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Nerm's Travels In India (Part One)
It's been a week since I arrived in India and the place always blows me away. Every year Shiva Soundsystem and I tour India with a mixture of House, Electro, Breaks and Drum & Bass. Every year the audiences get bigger, more responsive and it's that much easier to get to the really heavy, glitchy side of Drum & Bass.
Bollywood is still all pervasive, powerful and controlling. However over the years, as India has prospered, it's citizens have been on the hunt for something new, something different and electrifying.
The electronic alternative music scene has always had an underground fan-base but it seems that now, the home-grown movement is finally breaking into the mainstream.
The recent international Bollywood blockbuster "Don" is a Matrix inspired re-make of a 1970's Amithab Bachchan film whose soundtrack is currently at the number one spot in India. The difference is that it features tracks from two of India's leading electronica producers the Midival Punditz and Funcinternational who have successfully combined their cultural heritage and cutting edge musical ideas.
The gig I played last week with John Digweed was a screaming example of the acceptance of the underground. Every year a well-known drinks company host a series of parties and I've been fortunate enough to play at their Mumbai event for the last three years. They have always been on an Underground vibe, the first two years were massive warehouse-style raves. This year it was held at a Five-Star hotel, the Taj Lands End.
I was really sceptical of the venue but my fears were laid to rest as, despite the opulent surroundings, the party quickly acquired an Underground rave feel. After a quick interview and a promise of an exclusive set for Electro East, John Digweed played a storming electro-tech house set to a packed room while, I'm happy to say, all the "cool kids" were in my room. A blog entry that appeared online the next day describes my audience as:
"A subterranean civilization of gussied-up hipsters erupted spooky-eyed into the light. The M?torhead tee headbanged by an elf in red shrinkwrap, a giraffe in raver hair ties and go-go boots and a fro struggling valiantly through a headband."
It was this crew of ravers that then attracted the "normal" folks who by the end of the night were rocking out to "Switch" by Enduser and "The Apocalypse" by D-Code & Sparfunk. I have never gone that heavy in India before and the crowd's reaction was amazing. As in any set, it was a build up to those tunes, via house and breaks and more, how shall I put it, more "happy" Drum & Bass!The one thing that really got me was that it felt that the gig had bought the Underground that much closer to being the norm. Whether it's a good thing or not waits to be seen but I'm hopeful that it is. Tonight I'm playing Pune (a city 4 hours outside of Mumbai) with D-Code and am hoping we can go to the same left-field extremes. Whatever the outcome I know that, for India, exciting times lie ahead.
NERM
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Comments
Post your commenthey nerm
i'm from bombay
good to know that people here are giving a good response to break beats
i couldn't make it to taj lands end for my exams
and i missed it badly
actually the ads carried only digweed's name and accompanied by shiva soundsystem
what i feel is that shiva soundsystem should have been accompanied by digweed
hey let me tell u
i have grown up listening to talvin singh and joi
and i feel u play some of the best asian break beatz
i have one message for u
KEEP ROCKING!!!
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love all the muslime people love u 2 byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee xxxxxx
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DJ nerm i was at your gig in pune. it is so nice that you are coming to places like pune because we do not get much music like that but it is so COOL when it does come. and the party was rocking. me and my friends had a very nice time. and nikhil rocked too.
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Sounds like Nerm is having a fantastic time in India. Hopefully loads of new music for him to come back and share. Speaking of which, when is he back?...
Good work, man!
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where is the next instalment? tell us more about india and your travels and what you guys get up to. i know what you guys are like, i have partied with you before - don't leave out any of the juicy details please. hot indian chicas!
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More! More! More! And come back soon!
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Asian Music in Britain had undergone changes. I personally think that the world can learn from the British Asian Community.
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