The popular host caters to EDM junkies in his latest digital show on Jukebox
Nikhil Chinapa has been at the forefront of popularising dance music. He now dons a new avatar in the form of a host of a show titled ‘TGTR (Together) with Nikhil’ at Jukebox, BookMyShow’s audio entertainment platform. The hour -long show will have the VJ, DJ, festival curator and television host share interesting trivia on his favourite dance tracks, discuss the progress of EDM across the globe and also interact on the social media. Aditya Kuber, Associate Vice President of BookMyShow, talking about show says, “Nikhil Chinapa has been one of the pioneers of the EDM movement in India. He’s sure to entertain the EDM lovers, party goers and particularly the young crowd and enrich their music experience on show.” Excerpts from Nikhil’s interaction on hosting the show.
Having hosted shows across various formats, what is the challenge in this digital attempt?
TGTR doesn’t really feel like a challenge because it is an enormous playground. I have been involved in electronic music since the time I would go clubbing in the early 90s; this form of music gives me immense joy. I always wanted to share it with people who didn’t have access to it. So, after I joined MTV in 1997, we started throwing our own parties in Mumbai and created a brand called Submerge. BookMyShow and I worked together on the very first music festival I did in Goa in 2007 and have partnered on several music properties over the years. This opportunity is in line with what I always wanted to do from the early 90s — share music with a larger audience.
Will it facilitate promotion of Indian talent?
Music is music; as long as it is good, it will get played on Jukebox. There will also a focus on highlighting homegrown talent and artistes as we have seen production techniques in India improve and better productions coming out in the past two or three years. But the show is very much global, we will be focusing on playing nothing but great music every week.
Won’t your absence on radio serve as a deterrent on TGTR?
It’s exactly the opposite because you’re talking about people calling a radio station; on BookMyShow Jukebox, we are on a digital platform, people are already on their smartphones and will be responding via tweets, messages on Instagram and Facebook which is something they have already started doing. We have also introduced ‘The Instagram Question of the Week’ where we invite people to ask me a question on my Instagram page and I will be answering on Jukebox. The show is going to be far more interactive because it’s on the digital platform.
How tough is it to maintain a show’s exclusivity amid so many other viewing/listening options?
The fact that there are so many options and everything is available on the internet is exactly where the opportunity lies. The internet can be an extremely daunting place for someone who isn’t accustomed to it or is just curious about trying to find new music. That’s why more people are experimenting with music forms, art forms, and fashion which wasn’t really available to earlier . By creating curated playlists from trusted sources (like me), it becomes easier for someone to tap into the first level of dance music and then go on to explore on their own. Also during the show, I will be directing people to several places on the internet and several artists they can follow and hopefully we will be able to build a larger community together.
How do digital streaming/talent portals contribute in encouraging newer talent?
There are several success stories of people who have been discovered on digital platforms across the world. Being a musician in this era is an extremely exciting prospect because it allows a song writer or a music composer or a singer of quality to be discovered without the help of a god father or a large music label. I genuinely believe that if you have talent, you could be recording a song in your bedroom in New Zealand and posting it out and then it becomes a worldwide smash.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Entertainment> Music / by Srivathsan Nadadhur / January 02nd, 2018
