Sound Platter

How did you and D-Code meet?

D-Code and I met at one of Shiva Soundsystem’s warehouse parties. The place was packed with 800 people and at a certain point the crowd split into two,like Moses parting the Red Sea. This huge,luminous,moon-like object appeared just above my eye-line. It was the light bouncing off

D-Code’s massive bald head. I was blinded and bumped into him,he bumped into the decks and made the record skip.

During your punk days with Charged (Nerm’s first band),you made music that wasn’t popular or commercial.

From an early age,I’ve enjoyed being different. It caused a lot of bullying and ostracising,but then at 16 something changed and all the stuff people picked on me for,became cool. Charged was an extension of this. The band was a ball of aggression,confusion,race,sexuality and musical genres — a writhing,angry tornado.

What are some of your earliest memories of music?

My earliest memory of mixing music goes back to when I was seven and I discovered my brother’s old cassette player,which could play two tapes simultaneously. The fact that you could hear two songs at the same time was incredible. The next step was stringing whole songs together and then cutting bits of tape and sticking them back together to make my first ever mixtape at 10. Growing up,music was everywhere. From going to the temple with my parents,to TV and films. Then there were TV shows such as The Word (the show boasts of the first UK appearance of Nirvana and Snoop). And the endless re-runs of Prince’s Purple Rain and Sign ‘O’ The Times.

In its early days,Shiva Soundsystem featured Orifice Vulgatron,who’s now with Foreign Beggars. How was it working with him?

Orifice Vulgatron (aka Pavan Mukhi) is family and,possibly,the only MC that Shiva Soundsystem will ever have. He’s brilliant.

How important is the Indian audience for you? Do you think the past decade has allowed them to open to new sounds?

India is hugely important to me and Shiva Soundsystem. The musical progression of underground sounds seems to be perpetually exciting. An old acquaintance from Mumbai recently told me that it’s a great time to be in the country. I countered that there never was a bad time. As small and embryonic as it may have seemed,or what is happening now will seem,it’s all completely vital.

Shiva Soundsystem will perform at Buddh International Circuit,Greater Noida today,6.20pm onwards and at Magnetic Fields,Alsisar,Rajasthan between

December 13-15.

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