Having once performed at Nikhil Chinapa's festivals for free, DJ Arjun Vagale on the growth of EDM in India
Nikhil Chinapa
Nikhil Chinapa
Twenty years ago, a then 19-year-old Arjun Vagale performed at music festivals organised by Nikhil Chinapa without a fee. "They weren't even festivals, they were parties that we performed at to push the culture of electronic dance music in a country less exposed to such sounds," says the DJ, who, today, regularly tours Europe, America and Asia with his music. "Back then, it was DIY. We'd get the speakers, set them up, perform, and unplug them ourselves at the end of the gig," reminisces Vagale.
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Understandably then, few have charted the growth of EDM in India as closely as he has. The country, he says, is now on every international artiste's 'must-visit' list. "We've got world-class DJs coming to India every weekend. It's a major stop on their touring calendar. India was this place that international artistes would just neglect while touring Asia. But, every artiste wants to make a stop-over here today," Vagale tells mid-day on the sidelines of a recently concluded festival.
The curiosity about the goings-on in the country stems from the fact that international artistes are only now beginning to learn of India's deep history with music. "India has an old connection with music, especially EDM. Some trance [music] was developed in Goa in the early '80s."
He also has music aficionados' "open" attitude to credit for making it a favourable hub. 'India is open to my music' — a sentence mid-day heard often from a series of American artistes touring the country, Vagale explains, is evident in their willingness to hop across arenas at a music festival to give other genres "a chance". "Also, Indian fans dig deeper. You throw a cheesy, brash EDM track to them, they'll listen to it. But they'll also source more to find sophisticated tunes with more personality."
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