HOW IT HAPPENED

I was in Barcelona last year and met with a DJ in a beach bar in Barceloneta beach, who I first made friends with way back when I was playing in Bangkok. We landed up jamming together and an artiste agency took note of me as they were right there spending a beautiful sunset evening. We chatted and kept in touch via email and Facebook. In July, my wife Mansi and I planned a vacation to Greece and when the agency got to know I would be there, they set up a gig at the Tropicana Beach Bar in Mykonos. I was ecstatic because to make your presence felt in the European or any international market, a DJ needs either a back-up of a record label or a good bank of self-produced tracks to sweep in.

THE RIDE

I reached Tropicana Beach Bar, spent an hour to read the crowd, what they were swinging on and what kind of sounds would move them that moment. After that, it was not very difficult to rock them. Little did I know I was going to be playing alongside the resident DJ for Steve Aoki’s pre-party. Steve is a superstar DJ and world No. 15 and he was at another top club Cavo Paradiso that very night. There were people from all over — Australia, Italy, Morocco, Mexico, Canada — and starting 7.45pm, I gave them an hour’s dose of progressive house and big beats. They sang along on certain tracks, which gave me such a high! I was really taken aback when people met me after my set and asked me where I was from. It was sad to know that they didn’t know where Calcutta was and had heard only of Mumbai and Delhi. They thought I was “made in Spain” until the emcee introduced me as a DJ from India. I’m glad I put my city on the international party map!

HERE VS THERE

The party people out there are no different than the ones in Calcutta — fancy-free and wild. The one thing I bring back from Europe time and again is the way they produce the parties with respect to sound system, lights arrangement and choreographed visuals. In Dubai and India, the focus is more on the look of the club but here, most of the money is spent on good sound systems. Tropicana Beach Bar has 121 speakers and 40 base bins and the sound was awesome. The promoters and club owners realise one thing strongly — music sells and nothing else.

Clubs and music festivals in Calcutta need to work towards giving the crowd an “experience”. Clubbers need to support us by opening their minds to newer sounds and genres of music. Another humble request to clubbers is to segregate socialising and clubbing and I assure you, you’ll see Kaalkoota — as the Europeans call it! — on the world party map.

Where: Mykonos, called the ‘sister of Ibiza’ in Europe when it comes to partying.

Best time to visit: July-October

What’s the party like? Wild and crazy. Paradise Club and Cavo Paradiso are the two top beach clubs in Mykonos. The latter is on top of a cliff and the parties go on till sunrise so the view is just oh-so-wow. It’s 12 degrees Celsius in the summers so you need your winter wear. And the music is to die for.

HEY, MR DJ

“Tomorrowland (the biggest music festival in the world, held in the town of Boom, Belgium) has a massive crowd! Anyone who plays there will definitely have a great time. Everything over there is larger than life... the stage, the production... it’s all huge! And the best part is that music connects everyone over there.”

—       DJ Shogun who played at Nocturne recently

Has played for: Johnny Depp. “I was surprised but then actors in Hollywood just show up and I remember him asking me to play any song that I like. Another celebrity was Charlize Theron in LA, but she did not request for any song... she was enjoying herself and grooving on her own,” says Shogun.

#CLT (Currently Listening To, silly!): OneRepublic, Clarity by Zedd and his new track called Abduction.

Fave nightclubs: Crowbar in Argentina and Privilege in Ibiza.