Ma Faiza at Underground on Saturday. (Bhubaneswarananda Halder)

A piercing on the upper lip, funky nail art and rings, and an arm-load of tattoos covered in a full-sleeved purple shirt teamed with a pink tie.... DJ Ma Faiza makes an intriguing picture. Born in Africa, brought up in London and based in Pune, she took the console at HHI’s Underground on Saturday Night. t2 caught up with the DJ famed for her brand of EDM.

This being your 10th visit to the city, tell us what you like best about Calcutta.

Calcutta had no deadline for partying and that’s the best thing I used to like about the city. Now that the rules have changed, I will say Calcutta has really beautiful girls and a good party crowd! Calcutta knows how to appreciate music.

A place where you love playing:

Bangalore! People love me there and I have plenty of fans. Bangalore really understands music and they participate. They are very much into the gig. In Delhi, people like to stand quietly with a drink and enjoy the music. Bangalore has some crazy fans!

Your take on Bollywood music:

Bollywood movies and award ceremonies abroad have made Hindi music popular, but I feel they still have a lot to catch up on. This is because when an Indian DJ plays abroad, he does so in front of only an Indian audience. Bollywood music is not my genre but then yes, it’s developing.

The party crowd at Underground

Your favourite DJ in India:

There are so many who are so talented but not popular as they play in small clubs.... But among the famous ones, I will say Arjun (Vagale) of Jalebee Cartel, Abhishek from Hyderabad and Kash Trivedi from Ahmedabad are really good!

What does it take to be a good DJ?

Ah! This is a good question. It is a blend of many things actually. Like, there should be a passion about the music that you play. Interaction with the crowd is very important. If communication with the crowd doesn’t happen, it doesn’t make any sense. Spontaneity is very important too. Like when I have an event, I don’t know what I am going to play. I go with the flow. A good DJ is a performer, he needs to feel, look and perform because it’s about the whole experience!

An artiste or a band you would love to work with:

(Long pause) I would like to do something with Skazi (an Israeli psychedelic trance DJ group). I would like to do something completely mental!

One overrated song:

Umm... it is very difficult to say. I don’t play Lady Gaga songs and I never take requests. The music that I play is so off-beat... most people don’t understand the genre of music I play, unless they are DJs. I think Come to India by Indra might pass as an overrated song as people keep requesting for this song.

Describe yourself in three words:

Audacious, excessive and fruity!

Tell us something about yourself that people don’t know...

(Laughs) People know everything about me. They know I am 42 years old, that I am a lesbian and an energy junkie. I think people don’t know that my great grandfather was the Prime Minister of Zanzibar, the spice island!