IN THE MELA: A JOURNEY INTO  WEST BENGAL SOUNDSYSTEM CULTURE


STORY - Live Cinema Experience
2026-present

Scope: Concept / Scenography, Live Visual

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 In the Mela is a touring immersive cinema by Baalti x Sayoko introducing West Bengal soundsystem culture to experimental music audiences — a portal between festival communities and a West Bengal village that makes both worlds feel present at once. Dripping Music & Performance Arts Festival was its inaugural occasion.

Echoing the monumental spirit of the soundsystems, I designed 12-ft leaning scrim frames held by ratchet straps — projection surfaces and textural overlays that melted the edge between the audience and the people in the documentary. Behind the center screen, Baalti affected sound with a custom chip deck from a West Bengal soundsystem maker while I wove color and texture between collage visuals and documentary footage in real time.

Baalti spent two years in West Bengal documenting the mela — soundsystem makers, box battles, religious tensions, and village life — directing and editing the footage into a multichannel film. Inspired by West Bengal's YouTube visualizer universe, I created high-energy collage visuals for the film's intros and interludes.



























Artists: Baalti x Sayoko
Music & Film: Baalti
Scenography: Sayoko
Directors: Jaiveer Singh & Mihir Chauhan
Technical Director: Sam Stulin



© 2026 SAYOKO OSADA STUDIO