Kolkata to Jammu — Kshmr kept Sunburn arena on its toes on Friday!
Kolkata to Jammu — Kshmr kept Sunburn arena on its toes on Friday!
“When I was young I tried fitting in and being an American, but as I grew older, I thought more about my heritage and I felt that to be different in some way was more of a gift than a curse. And so in my music, I wanted to incorporate instruments and things that I fell in love with in India,” said KSHMR — the star DJ who rocked Sunburn Arena, in association with t2, at Aquatica on Friday.
TT Bureau
Published 31.10.17, 12:00 AM
“When I was young I tried fitting in and being an American, but as I grew older, I thought more about my heritage and I felt that to be different in some way was more of a gift than a curse. And so in my music, I wanted to incorporate instruments and things that I fell in love with in India,” said KSHMR — the star DJ who rocked Sunburn Arena, in association with t2, at Aquatica on Friday.
With an official footfall of around 5,000, the city danced to the beats of Niles Hollowell-Dhar, the present World #12 DJ (DJ Mag 2017).
From churning out the best of his songs like Wildcard, Dharma, Secrets, Harder and the current track Underwater, 29-year-old KSHMR also played Bolly songs like Ek do teen char, Kajra re, Jimmy Jimmy and Malhari.
“My tour has been going great! I have made so many friends when I play at shows... the amount of people who have been coming... the energy... I am grateful,” KSHMR told t2 backstage.
Sporting shades, KSHMR took the stage at 8.45pm, churning out Kolkata with Mariana playing the violin.
“Everybody... I want to see your phone lights on,” he said before he dropped the bass.
From jumping off the stage to constantly pepping up the crowd to playing a kick-ass set... the DJ juggled it all.
“Thank you so much for coming... I just want to say one thing… I grew up coming to India as a kid, I was raised in the US and when I used to visit my family here, I would tell my family that my world is very small in India… but you guys have made my world so f***ing big! Every time I come here… it’s like millions of fans I make through music and we connect that way and I really appreciate it. I love you guys and I’m so grateful,” signed off KSHMR.
“Hello Kolkata kemon acho? Ami Jai Wolf, New York city theke aschi, this is my first time in the city, thank you!” said DJ Jai Wolf as he opened for KSHMR. The songs that got the crowds raging? Indian Summer, Starboy and Afterhours.
Organisers Dhruv Todi (left) and Anshul Chauhan (right) of RhythmBox with Karan Singh of Sunburn.
Violinist and DJ-producer, Mariana Bo, who took the console after Skytec, kept the crowd on its toes with tracks like Shape of You and We Will Rock You.
Ruffled-sleeve top, denims with fishnet patch and Mickey Mouse sneakers —Raima Sen cut a chic picture at the VVIP lounge. “Mickey Mouse prints are on trend! I love them,” said the actress.
Sporting chocolate cherry hair colour, Sonam Dolkar Seth (left) came with a gang of 11! “Honestly I am here for Jai Wolf as I have been following him for a year and the best moment was when he played Indian Summer!” said the Class XI student with her cousin Norzin.
Somdutta Paul has been following KSHMR for months. “He is too good with his music. I loved when he played my fave Dharma... I was so waiting for it,” said the college student.
Glitter face and bindi intact, Preeti Roychowdhury was music-festival ready. “Besides the music, I liked how KSHMR is so rooted to India. Be it wearing a kurta or playing Dadima to the introductory stories in Hindi, everything was so Indian,” said the businesswoman.
The VVIP section manned by Phoenix had a ‘legendary’ guest — Arsenal footballer Sol Campbell, spotted enjoying the music and chatting with Saharsh Parekh.
“We love music concerts and have attended almost all of them in the city. KSHMR was good, especially the Indian touches in his music... we danced so much,” said friends Nitya Beria, (right) Avantika Singh and (left) Khushi Goenka who look up to Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid for their fashion.
There was no stopping Kanak Lata Pathak from swaying to Mandala.“KSHMR is not only sharp-looking, he stumped everyone when he played played Bolly songs like Kajra re and Ek do teen! His music is extremely groovy and the desi beats make them absolute dance numbers,” said the student who “loves following t2”.
The crowd went berserk when KSHMR played Mandala, Festival of Lights and Bazaar.
