DJ Chris McGuinness serves it up at Soho. Picture by Rashbehari Das

DJ Chris McGuinness from New York was in Calcutta last weekend, playing to a packed Soho crowd on Saturday. He talks of his passion and making music for Bollywood movies like Don and Bhagam Bhag….

How did you get into DJing?
I have always been interested in music; I started playing instruments when I was five years old. I started DJing when I was 15. It’s been 10 years.

Wasn’t 15 a young age for a DJ?
It’s not illegal and some of the best DJs are really very young. The guy who won the international War of the DJs recently is only 13 years old!

Who are your favourite DJs?
DJ Z-Trip from California, DJ Rafik from Germany and DJ Jazzy Jeff, who is the godfather of pub DJing.

What is your speciality as a DJ?
I play a lot of music that is produced or remixed by me. Most DJs start slow and slowly build up the tempo. The hip-hop DJs maintain a fast pace. Electronica DJs build up energy and then deconstruct it. My style is a mix of hip-hop and electronica.

How different are the music and the DJing styles in New York and Calcutta?
There is a lot of variety in New York. In India, people mainly want Bollywood with some known English tracks, like Bryan Adams. The DJs primarily play that. You can’t experiment much. Maybe one needs to play such stuff more and build awareness. This is my first time in Calcutta, but I have heard people here have a knowledge of music.

You have worked on a few Bollywood films. How did that happen?
I have always been interested in India. I was exposed to Indian music very early in my life. I first came to India in 2005 and kept returning. I was working with Nikhil Chinappa when I got offers for the movies. My knowledge of Hindi is restricted. I didn’t understand the words. I knew these were love songs; I needed to know whether they were happy love songs or sad songs… beyond that the language of music is universal.

Would you want to do more Bollywood stuff?
Sure. I just want to do good music.

You are working on your first album…
Yeah. It will have a very different sound. I am blending hip-hop and R&B with Indian music and lyrics. It should be out by early 2008.

Poulomi Banerjee
Who’s your favourite international DJ? Tell t2@abpmail.com