both want and need as artists ourselves: If something resonates with us, then that increases the chance that it will bridge the gap and reach our audience in a meaningful way.

Any further info you’d like to share?

While Honolulu often struggles to keep up with nightlife in the rest of the world, we’re hoping that Darsana is a step toward catching us up and moving us in the right direction.

Darsana takes place April 10-11 at eleven44 with special guests Gonjasufi, Parson and more. For more information, visit facebook.com/eyecontactmaui.

For more from Roger, check out his blog at alohagotsoul.com.