Dj Loopkin

DJ Loopkin has been making many trips to Indian clubs of late and has learned a lot about Indian crowds, the party scene and Indian DJs. He feels that Indian electronic music has a long way to go.

“In Europe, people have exposure to a variety of electronic music and they react more to subtle tricks and effects. The DJ needs to be very creative to impress them and take them through a journey with their music,” he says, adding, “in India, the crowd reacts more to the beat and they often dance offbeat! The electronic music scene being quite new in India, there are more and more people who are looking for new musical experiences. This brings about a good vibe at parties. It’s the time for discovery, which for any DJ is the best time.”

He thinks that the DJs in India need some more time to evolve. “Most of the new DJs now play on a laptop because they think it’s easier but they still haven’t discovered the unending possibilities offered by the new interface. They have been overcome by the machine and can be easily replaced by robots — instead of picking up the vibe by interacting with the crowd they are constantly looking at the screen.”

What about the whole lot of new DJs who are experimenting with new sounds. “The emotion from the music played by the new generation of DJs is increasingly more difficult to perceive. There are few DJs and producers in India who can play live and communicate their emotions by channelling the features of the machines they use,” he says.

Even the clubs, according to him, can do much better than they have done so far. “The Mumbai party scene is in the hands of venue owners and very few of them have a vision to share with their clientele. The venue owners need to sit with the artists for a better common understanding. When that happens, the party scene will become more interesting.”

But he has great things to say about some like the Bombay Elektrik Project who are making great efforts in this area. “Mumbai needs a musical electro-shock. All of Mumbai’s digital artists including owners should meet under one banner for the electronic scene to become interesting. This is what the Bombay Elektrik Projekt is doing across the country,” he says.