Track record

“Everybody knows who a DJ is but one needs to know how to make people dance to their music,” says DJ Akhtar who has been spinning music at Enigma,JW Marriott. Akhtar also imparts part-time lessons to aspiring DJs,and with his protégé DJ Kiran opening a DJ school,he could be imparting more lessons. “Deejaying is a full-time job now and I am happy that the city is opening so many institutes.” Kiran concurs and adds,“My only hope is that we will soon have advanced diploma courses in deejay-ing,like in the west.”

While most schools offer classes in operating music software,instructors like DJ Reji and Joe Azaredo have curricula that include using old-school turntables and vinyl discs,body language,networking and digital music management. “While it is easy to learn to operate the CD players,operating turntables has to be learnt from a professional,” says DJ Amul,who teaches at Azaredo’s DJ academy and performs at Zenzi. Students at his classes learn the technique behind scratching a vinyl record,how to maintain eye contact with the crowd,determine which tracks drive people to the floor and which ones from it,and how to create new tracks on the fly.

Deejaying is not just about mixing two songs and understanding this is the most important part of deejaying,says Amul. “Most people want to be DJs to gain celebrity status,” he says. “They come with the aim of remixing a Bollywood song and getting famous. But you need to have a keen ear for music and understand what’s happening on the dance floor. You have to sense the mood of the crowd.”

But is the job market growing for DJs? “We have contacts with many clubs owners and can help place them. The best of the lot can be absorbed by our own teams and we can take them abroad on our international projects for exposure as well,” says Aqeel.