Out of the Box

“I’m a DJ turned music director,” he says with pride. In town for a performance at Black Magic,DLF Mall,he chats about being in the music industry for over 13 years — deejaying,hitting clubs and parties,mixing music and belting out hit remixes.

“I have been in love with music for as long as I can remember. Deejaying just happened along the way,” says the Mumbai-based artiste.

While Arora always wanted to become a music director,the break did not come easily. Deejaying,meanwhile,kept him involved. “Mixing music behind the console taught me a lot. I developed a sense of sound,learned what works with the crowd and hooked up with other producers to understand music,” says Arora,who now has his hands full with numerous assignments,including the tracks for Mumbai Mast Kallandar,Rohit Roy’s Hotel Park Street,P Kothari’s Nariman Point,Bombay Rockers’ album Let’s Dance,Taz’s album Nach,a single by Band of Boys called Friday Night and Kashmira Shah’s album. Besides this,work for three big banners is also underway. “It was difficult to convince people to give me work initially,since it is rare for a DJ to turn into a music director,” says Arora. He adds,“When I conceptualise a song I know this will be a hit,and this is the voice that can make it.” So for Mumbai Mast Kallandar,Arora shortlisted some of the best playback singers,including Neeraj Shridhar,Saru Maini and KK. The tracks range from soft rock to love ballad,club mixes and upbeat pacy tracks.

“On the international front,I am ready with my first music single,Be Mine Tonight,” says the

musician who has bagged awards like the World DMC Mixing Championship 2000 and Best DJ of North India by Rave Magazine in 2003. He also released three chart topping non-film albums,Vaada,Oriental Craft and Soneya.