‘Diljit Dosanjh has set a really high benchmark for all Indian artists’: Keyboardist Clinton Charles opens up on Coachella performance

“Just a few minutes before we could begin, one of the American technical crew members accidently plugged out a wrong cable that ended up being my keyboard’s output. It took five minutes to rectify that error. We started late but Diljit did really well to cover up for the lost time and everything went smoothly,” he said.

Being the playback engineer of the show and the main keyboardist, it was a nervous moment for Clinton but he didn’t lose his calm at that moment.

 

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“It definitely was a little stressful but I wasn’t nervous because none of this was in my hands and I had no control over it. I am glad that the technical crew managed to rectify the error in the nick of time and everything went ahead as planned. They came up to us after the show and they apologised. I am glad that this didn’t have any major impact on the show.”

Clinton reveals that they rehearsed for two days before the final performance to keep the execution and performance in check. Diljit and the crew were given 40 minutes to perform their set as opposed to a standard 2 hour time at other concerts or shows. Several videos surfaced showing the audience grooving to Diljit’s songs.

The musician has come back with great memories and experience as he says, “It is the biggest stage that I have set a foot on, not only because there were a lot of people over there but it was because we were representing the country.

Recalling one of his favourite moments from the performance, Clinton says, “We have this song called Patiala Peg and it’s very folk, groovy Punjabi song”. I looked at the audience I could see popular DJ Diplo dancing with his group. There were a lot of people from different countries dancing to the song. At that moment I realised that we have done some so unique that people from all over the world have been able to connect with our music even though they don’t understand or speak the language.”

Diljit and the team performed twice at the Coachella 2023 festival, with both the performances going viral on social media. Many video clips from the performance showed the audience dancing to the tracks but for the team a special moment came when the audience present there started singing with Diljit.

 

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“A lot of the things that we did were planned but one really beautiful moment that was unplanned was that when he was singing the song Vibe, we had the entire crowd sing the chorus of Vibe, which is very catchy. That was one of the key moments of the concert for me,” says Clinton, who has performed at several concerts with Indian artists such as Neha Kakkar, Adnan Sami, Jonita Gandhi and Armaan Malik, among others.

Both of the performances were a few days apart during the music festival and while the first one was already popular, one would imagine the pressure of the musical crew to keep up the momentum with the second performance too. However, Clinton says it was the other way around for him and they were more familiar with the stage, audience and what to expect.

Clinton can’t stop praising Diljit, who he believes has taken Indian music to a different level. “I think Diljit has set a benchmark really high for all Indian artists. From this point onwards, when you represent India on such a global level, you are not only showcasing your music but you are showcasing the culture of your country,” says Clinton.

He adds, “It’s commendable that Diljit executed everything so flawlessly at such a big festival, despite tremendous pressure.”

For Clinton, performing at Coachella gave him a lot of exposure. He says, “I got to watch a lot of different acts from across the world. I met the pianist Robert Glasper, I had a chance to watch him and that was a really great set. Apart from that I also had a chance to watch The Kid Laroi, who was also performing on stage right after us and I could meet his team and interact with them. You get to meet other bands and new people and it’s really great.”