DJ’s Are The New Culture Curators

If you’re tapped into the music scene, it’s likely that at some point, a dope DJ mix has put you on to a song or genre that you’ve never been exposed to before. With the hit that the live music business took after COVID, DJs are pulling people back out to the club and getting more people to listen to extended DJ sets on YouTube. For what seems like more than ever before, the definition of a good night out for a lot of people is catching one of your favorite DJs spinning at a local venue—which is precisely what the music industry needs to profile newer and out-of-the-box artists and create genre blends outside of the norm.

We’re seeing it, especially from South Asian artists around the globe with the Indo Warehouse events by Kahani, Yung Singh performing at Coachella, and Jyoty touring internationally. Not only that, many DJs are building bridges between genres in real life, but also on social media. Think, LA-based music collective No Nazar’s blending of Amapiano and Bollywood, or Toronto’s Sikh Knowledge who melds Punjabi folk with 90s and 2000s reggae and R&B. While Indo-Western fusion music has been around since the early colonial era, the recent global success of Tesher’s Young Shahrukh, which was picked up by Sony Music India and Jalebi Baby which scored a collab with Jason Derulo have completed shifted what we thought was possible for fusion mixes. 

TikTok has proven to be a fertile ground for these mixes. AJ Wavy’s Hotline Bling x Lal Ghagra and Farooq Got Audio’s drill mix of Ramta Jogi have cumulatively racked up over 25 million views on YouTube alone. Our tastes are reflective of who we are, and DJs are helping people find belonging in the multitude of music genres that so many of us grew up on. For me, listening to hip-hop and R&B is just as much a part of my identity as the UK Punjabi music of the early aughts that I listened to with my family. 

@zeemuffin_

In Novemeber 2023 I opened for Raf Saperra and closed out my set with the only song every DJ should be playing in every set until Palestin... See more

It’s not just about the music, either. This newer wave of DJs is also creating space to advocate for the cultural and political issues that matter most to them—like Black Lives Matter and the Farmer’s Protests. Most recently, DJs around the world have used their sets to advocate for Palestine, using the song “Dami Falasteeni,” which has become synonymous with Palestinian liberation.  

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Kalki 2829 AD - Trailer for India’s Most Expensive Film Just Released.

Brace yourself because the anticipated trailer for Kalki 2898 AD is here! Starring Prabhas, Amitabh Bachchan, and Deepika Padukone, this sci-fi pan-Indian project is set in a futuristic post-apocalyptic world. The last remaining city of Kasi is ruled by a totalitarian regime and revolves around the tenth and final avatar of the Hindu deity Lord Vishnu, named Kalki.

Based on the trailer, it seems like Kalki has a visual style similar to the Dune and Mad Max franchises, but this time grounded in Hindu mythology, promising a cool blend of mythological and dystopian elements.

Can India Get Sci-Fi Right?

Hindu mythology in Indian cinema has huge potential yet remains largely unexplored. In the last few years, attempts at high-budget mythology-based Bollywood movies have failed to impress audiences and at the box office. 

Brahmastra and Adipurush are prime examples of extravagant mythological movies that audiences rejected in the past couple of years due to bland screenplays and directorial choices. Even a movie with great VFX and a great concept can be rejected by the audiences if the story is not well-executed.

Kalki’s potential success could signal a new era for Indian cinema, proving that high-budget, mythologically themed films can captivate modern audiences. The filmmakers have a huge responsibility, as the success or failure of this film could impact the future of mythology-based pan-Indian movies. If successful, it will pave the way for more ambitious sci-fi projects. 

New Music Discovery

• Arooj Aftab released a new album called Night Reign

• Talwinder drops a New Single AJA

• Jay Sean & Jai Dhir collaborate on Piche Piche

• Ikka collaborates with Karan Aujla on House Of Lies and Guru Randhawa on Who’s That Girl, both songs from his new album Only Love Gets Reply.

• PDNY's new song 3:45 

• New Indian-Moroccan collab song, Zaalima dropped by Belgian singer Dystinct x Shreya Ghoshal

• Rahul releases a trippy video for his track “Widdit”

• REHMA drops “Diva” with a side of some incredibly crafted short films.

Other News

• The Ambani family is having another pre-wedding celebration, this time on a 4-day cruise from Italy to France.

• M. Night Shyamalan’s daughter, Ishana Shyamalan, makes her directorial debut with the horror movie Watchers

• Karan Aujla appeared on the BeerBiceps podcast to talk about his upbringing, artistry and married life.

• Payal Kapadia wins the prestigious Grand Prix Award at Cannes.

• This week marked the 20th anniversary of the 2004 Bollywood movie Hum Tum

• Anasuya Sengupta creates history and becomes the first Indian to win Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival.

Written By Jeevan Sangha & Upkar Singh