Jason Swamy credit Suara festival
An angel in silver knee-high boots glided towards me as I rounded a bend in the lush, tropical
labyrinth leading to Suara Festival’s main stage; the breeze from her swirling, LED-tipped wings
offering brief relief from the Balinese summer heat. Three glitter-faced Australian festies jumped
beside me to get in on the divine draft fanning down from the angel’s rolling perch – wings
whirling in perfect time to the beats pumping from somewhere within her ingenious makeshift
mobile stage.
‘That’s one.’ I thought, starting a mental tally of undeniable personal-touches of Suara Festival’s
founder, Jason Swamy, spotted throughout the grounds as I made my way to meet him. The award-winning event organizer is primarily known as founding member, music an creative director of Burning Man – the ‘Robot Heart’ stage; a staple at the world-famous annual arts festival held in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert. Swamy’s Burning Man project birthed such a vast and passionate cult- following that ‘Robot Heart’ managed to untether itself from its umbilical-ties to Burning Man’s annual confines, evolving into a year-round moveable feast as a globally active creative collective. Swamy is also regarded for his eco-conscious stance as an event organizer, co- founding Thailand’s Wonderfruit Festival, which won the Greener Creative Award in 2019 for itsefforts promoting eco-friendly practices and sustainability.
As the Psy-trance Seraphin rolled on, I soon found Swamy’s mark everywhere – from Nuanu, the
festival’s chosen host-grounds itself; a seaside ‘eco-city’ peppered with twisting, abstract
architecture, which I could only describe as Gaudi in teak – to the countless art installations and
hidden ‘mini stages’ maintaining the Suara’s theme of nature blending with technology;
primalism merging with futurism.
My tally had far surpassed fingers and toes by the time I reached the ‘spiritual gates of Suara
Festival’; two towering Earth goddess statues dubbed the ‘Earth Sentinels’ by their South
African sculptor, Daniel Popper. They, too, looked as if they had been pulled straight out of
Burning Man’s Black Rock Desert and planted in Bali – their outstretched arms springing from
the Earth in peaceful greeting only adding to the effect.
I caught up with Jason behind the psychedelic colossi, where he greeted me with a warm smile
and lead me to a quiet area to talk. A Kecak ceremony was due to take place beneath the
Sentinels at sunset – a traditional Balinese performance symbolizing the intrinsic-ties between artistic expression and spirituality – which Jason considered to be an idyllic backdrop for our
interview.
Currently based in Bali, Jason Swamy first decided to put his distinct touch on The Island of the
Gods’ festival scene with Suara Festival back in 2022. Now in its third edition, Swamy reflects
on his journey with his ever-growing Bali-based project, spreading Burning Man’s flame around
the world, his philosophy on embracing primalism and futurism through an array of artistic
mediums, and the cultural and ecological obligations involved in holding an international festival
on the coast of Bali
Mike Finnegan
Jason, thank you for joining me, and congratulations on your third edition of Suara Festival. There’s certainly a palpable energy in the air, between the creativity, divserity, and communal connectivity here. I can’t wait to see how things pick up tonight.
Jason Swamy
I can’t wait either! We try to program it to build up throughout the day and let it crescendo overnight. And it’s all building up to Sunday.
We try to be inclusive and welcome everyone, so in the daytime it’s for people who are more into the wellness and the food-side of things, and the family zone is absolutely rocking. I’m a dad of two, so I can tell that the parents are loving it. But once the lights go down, I think people let their hair down and things there’s a different kind of fun.
Mike Finnegan
It’s nice seeing such a large family element here, and so many Festival-Kids running around. They always end up being the most interesting people later in life.
Jason Swamy
Absolutely, I mean, my son is doing meditation at four years old and I find myself thinking, ‘What will he be like when he’s older?’ I think if someone gets that kind of exposure – exposure to something like this when they’re that young, they’re absolutely going to become someone very interesting later in life.
Mike Finnegan
There are definitely distinct elements of Burning Man here at Suara Festival, not only visually and musically, but also just the overall vibe. Can you tell me a bit about your experience with Burning Man and ‘Robot Heart’? What influence have they had on Suara Festival?
Jason Swamy
You know, it’s funny, I was told to go to Burning Man for 10 years before I finally made my way over there. Then 14 years ago I helped start ‘Robot Heart’ which now has one of the most formidable, well-known cult followings. It changed my life, and it really made me who I am today. It’s allowed me to do these things that bring more and more people together.
Burning Man culture permeates everything here. You know, [Nuanu founder] Sergey Solonin is a ‘Burner’, and he’s very clearly influenced by it. I’m tremendously influenced by it, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to create something like this in this playground that he’s created. I mean, what better canvas can you have to do something like this?
Mike Finnegan
What personal touches did you make sure to include when organizing Suara Festival?
Jason Swamy
I think, first and foremost, having my team. I had to bring in the most amazing team to help pull off something so challenging and complex. Also, putting a focus on curation. Very detailed curation. Musically, having a diverse lineup that encompasses all sorts of tastes. There’s traditional music from Bali, there’s Batavia Collective – who’s playing right now – with their own brand of electronic funk. We’ve got Japanese rappers, we’ve got rappers from Singapore, we’ve got HVOB and Sainte Vie from Burning Man. So really, making sure there’s a little bit of everything.
Also, food, art, culture, community – everyone’s contributing. And just encouraging people to be themselves. You can see people are dressed up –they’re expressing themselves, you know. People don’t normally walk around the street looking like this, right?
Mike Finnegan
(beat)
Jason Swamy
…Well… maybe in Bali a little bit (laughs) But not quite so much, you know?
Mike Finnegan
Maybe a bit more in Bali… (laughs) But I hear you. Maybe one day, in a perfect world…
Jason Swamy
Right, right – in a perfect world, and that’s what we’re trying to create, right? Express yourself, be yourself.
Mike Finnegan
Musically, Suara Festival is diverse, but it’s largely an electronic music festival. There’s a fairly significant genre-divergence with Angus and Julia Stone as the festival’s main headliner. Can you tell me a bit about that choice?
Jason Swamy
Well, the thing is, I was trying to put Angus and Julius Stone for 10 years, but we couldn’t afford them! (laughs) I still can’t afford them! But seeing as Bali is such an Australia-centric place, and that the band just released their new album Cape Forestier, I thought it’d be a great touch – bringing them out, as well as Lastlings and Mansionair.
Mike Finnegan
Do you have any plans to add more rock acts to Suara Festival’s line-up in the future?
Jason Swamy
We’re still a fledgling festival, so unfortunately, I can’t afford those big rock acts just yet, but I hope to get to the place where I can. The thing is, I’ve worked with The Strokes, I’ve worked with Coldplay, I’ve worked with The Killers, and Queens of the Stone Age – I just can’t afford them! (laughs) And they get more and more expensive every year!
Mike Finnegan
Do you have one ultimate dream headliner for Suara Festival in the future?
Jason Swamy
My dream is to book Tash Sultana. I mean, Bali… Tash Sultana— it couldn’t be better!
But, then again, there’s also Jorja Smith, Jungle, Little Simz, Bon Iver, Tame Impala…
We’re not quite there yet, but we’re growing every year.
Mike Finnegan
You have an excellent reputation for promoting environmental awareness and maintaining a low ecological impact with your festivals, and have won the “Greener Creative Award” in the past with Wonderfruit Festival in Thailand. What approach are you taking to both build Suara Festival up to be a huge staple-event in Bali, while still ensuring you minimize the ecological impact on the island?
Jason Swamy
I think we are here to educate. We’re about edu-tainment. We want you to come in with less and leave with more. We don’t want people to be consumers. We want people here to be contributors, and to take something back with them from here that they can implement into the world in real-time. Part of that is being responsible, it’s leaving no trace, it’s using composting toilets, it’s taking care of yourself and taking care of each other, and nature. It’s not just a party, it’s also about educating yourself, and being responsible.
Mike Finnegan
I’m sure it’s difficult for you choose from your position as an organizer and a creator here at Suara Festival, but if you could pick one act from this year that best encapsulates the spirit of your project, who would it be?
Jason Swamy
I don’t know, I mean it’s so hard to say because we have so many great musicians here, and such diverse music acts, from electronic to jazz fusion. But I think Angus and Julia Stone would have to be my choice, just because they’ve got this sexy, organic vibe. But, then again, we have some traditional Balinese cultural acts, too, like this Kecak ceremony which is iconic of traditional Balinese culture and tradition. Really, it’s the combination of it all that makes Suara what it is.
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