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Rising Field Karuizawa’s Transformation by Architect Jiro Endo’s Stunning Scenography
Space Shower, the organizer of music festivals such as SWEET LOVE SHOWER and POP YOURS, launched a new festival in Karuizawa. The title of the festival is EPOCHS – Music & Art Collective. As the name stands, it is a cultural event that focuses not only on live music, but also on art exhibitions and space production and took place for the weekend on September 30, and October 1.
The event took place at Rising Field Karuizawa in Nagano Prefecture. Take the Shinkansen to Karuizawa Station, then take the shuttle bus from the station for 15 to 20 minutes. Once you get off the bus, the venue is right in front of you.
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After spending a day here, I realized that it is a wonderful location. Rising Field Karuizawa is usually an outdoor resort where visitors can enjoy camping, one-day BBQ, adventure parks, etc. On this day, there were two music stages in the area of lawn and forest, a DJ stage on a mountain stream, and a permanent tent curated by non-syntax leader, Akiu Kim. The festival space was created to make the most of the location’s characteristics, including the use of the permanent tent as a booth for live painting and exhibits of artworks by artists curated by non-syntax leader Kim Chi-woo. Overall, the space was compact and easy to navigate between stages and to the food area, allowing visitors to enjoy every inch of the event.
The ROOTS stage was designed by Jiro Endo to enhance the appeal of the venue and was lit to blend in with the natural surroundings, and as the sun went down, the stage and its surroundings took on a new look. GRAVITY, the main stage, is covered with string-like objects in the shape of a doughnut, with a mirror ball hanging in the center to create an eye-like design, which is then illuminated by lighting to color the entire stage.
The DJ stage seems to float in the river, and when the lights and performers reflect on the big aluminum disks hanging from the ceiling, the murmuring of the river and the beat music merge to create a rave space that mixes the organic with the psychedelic.
