The 2025 OzAsia Festival is now underway with a huge array of events and performances right across the city.
This coming weekend, In a speculative Indo-futuristic world where global cultures teeter on the brink of extinction, electro-classical Indian music collides with surreal visuals created through a fusion of 3D video games, AI-generated art and motion-captured dance. Imagined by transmedia artists, Murthovic and Thiruda, Elsewhere in India: Return to Technopia is an immersive nightclub experience drawing on their extensive archive exploring cultural heritage, digital technology, and speculative futures, and featuring collaborations with some of Adelaide’s most exciting South Asian artists.
Murthovic is a Hyderabad-based electronic music composer, DJ and sound designer. Murthovic has been working in the electronic music field for close to 20 years. He is the producer of the acclaimed electro-classical dance opera Antariksha Sanchar, as well as the sound designer for Antariksha Studio which is producing two IPs – a new video game called Antara and Elsewhere in India.
Thiruda is an acclaimed media artist, creative director and curator who specialises in creating immersive experiences for electronic music. Working with a network of artists, filmmakers, animators and game developers, Thiruda produces a diverse range of creative projects that present an authentic viewpoint of India to the world.
Both Murthovic and Thiruda spoke to Glam Adelaide about Elsewhere in India: Return to Technopia, its creation and if music has been part of their lives from a young age.
Murthovic:
“Music was always around when I was growing up. Everyone in my family had some connection to it—singing, collecting records, playing instruments. It just seeped in early. I didn’t realise then that it would completely take over my life one day; I even dropped my PhD because I knew I had to follow that path. Being a DJ, for me, is more than just playing tracks. It’s like a ritual of sharing sound, energy and stories. I still think of myself as a student, constantly learning from how sound moves through people and places. I’ve always been drawn to connections. Like how a Deep House track can sit next to a rendition by M.S. Subbulakshmi and still make sense emotionally. That mix of worlds is what keeps me going, and why collaboration feels so natural to me.”
Thiruda:
“My journey as a VJ came through my lifelong fascination with rhythm, visuals, and storytelling. My mother being an exponent of Bharatanatyam was also a huge influence growing up. Growing up in India meant being immersed in a soundscape that’s as layered as it is limitless—from temple bells and street music to film songs and electronic beats. Over time, that turned into an instinct to blend and reinterpret sounds, just as I would do with colours or visual textures in my art. Music has always been a huge part of my creative process—it informs how I think about energy, mood, and movement, whether I’m behind the decks or creating a visual world. It became a natural extension of that impulse to translate everyday life and its rhythm into an experience.”
We asked Murthovic how Elsewhere In India: Return to Technopia came about and how they both came to be involved.
“We’ve been collaborators for many years since bumping into each other in Delhi’s electronic and art circles back in the day. It’s safe to say that we are familiar with each other’s research methodologies in sound and culture. The idea for Elsewhere in India: Return to Technopia really grew out of that shared curiosity about where we come from and where we’re headed. Both of us grew up surrounded by global influences that shaped how we listen and create. So instead of chasing something new for the sake of it, we started digging into what already exists—our own cultural layers—and reimagining them for the present. In a way, we’re trying to connect the past and the future; just showing how they’ve always been part of the same story.”
This Saturday, 25 October, Murthovic and Thiruda will bring Elsewhere in India: Return to Technopia to The Lab from 8.00pm.
Thiruda shared with Glam Adelaide: “What we’re really excited for is how Adelaide audiences will experience Elsewhere in India: Return to Technopia. It’s not a typical club night or a gallery show; it’s something that sits in between worlds. Imagine stepping into a space where electro-classical Indian music meets surreal visuals drawn from video games, motion capture, and AI art—all woven together into a kind of living, breathing story. The world we’re building is a speculative Indo-futuristic one, where cultures are on the edge of transformation.
“We’ve been digging into our own archives of sound, heritage, and digital experiments for years, and this project feels like a culmination of that journey. What excites us most is watching people respond. Seeing them dance, reflect, maybe even recognise fragments of their own stories in this future world we’re imagining together. And to do that alongside some incredible South Asian artists from Adelaide just makes it even more special.”
Elsewhere in India: Return to Technopia
The Lab at ILA
Saturday 25 October, 2025 8.00pm
https://ozasia.adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au/whats-on/elsewhere-in-india
Photo credit: Sachin Soni
