As a lead up to the Universal Religion 2012 Edition, we are going to be releasing exclusive interviews with your favorite artists. Some of them you may have seen before, some you shall have the joy of catching this April in Nepal ! This is simply a space to “Know Your Artist”, the person behind the music and the soul behind the sound.
For someone who has destroyed dance floors regularly in India, plus this being his fourth edition at the Universal Religion stage in 2012, we are all looking forward to another stomping set from Jehan Johar. Read on to know more …
Being a Goa baby, tell us a little bit about your early impressions of the Goa scene and it’s impact on your music..
Wow. Total journey. Everyone had a genuinely creative life-style.
Theatre performances on the beach, enchanting pot-luck dinners, motor-bike caravans, wind surfing clubs, late night poker tournaments that looked like something out of Pirates of the Caribbean, the flea market was just two rows in those days 😛 The early parties were amazing. Small, but everything was fresh and full of life.
Every person at every party looked like a character out of some fantasy. Every individual was so powerful. It’s like each person represented their own constellation, their own planet. So much diversity, so many different types of people from all over the world, but all together. I was a 7 year old kid at the first few parties I saw! The parties were different those days, everyone knew each other, it was safe for kids to be around, most of the parties would be in front of someone’s beach house. I would fall asleep on the porch at night, tucked away safely, while my parents and their friends partied away and I would always wake up at sunrise and watch the beautiful madness. There were darker elements too even at that time, but even they were fresh.
As the music evolved and changed from season to season, so did the parties and the vibe. I got exposed to so much from such a young age that i can’t draw a line between me and the music. It’s like trying to draw a line between thought and language. What I did experience and learn from all this, is the importance of being flexible to a situation, the music should be the thought of the party, play it according to situation.
What was the first party you ever played at?
Well I’d like to tell of the first 3 parties if that’s ok 🙂 1999- It was a small outdoor private party in Goa. In Sitaram’s house in Anjuna. 100 people. I played at sunset. I was playing using two Minidisc players haha! Very cool party… I danced for like 4 hours while others were playing, then played my set, and then danced another 5 hours afterwards while the rest of them played.
The next party I played at was in Upstate New York, in college, for a Drag-party with around 500 people where I was dressed up as a woman (Military-Bitch)! All the guys were dressed as girls and all the girls dressed as guys. Full on costume party. It was the first time that Psytrance was being played in college.. Wild scene. The first party that I played properly with CDJs etc, was in NYC, Brooklyn it was a party that two of my Japanese friends and I had organized under our party-label, “Sound Species”. I played the opening set for Penta. It was our first official party 🙂
How has living all around the world; Denmark, New York, and around India influence your musical journey?
Well I was in Denmark from the age of 1 to 5, so other than nursery rhymes I dont know what musical qualities I got from that place (other than northern lights and loooong dark winters hehe). But yea international boarding school, college and work in NY, work in London, spending lots of time in Amsterdam, going to Goa every year since I was 7, having very open minded and strong charactered parents, and me involved in the party scenes all the way through this, have definitely opened my ears. Electronic dance music takes the repetitive rhythms of ancient shaman vision and pushes them through time.
What would you call your style of music?
Honestly I don’t have a style. Situation is my style:-p. I love mysterious twilight, clean dark, and strong Psychedelic Morning sounds. But if I had to put one word to it, it would be: Forward-MovingDrivingIntelligentMysticalDanceBlasterMusic. Haha one word.
How has the music scene in India grown since the time you have been playing?
Well it’s a bit of a roller-coaster ride. Ups & downs all happening at the same time. For the Psy scene a lot of the best parties and scenes (that happened after Psy started to spread out of Goa into other places in India), were from around 1994 to 2000. Goa scene was blasting, lots of good outdoor parties around Bombay. In the cities the scene has gone more indoor now, and Goa as we know has changed a lot. The real parties rarely happen anymore. Things are always changing though so it’s better not to get too caught up in the past, gotta keep pushing :). These days it’s also good. The number of great Indian DJs, the number of great international artists that are always passing through and playing in Goa and cities all over India. There have been lots of banging Psy gigs in clubs over the last few years, specially in Bombay :). There are a lot of healthy things happening, I just wish we had a easier environment to work in: stupid laws, weird social stigmas, unprofessionalism, and generally the Indian authorities making it hard to sustain a good party environment, instead of accepting it and supporting it, is something that can be frustrating. People will always find a way to have a good scene though. Look at Universal Religion, we have to go to Nepal to do it, but music knows no borders it will find a way, and hats off to the organizers and everyone involved.
What musical items can we always find in your backpack?
Pen-drive 🙂 Never leave home without it, it’s on my key-chain actually.
Tell us about your long standing association with Universal Religion.
I played for the last three and am running back with a smile on my face for the fourth. It’s put together by an amazing group of people. I love the way that it’s a partnership festival. All the good organizers and promoters from Nepal partnering with Indian organizers and promoters to put together a very special festival. It’s the only proper Psychedelic festival in the Indian Subcontinent right now if you ask me. Going there every year is more than just going to a festival, it’s a family reunion.
What tip would you give a first timer who is coming to the festival?
“Dancers are god’s athletes” – Albert Einstein.
What can we expect at Universal Religion this year from your set!
I don’t know 🙂
Any production plans for this year?
Well I’ve made one track in one year, so hopefully I will make two next year haha. I’m still figuring it out, learning.
I need to tie my-self down to really get into it. I have a music production studio in Goa that other people are using, if only i had enough time to be there more and use it myself 🙂 Programming all the DJs for Blue Frog in Bombay and Delhi is a full on situation. Hectic. I love it, but it doesn’t leave me much time to get into production seriously, though the exposure keeps growing so I hope to channel it properly one day.
One international festival you would want to play at in the future?
Tree of Life 🙂
Which other Djs would you consider your influences?
I don’t know who he was and I don’t remember his name, it was 1995 in Goa. This guy was playing the trees and the waves and the wind man.
There was another party at Paradiso in Goa, 36 hour party… around 1996, where York (Shiva Jorg), played a miiind blowing set. At one point this Military helicopter swooped around the hill, approached us from the ocean, and came eye-to-eye with the dance floor and just hovered there (cuz we were at the edge of a cliff, 2000 people). There was a huge machine gun on a stand bolted to the heli-deck with three military guys with shiny aviators glaring at us… everyone held their breath. York cut the sound with an effect and then all we could hear was the rotors of the helicopter, then York started a fresh track, the track’s intro sounded like a weird robot helicopter! The sound of reality and the sound of the music merged into one and when the beat finally dropped the crowd LOOOOST IT! The Military guys were loving it too, laughing watching all of us maniacs going mad. The helicopter pulled up and away. Oooooof.
Check out more on Janux :
http://www.facebook.com/DjJanux
Check out information on Universal Religion at:
http://www.facebook.com/universal.religion.nepal
Courtesy Priya Sen
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