Moving the Right Way

DJ Akhil Talreja might not have gone on a hunger strike like Anna Hazare did,but he lets his music to do the talking. Talreja made news recently after he remixed various speeches of anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare,blending it with the devotional number,Raghupati raghav raja ram. The song was titled Anna Hazare mix. “I am a true nationalist and a fan of Anna Hazare. So,when Anna started this movement,I wanted to show solidarity,and that’s why the song,” says Talreja,who recently performed at Buzz in Chandigarh’s Sector 17.

Currently working on his album,Re Run Volume 2 ,Talreja’s strength lies in his own signature style,‘the tapori mix’,and on his favourite genre of music — house,Bollywood and Punjabi tracks. “A good deejay will always be clear about his genre first,only then can he/ she concentrate on making music,” he says. If a client asks him to play anything other than these genres,Talreja refuses. “The first and the only rule of a deejay is to pull the crowd to the dance floor and never make them leave. Deejays are often accused of being copycats,not being music directors,but I challenge everyone to stand here and remake music,deliver a hit and make the song famous. It requires a lot of creativity,especially now where too many deejays have sprung up and one has to be the best,” he adds.

When not deejaying,he gives classes in DJing. As brand ambassador and course director of Party Map,a Navi Mumbai based deejay academy,Talreja,who is also an MBA,is preparing future deejays. He started deejaying at the age of 17 in 2001 and became an overnight success with the remix,Tenu le ke jaana from the film Jai Veeru . Known for his spin attack in the commercial Bollywood and House genre,Talreja’s music moves from swing to progressive creating havoc on the dance floor.