The Gardens Of Babylon founder Shishi Meriwani takes time out to speak directly with Deep House Amsterdam about the upcoming debut of the Butterflies of Babylon festival, set to take place in Amsterdam on 14th May
Tell us how you first got started with Gardens of Babylon and what the early days were like?
I tested this concept very early on in 2016 June with Goldcap and Sabo. It was a great start! I didn’t have any spirituality, performers or decoration. But people wanted to hear the music and that was all I needed to find out pre-concept. There was a market to tap into. In October I kicked off with YokoO and the whole shebang, from Opening Ceremony to performances, from The Market of Curiosities to a LOT of decorations. Over the years we have evolved the concept, but the framework was there from the start.
Who else is behind Gardens of Babylon and where did the concept for Butterflies in Babylon arrive from?
My business partners are from Apenkooi. Reinier Suyderhout, Jasper Goossens & Tom Veldhuis. They run the successful brand DGTL and many more. Great to have as business partners :-). It’s not easy to get a festival location in Amsterdam. But when the option opened at NDSM we jumped on it. I would definitely prefer to have a little bit more time to prepare for the festival. But to create a festival at a location like that, is an opportunity you can not miss out on. The theme Butterflies in Babylon is reflecting on the two years we spent in a cocoon. Now it’s time to spread our wings and fly.
The festival appears to be very hedonistic and spiritual. Does this reflect very much from you as a person?
Hedonistic? That’s the first time I heard this. The festival is spiritual, yes. We are embracing spirituality at our events. We want to connect people, to themselves and each other. Music and spirituality are the perfect combination to enable this connection. Perhaps this connection leads to hedonism, I don’t know. Wherever the road takes you I guess, as long as you can be true to yourself.
What can party-goers expect from the festival in terms of production and other surprises?
We have three stages. At Noorderlicht we invited the Syrian brothers of Levantine House to host a stage with all the warmth and sounds you can expect from these Middle Eastern angels. They booked musical highlights from Persia to Turkey and a touch of spirituality. Our two main stages are in the garden next to Noorderlicht and one closer to the water. We have invited names such as BLOND:ISH, Robag Wruhme and Stavroz to perform. As well as numerous acts that will surprise the crowd. Great performances to explore. We want to surprise our crowd. Let them fall in love with new acts. Apart from the music we have a Spiritual Village, immersive performers, a really big festival market for those travelling to Boom, Fusion or even Burning Man. And much much more!
You will feature in Amsterdam for a debut, are you excited to start this adventure in this city?
Wow, very excited! We are hosting our first open air music festival in the city where it all started. It is a dream come true!
What differentiates the stages? You have top talents across all of them. Who are you most looking forward to seeing perform?
We welcome the bigger acts like Blond:ish and Stavroz on one stage. On the other main stage we go musically deep with Robag Wruhme and more, for me always a highlight. And, the third stage is a world stage with sounds from the Middle East. I am in general very very excited. It’s quite a renewing, refreshing line up. I hope people explore the new acts and
You may have touched on this previously, but what are the core values of the Gardens of Babylon brand?
An important value for us is connecting people. Our light program to timetable is created around this value. How can people connect more profoundly with the music, with each other, with themselves. We recently asked our Babylon community, our family, what their values are. We read all sorts of values from respect to spirituality. It was beautiful to read.
How important is it to support emerging DJs as much as those at the very top?
Wow, not only important but also fun! The vested names are incredibly important for the events to bring the strong foundation in the set up and timetable plus of course they attract the bigger crowd. But the emerging artists bring so much joy, surprise and depth to an event. They are hungry to share their music. It can be so captivating to see them perform. If you place them in a good position you won. I want our crowd to explore. The Babylon Family is very welcoming. They love and help actually many musicians grow to the next level.
How helpful have the local authorities and Government been with this festival, are they in strong support?
The dreams we have to fully create our Babylon festival are not always in line with the rules of the Dutch government. We love to work with fire for example, from fire pits to performers, unfortunately that is not something they allow. Even though we like day parties a LOT, 23:00 is something you would see anywhere else in the world haha. You make concessions to organise a festival in the centre of Amsterdam. We organise events in 22 countries. It’s interesting to see what is considered important per country. What we do with the show in Mexico for example would never ever be done here.
Finally, where else do you see the Butterflies In Babylon festival being hosted, any other plans you wish to share?
Let’s see if one of our partners is interested in hosting the festival somewhere else in the world. The concept is beautiful and could work everywhere.
On May 14th, The Gardens of Babylon will host its first Amsterdam music festival at Noorderlicht and NDSM in Noord.
Grab your tickets here
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