DJ war

‘Hey mister DJ keep playin’ this song for me...’ All the party animals have the same refrain as they hop from one hotspot to the next. The adrenaline levels keep pumping and the energy meter stays on high, cranked up by this very pivotal figure in every nightclub who spins, scratches and mixes his way into your dancing shoes. The DJs in the city give each nightclub a distinct character with their style. In this jungle of night crawlers, it is a war as the DJs throw out their best sounds, drawing the crowds to their door. Take a look at what it takes to be a DJ in the city… And check out two gorgeous ladies — visiting DJs from Brazil playing at the Junction at Taj.

DJ Girish: “Even way back in school and college, I realised that I wanted to be an entertainer. I could sing and play the guitar but I wanted to do more. Thus I bought myself very ordinary mixing equipment and taught myself the ropes through a process of trial and error. Then Shisha happened and there was no looking back from there and today I play at clubs across Southeast Asia,” says Girish. The 29-year-old DJ’s style of music is an international blend of different electronic sounds with commercial music and it includes Electro funk, progressive house and Eurotrance. His top picks include Missing by Everything But The Girl and Hide U by Kosheen.

DJ Sammy: “I started DJing entirely by accident. It was a combination of heartbreak, a friend’s party and nothing to do,” said 28-year-old Sammy. Hip hop, R&B, jazz, Sammy’s aim is to not restrict himself to any particular genre of music and keep himself open to all kinds of sounds. “The idea is to surprise every listener who walks into Roxy,” he continues. From Jalebee Cartel to Lenny Kravitz, this DJ’s eclectic tastes are reflected in the music he plays.

DJ Anshul: This 24-year-old started DJing after he went to watch a session of the War of the DJs and realised that this was what he wanted to be. His USP is a distinctive sound. He doesn’t just use remixed Bollywood numbers, he also produces new music and makes his own mixes. He plays everything from house to commercial Bollywood and pop and basically everything that has a good beat and groove. The Way I Are by Timbaland and We Gonna Feel It by Deep Dish are among Anshul’s favourites. Catch him at HHI’s Underground.

DJ Miss Cady and DJ Marie Bouret: DJ Miss Cady, 22, started by burning CDs and keeping track of all kinds of new music from around the world. Playing at Buddha Bar, Ibiza, and with DJ Tiesto have been high points of her four-year-old career. She usually works with progressive and groovy tracks with a strong vocal edge and experiments with different kinds of beats — and all with great passion.

DJ Marie Bouret started off as a lawyer who was interested in DJing. Helped by her brother, who is also a DJ, and a short course, she learnt the technicalities to become a full-time DJ. She listens to new music every day and that helps her hone her skills and train her ear. This 28-year-old has been playing for two-and-a-half years now and works with the crowds playing clean beats and a whole range of music from underground, tech-house, minimo-tech as well as techno at a much slower BPM.

Their top picks: The Toucan by Nic Fanciulli, Wonderland — the Superbass remix, Toca’s Miracle by Fragma.

DJ Vicky: DJ Vicky is one of the veterans in the city, having been on the scene for about 13 years now. Entirely self-taught, he was the man behind the lively jam sessions at Anticlock. “I like to play retro, especially the 1970s and 1980s, and my mixes are usually long with 40 to 60 seconds of mixing and looping where two tracks come together through beat matching,” says this 31-year-old DJ. One of his favourites remains Rivers of Babylon and you can be sure to find it in most of his sets. Catch him at Venom on Saturday nights.


t2