Top 10 Bollywood Holi songs.

Catching up with the colorful festive season, here is my list of top 10 Bollywood Holi songs.
In no particular order of course.

1. Rang Barse - Silsila 
2. Holi Ke Din - Sholay
3. Aaj Na Chhodenge - Kati Patang
4. Holi Khele Raghuvira - Baghban
5. Dil Mein Holi Jal - Zakhmee
6. Arre Ja Re Hat Natkhat - Navrang
7. Ang Se Ang Lagana - Darr
8. Holi Aayi Re Kanhai - Mother India
9. Let's Play Holi - Waqt  
10. Soni Soni - Mohabbatein 

How to choose the best New Year's Eve party for yourself in 5 points.

1. Choose the music you would like to dance to. Many DJs perform during this time of the year and you can be spoilt for choice. Always a safer bet to try out a familiar name. Foreign acts are a good choice too. Always advisable to know, what music the act is going to be spinning on that night. Do not get too experimental. 
2. The venue plays a vital role. Choose one according to your budget and entertainment offered. Most 5 star hotels provide a wide array of entertainment and other local venues too have something special on the night. Get enough information before hand about security, parking and the host. A few venues also offer a separate play area for kids on that night. And a few offer a drop back facility, best if you want to get really high.
3. Unlimited liquor and dinner is usually included as package in the tickets bought. When buying tickets ask which brands of liquor are being served and cuisine offered. Adequate bar service area and a well spread buffet is a good choice. Nobody likes scrambling for their drinks.
4. Sit down dinners, with entertainment are also hosted by many 5 star hotel venues. So if that is what you looking for, then head to such a destination only. If the tickets include only entry, it is better to know the menu and pricing, so you do not end up paying hefty at the venue. 
5. Its advisable to check how the venue/host and entertainer performed at the last year's gig. Feedback from friends is a good way knowing. 

As for me, will be performing at a stylish 5 star venue in Bangalore this year. 

The Opening act and getting it right.

Played an opening DJ set for the very talented singer Shaan on 30th April, 2011 at Palace Grounds, Bangalore. Playing right before such a big artist does give you its jittery moments, when planning and performing. I too had mine.

Here are a few pointers which might help DJs in the future and also give an insight to my friends, as to what goes into such a performance.

1) Sound check well in advance and take a brief from the major artist before performing. Most artists have a few queries about the music you maybe opening for them.
2) Do not play tracks that belong to the artist performing. Leave them to the artist alone.
3) People have paid to watch the headlining act and not really you. Yes that is a fact and you have to accept it. Saying that, it only makes your job tougher.
4) Promote the artist headlining when playing your opening set, do not talk about yourself, instead build a hype around the major artist. This helps in relating to the crowd at that moment and yes they will tolerate you a few more minutes.
5) I am of the belief that any opening act should not be more than an hour. After this the crowd does get restless. I played for 45 minutes which was just perfect.
6) Yes you will have to try harder than the usual too woo the crowd. So prepare that monster set, without jeopardizing the bigger act.
7) Most mass events are very commercial in nature, especially the Bollywood ones, Thus do not play too dark/intense set. I personally like to keep it very simple and popular for such events.
8) Yes last but not least have a lot of fun on stage. And show the crowd how much you too are anticipating for the major artist to take over.

Hope the above pointers helped. I had a great time and next looking forward to open for the hugely popular Mohit Chauhan in June!

Why is the DJ not playing my requests ?

For a few may seem rude that the DJ would not play requests or rather play them after a really long wait. Keeping it simple am gonna try explain why :-

1) Dance music is tempo based or as technically described B.P.M based. Suppose a DJ is playing this super tune by Michael Jackson. The tempo of this track being 110 B.P.M . Now if there is a request to play this awesome tune by Tiesto, which has a 140 B.P.M . It would be a disastrous mix, in order to merge the two tracks together. It would sound really bad to the ear speeding up one tune or lowering the tempo of the other drastically. Usually results in a break of flow and yes an empty dance floor. Unless you are looking for a cut/paste DJ like this.

2) A DJ set is also genre based. So if a DJ is playing for instance Hip Hop music, a request for some Techno at the time is not such a good idea. The DJ will take time till he moves on to the other genre. So you will need to be patient.

3) Now if the B.P.M and genre of the track requested for is within range, a DJ still might take some time to play the request. Cause each track has their own feel. For instance let us check out this popular track by Yolanda and another by Edward Maya. Both these tunes are of the same tempo and genre called house music. But I personally will not mix em one after another, as the first tune has a far superior floor filler kinda feel to it and I would play it early on in my set. I would mix this with a tune similar. The second tune will come in much later in the set and I would rather mix it with a tune that goes something like this.

4) There is also an important concept of mixing in key. This is essential for a smooth transition, irrespective of the tempo or genre. Most good DJs will follow this rule while mixing at a club.

5) Most DJs strive to achieve a technically excellent set. This is the biggest reason why one would not take a request. Also, I am a firm believer that in a Club you must let the DJ do his job. Whereas, in a private party one can bend the rules a little and play by the ear.

Keep these points in mind next time you are out partying. You will know just when to ask the right tune. For the record I do take requests. Cheers!

A Bollywood star wedding - An experience.

So I played for Bollywood star Vivek Oberoi's wedding sangeet last week, the most high profile event in my calendar this season. It was important I perform beyond what is usually expected, it's not everyday you get to play for an event this kind. Also, very rarely does a DJ from Bangalore is asked to play for a star wedding, with Mumbai being the Bollywood hub.
I was blocked 2 months ago for the event by the bride's side (Alva's). My brief was very minimal at the time - play Bollywood and bhangra. The research side of it came into play from my end. Every movie of the star I watched, every song I acquired. What was important that I not only have his hit tunes but also those rare gems. Homework done I was confident yet the jitters were there, owing to the magnitude of the event.
I met the man himself a day before the big day, he was very accommodating and I was told to just spin "fun stuff". Now that did put some fears to rest. The sound check was done, the set up was enormous.
I started my set after the extremely talented and world class percussionist Sivamani's performance. He was thrilling the audience and I had to match up. My set started with Vivek's popular tune Aye Ganpat. Now that got the crowd really moving. Every few tunes were followed by a tune from his movies. What mattered was I keep the crowd in its toes. Mind you, it was a mixed crowd, from the Bollywood fraternity to the top glitterati from all over India. And that ain't an easy crowd to please. The media had hounded me for days as to which tunes I was gonna play. The man has had his share of controversies but I ain't gonna discuss bout that. For the record I played every popular Bollywood tune of every actor.
My set moved from Bollywood tunes to commercial house music, by now I had a sense of what the crowd needed and it was smooth flow. The high point of the set was when Vivek and Priyanka (the bride) came on stage and did an impromptu sequence. After this point it was smooth till the end.
I was thanked for my performance by Vivek Oberoi himself, in fact he tried a hand to DJ too (the pic above) . Job well done I packed, and yes breathed at last.

How to choose the right DJ for your private party.

Ok here are a few tips on how to choose the right man for the job. Just thought might help.

1) Plan your budget first. How much you would like to spend on a DJ ? Most celebrity DJs charge INR. 25,000/- upwards per event. Amateur DJs wold cost you anywhere between INR. 5000/- to INR. 10,000/- for an evening.
2) Whats the music genre you are looking out to be played at your party. Make it very clear to the DJ at first, what your major chunk of evening should sound like. Most DJs will oblige/refuse depending on their comfort level with a particular genre. I personally recommend a DJ who plays most genres without fuss.
3) Its always a good idea to hire someone you have heard earlier or as been recommended by a friend. But do venture out and hear a few new DJs before u close in the deal.
4) Make it very clear to the DJ what the occasion is all bout. He may just not have the birthday song on that very night ;)
5) Most sound vendors have a set favorite DJs. Do not always adhere to their fancies. Meet em once before confirming.
6) One final event brief to the DJ is utmost important before any party.
7) Social networking sites are a good way of checking out the work done by a DJ and also his/her popularity.
8) Ask for a technical rider of the DJ before confirming the sound vendor. Most DJs have their favorite vendors. If you can get a great package. Block em. Saves the trouble of dealing with many vendors.
9) Make the decibel levels clear to a DJ at the time of booking. You really would not like your house windows shattered by the end of the evening.
10) Just coz a DJ plays well in a club does not necessarily make him a good DJ for a private event, which are always more demanding.

It aint easy being a DJ.

Just thought of jotting down a few occupational hazards from my experiences so far.

1) There will always be this one guy in a party who will want u to play a track on repeat mode, oblige only at the cost of being slaughtered by the rest.
2) Answering to natures call, pushing oneself through a packed dance floor and making it before the track ends is not a very pleasant experience.
3) Playing at a budget club where the booth monitors are non existent and the speakers are from China. God bless you.
4) Your girlfriend turning up just when u have a wet T-shirt crazy fan on the console with u. Hmmm...your history.
5) A flying bottle from the novice flare bartender hisses right past you. You cannot get lucky always.
6) My first DJ console resembled more of a cashiers desk, yup was asked for bills too.
7) You remember your regular clubbers names by the words "DUDE" and "BABES".
8) Did I mention at the night of your big event, the dog u just bought has nibbled away your favorite pair of headphones.
9) To ease the tension before an event, you gulp down many a pegs and now u cant even stand let alone think.
10) Oh was it a Bollywood night?!! Crap I bought only my House music set of CD's.