The landscape of Electronic music in India

Rufy Ghazi, aka Lady Ruffelin

In this guest post, Keakie’s Asia Curator Rufy Ghazi (aka Lady Ruffelin) shares her perspective of the Electronic music scene in her home country of India.

You can trace India’s association with Electronic music back to 1982 when Charanjit Singh produced one of the most fascinating albums in the genre’s history called Ten Ragas To A Disco Beat. By the time my own journey into the scene began, 28 years later, Electronic music had grown large enough to sell out festivals across the subcontinent. It was at one of these, in particular, the Nh7 Weekender, which changed my life forever in 2010. I stumbled across the Pepsi Dub Station stage and its Electronic lineup and experienced a love-at-first-sight moment. For the three days of the festival, I hopped between here and the Eristoff Wolves Den, another stage catering to similar tastes, obsessed with the new sounds I was hearing. Over the years, my obsession with the genre has continued to grow, matched only by its spread across the length and breadth of India.

Pune: Festival Capital

Let’s begin with Pune, a city which played an essential part in my discovery of the scene. With its close association with literature and art, a young crowd and youthful energy, it has rightly earned the nickname, “​​Oxford of the East”. For this reason, Pune has always been an integral part of the country's tour circuit. It is also known as the festival capital of the country, hosting the country’s major festivals, the aforementioned Nh7 Weekender and Vh1 Supersonic. Performance spaces such as High Spirits, newly opened antiSocial, and key players like event and artist management agency Maushi (Maucast out on Keakie shortly) have all been on a mission to revolutionise the city’s scene.

Crowds at Nh7 Weekender in Pune, India

Bombay: Iconic Performance Spaces

Right next door is Bombay (I still prefer it to Mumbai), the city with limitless opportunities and my original home turf. It all started with a few passionate people, and those legends, places, and parties are still remembered – The Zenzi bar that hosted weekly parties (thanks to Kris Correya) and the parties organised by Bhavishyavani Future Soundz at Razz Rhino. This was followed by a sensational era of Blue Frog, a venue that took the game to the next level and transformed the music experience for the city. Around this time, there was an influx of new venues, agencies and festivals catering to the high demand for Electronic music. Brands like Krunk (whose guest mix series is available to listen to on Keakie), The Wildcity, Wavlngth, Submerge, Unmute, Regenerate and Slick were born to introduce various sounds to the country’s audience, from Drum & Bass to Techno, House and all in between and around.   

My favourite venue, however, remains antiSocial; a dedicated alternative performance space that has supported the Indian sub-culture as well as underground Electronic music since its inception in 2015. It is the primary hotspot for all things music and, during my days in the city, you could find me on the dancefloor 4-5 times a week. (Hold tight as The antiSocial Experience is set to arrive on Keakie.)

Boys Noize plays at antiSocial

Delhi: Birthplace Of The Pioneers

Delhi has always been a key location for Indian Electronic music since the early 2000s when Jalebee Cartel emerged as a force on the scene, challenging the notion that dance music is a Western domain with their fresh compositions. But when DJ and producer Su Real returned to India in 2008 after spending time in New York, he found almost no performance spaces that catered to the independent music that he loved. Café Morrison was the only ray of light in Delhi’s scene where reputed acts like Delhi Sultanate, Midival Punditz and Bandish Projekt gave their early performances. This is also where the Desi Bass movement was born, updating the ‘Asian Underground’ formula of fusing Indian Folk and Bollywood with Dance music from the West.

Su Real

Su, amongst a few others, made it his mission to change this, and in 2009 started programming events at The Living Room, which opened in Hauz Khas Village. New wave artists like Prateek Kuhad (the face of Indian Indie Pop), Dualist Inquiry and iconic bands like Ska Vangers would regularly perform at the venue. As Su describes it, TLR was the centre of the underground and independent scene in Delhi, a local phenomenon.

Cut to now, and Boxout Wednesday at Auro is one party Su religiously attends. Auro is programmed by Sanil Sadan, a.k.a Film, and Boxout founded by DJ Mo City (Boxout started as an online radio station, now archives the sounds of independent India). With over 200 editions, Boxout Wednesdays is an essential stop for any international artist touring the country. Soho Delhi and Diablo joined the lineup of venues that have strongly impacted the city’s underground music landscape in a short period.

Hyderabad: City Of Superclubs.

Moving further south, Hyderabad is home to superclubs such as Prism and Block 22, though it all began with a small club on its outskirts called Treasure Island. Pioneers from the city like Murthovic played there to a handful of people and eventually a few venues opened in the town to serve the growing Electronic music community. Currently, Tabula Rasa is a reputed venue for the underground scene that has also hosted Qilla Records’ Sacred Alchemy parties.

Madhav Shorey, aka Kohra

The mastermind behind the multi-sensory experience is Madhav Shorey, aka Kohra, the founder of Qilla Records (Qilla Fortcast is out with its 9th episode on Keakie). Madhav mentions Hyderabad as one of his favourite cities to play in as it has become the first home for his label with friends and loyalists, unlike any other city, even though his night is a modular club/venue night and festival.

Alchemy aims to provide a stage to emerging and homegrown talent in India’s underground electronic scene whilst bringing in international talents. It supports a variety of genres like Techno, Electro, Ambient, Breaks, and more.

Talking about the label’s inception with Madhav, he mentions that during his days in Australia as a design student, he discovered incredible labels that weren’t only trying to push their distinct style of music but also worked as a collective. This sense of community and independence together inspired the idea of Qilla over a decade ago. With its distinct visual identity and forward-thinking releases, the label has endorsed many prolific artists from the country, such as Monophonik, Film and Midnight Traffic.

Qilla Record’s Sacred Alchemy night at Tabula Rasa, Hyderabad

Bangalore: Record Label & Club Night Innovations

Bangalore, in the southern part of India, has been the cultural backbone of the country and has contributed greatly to Indian Jazz in the 80s & 90s. Enter the wave of Electronic music, venues like Humming Tree and bFlat Bar carved their own niche and supported the scene. It’s here that Consolidate Records was born, a collective and record label started by Aniruddh Menon and Rahul Giri that gave an open floor to Experimental and Ambient soundscapes of Electronic music. A few incredible talents that have had their releases on the label are Rhl_, Disco Puppet and Warms’ Cottage. I would highly recommend that readers click on these links to tune in.

Stalvart John, Dynamite Disco Club founder

Bangalore is also where the Dynamite Disco Club party was born, creating a universe for House and Disco music in the city. (tune in to their mixes on Keakie). Stalvart John, the founder of this wonderfully themed extravaganza, says they wanted to create a community of music enthusiasts, along with an inclusive and safe space for everyone, by maintaining their top priority, “to make people dance”. You will find influences of Classic Disco, Jazz Funk, Soul, Afro, and hints of Chicago House, Detroit Funk and Philly Soul at their events. 

Bangalore being his home city, Stalvart loves it. He describes the crowd as people who “always have their groove on and are always ready!” It’s this love and dedication to take the scene forward and inspire others; it took him over a year to brainstorm the idea of Dynamite Disco Club and bring it to life. And clearly, that dedication is evident - from when the gig is announced to the last track played, it is an unmatched experience.

The dancefloor at a Dynamite Disco Club night

Goa: Beyond The Tourist Paradise

Talking about playing gigs, a few of my memorable shows in Goa (which I currently call home) have been at Prana and Hideaway. Both places are restaurants that convert into performance spaces on event nights. They have hosted international talents such as Jitwam, Dawud, Nikki Nair, Jay Carder and many others. Goa’s music scene has evolved from the trance raves of the mid-1990s to hosting Asia’s biggest Electronic festival, Sunburn, and it’s finally finding its permanent place in the underground gig circuit. Being one of the country's most popular tourist destinations for domestic and international travellers, Goa parties range from a psychedelic Trance rave at Pinakin, a Techno party at Glory, a Disco>ery gig at Verandah and way too many others.

Greater Than The Sum Of Its Parts

As the nightlife culture continues to expand and absorb the nation's youth, the most significant improvement has been the establishment of a touring circuit within the country. Now an album launch or an international tour can be planned through Delhi - Chandigarh - Jaipur - Indore - Mumbai - Pune - Goa - Bangalore - Hyderabad - Chennai - Vizag - Kolkata - Guwahati – Shillong, possibly with a few other stops in between. Besides the gig circuit, India has dedicated music festivals for Electronic music. From Wildcity’s Magnetic Fields at the glorious Alsisar palace in Rajasthan to Vh1 Supersonic, which takes over the Mahalaxmi Lawns in Pune (more recently, it has branched into other genres), Slick bringing DGTL to India, Krunk’s Bass Camp Festival travelling to all corners of the country and Regenerate’s Far Out Left at the historical Great Eastern Mills in Bombay; there is one serving all genres, sub-genres, communities, and trends.

But, most importantly, it’s the people that make the scene. Talking about community, Su gives a shout-out to all the OGs that paved the path for the current scene to flourish, so all genres and niches could have their place. He says, poetically, “My gaze spans across the fields where a million different colours of flowers are blooming. It took just a few drops of blood, sweat and tears to turn the cultural desert into a wild jungle with the strangest fauna and flourishing flora.”

Stalvart rightly points out the loop of “give and take”; he believes that the more you give to the community, the more you will receive. He is doing his part to serve the community through his efforts with the record label, mentorship, and upcoming charity programmes.

Madhav/Kohra, too, believes in actively contributing to the community. With over a decade-long involvement and commitment to the local scene, his intent has always been to unite people and crews. He says, “I firmly believe that we’re all quite the same, and it’s more enjoyable to grow together. Only through our community can we ensure we're on the right track; it's all a work in progress.”  

From being in the crowd and cheering endlessly to working as a music professional in the industry and DJing, I have witnessed immense growth of our closely-knit scene over the past 13 years. It is the dedication and passion of so many that we now see the most prominent artists touring the country and, as Keakie’s Asia Curator, I get to bring this talent to the attention of a global audience.

Check out the Indian Subcontinent catalogue on Keakie and stay tuned for more!