Sound Sense

Skazi had his musical beginnings in Jerusalem in 1990,when he,along with three other friends,formed a punk-rock band called Sartan Ha-Shad,which enjoyed limited success. Leaving the band in 1996,he went solo,starting to drift into the world of trance music while retaining his original heavy sounds. In 1998,he adopted the stage name DJ Skazi and worked towards cutting an album,which eventually released two years later,called Animal.

Speaking about his unique on-stage name,he says,“Skazi was a nickname that I used to go by as a kid. When I decided to go solo,it was the first name that I could think of.” Animal proved to be a revolutionary album of sorts,with Skazi adding guitar riffs to the heavy trance sounds he had created. He went on to produce seven more compilations.

Speaking about his experiences in India,Skazi says,“According to me,India is where trance music was born. Since then,it has only grown,until recently when it exploded onto the world stage. In fact,India is the only place where I can “feel” trance.” He has performed with only one Indian artiste,Vishal Shetty aka V-Shall,till date,but says he is enthusiastic about performing with more. “Trance music having been born here,I feel that trance comes naturally to Indians,which is why I am eager to perform here.”

Skazi after having performed in Delhi and Bangalore will perform in Pune and Mumbai today and tomorrow respectively. He is in India thanks to a competition held by http://www.myfavdj.in,a website that has allowed members to vote,in a six-week poll,as to who their favourite Indian DJ is. He will also be handing away the award to the winner of the poll after his tour concludes in Mumbai tomorrow.

Skazi feels that India,at present,is doing the right thing by holding such competitions so that more artistes can come and perform here. “These competitions convince established performers that a country is serious about that particular art form. In this case,it has convinced me that India is serious about trance,” he says.

And finally when asked the age old,clichéd question about giving advice to aspiring DJs,he gives a quick laugh,and then,suddenly stern,he says,“The first advice I would give an aspiring DJ is to stop talking to me. A DJ has to go out there and produce music. He has to learn how to mix sounds,and how appropriate they are,especially in a country like India,where there is great diversity in cultures and sounds.”

(DJ Skazi will perform at the 1 Lounge,Koregaon,in Pune,today,8 pm onwards)