Nikhil Chinapa

MTV mascot, DJ, VJ, promoter, festival director, radio host, dance music fanatic: Nikhil Chinapa is all of these things and more. But underneath all the various avatars he’s worn in his career, Nikhil is one thing: a believer. A believer that nothing brings people together like dance music. An ambassador for electronic beats and club culture, Nikhil is constantly pushing India as a future dance music capital to some of the world’s most celebrated artists. In the last year alone, Nikhil has persuaded Fatboy Slim, Above & Beyond, Swedish House Mafia, Armin van Buuren, and Tiesto to bring landmark events to Indian ears.

Last week in Delhi, I played a show alongside Funkagenda.

Something happened at the gig that illustrated a broader trend I’ve been seeing in the dance music community over the past few months – something I’m a little concerned about.

There was a gentleman in the audience who spent most of the evening standing with his arms crossed, looking a bit bored.

Then, when Funkagenda played “Spectrum” (a hit track by Zedd that’s become one of the biggest tunes of 2013), this gentleman opened his arms wide, closed his eyes, and sang the song – every single word – as loudly as he could. It was amazing to see him share that enthusiasm with us.

The confusing thing was his extremely muted reaction to the other music that Funkagenda had played. It was almost as if the gentleman in the crowd wasn’t there to hear music that he hadn’t heard before – he was there, waiting for the one big track that he knew.

This is a bit confusing to me. I fell in love with clubbing because to me, going out was about going on a journey with the DJ who was performing. It wasn’t about one or two particular standout tracks. It was about the experience of following the music as it lead us up and down, like a series of waves.

As a DJ, the only thing I can ask for is that the clubbers who walk through the doors and onto the dance floor have an open mind. If they walk into the club with a pre-conceived idea of what they’re going to hear, or what to expect, then they’ll probably be disappointed.

My question is: if clubbers go out with a set of tracks that they want to hear played by the DJ, what’s the point of going out? You can just as easily stay at home and play the tracks yourself.

To me, the magic of going out to a nightclub lies in the sense of excitement and possibility. You don’t know what you’re going to hear, you don’t know what kind of journey the DJ is going to lead you on. You might hear a new song for the first time, a record that changes your life. You might even discover an entirely new genre, or style of music that you didn’t even know you liked.

But when you go out thinking “I have a list of five songs that I hope the DJ plays,” you’re closing yourself off from the possibility of discovering new music, and new ideas.

It’s a tough distinction to make – because people love the big records for a reason. These are the huge songs that become part of our lives, giving give us joy and happiness every time we listen to them. They’re hits because they’re great songs. A good DJ set usually includes one or two big tracks that everyone can sing along to.

But the challenge is to get people to celebrate the big records without ignoring all the other songs that comprise a DJ set – to embrace the journey, not just the destination.

source: http://www.idiva.com / i DIVA / Home> Entertainment / by Nikhil Chinapa / June 19th, 2013