DJ AHIMSA - My Story
0906 514 6992 (Japan)
www.elamental.com/ahimsa.html
Me playing at Rainbow Serpent 2005 in the Healing Area
(In
one of the geodesic domes I helped build while people do yoga in the distance)
My Story -
Its how I got to where I am.
Bit
of an Indian Epic,so click here
if you just wanna check out where I've played
click here if you wanna hear more general info about me
Born in Adelaide Australia, although separated from my Indian heritage physically, I was immersed through relatives and always had a strong connection with India and its amazing culture. Fortunately my parents took me traveling from a young age and I got to see many Asian cultures, as well as spending time in India, mainly in Mumbai, or Bombay as it was known then, as that is where my grandma, aunts, uncles and cousins all the people I am fond of reside.
I developed a love for India and its culture immediately, although I guess at a young age I saw it through my parents eyes. When I reached 18 I went to stay in Mumbai without my parents and got to mould my Indian experience to suit me more and then returned three years later to continue the journey with friends.
I first heard electronic music in about 1993. I had of course heard it before but not in the way it had become. I listened to a show on a radio station you could only get if you held a coat hanger and immersed yourself in a tub of water. I exaggerate of course but it was a hard one to tune into. Lunacy was it name and they played club, techno, rave, hardcore and all electronic styles. I immediately fell in love with it and DJ culture, although I was too young to go out. This story could go for some time, but I'll shorten it to stop you from getting totally bored. After listening to all sorts of electronica I discovered a new style, Goa trance. It was what I had been waiting for. Freaky Psychedelic stuff, and it had roots in India, hence the name (being from Goa, a state on the west coast of India for those not in the know). I was also getting into the more experimental side of things.
I went to India soon after and went to Goa parties and saw its birthplace. I guess its like what Ibiza is to club music. Goa is the the trance Mecca. I still play the odd Goa party, and am often part of the set up crew, as trance culture is most definitely part of who I am, but now I generally concentrate on Indian Beats and IDM, or experimental breakbeat as its sometimes called. Tabla beats work fantastically with breakbeat music and so continually I try to infuse these styles.
When In India a friend had been telling me of a crew from London who came and did a show there called Swaraj, mixed by Nerm and Ash. I heard their CD and was really impressed. There seemed to be better Indian tunes coming from London than from India. I had a hard time trying to get them into IDM and was losing faith in bringing new styles of music there. I enjoyed lots of fun times while there. I worked in a post production house on Bollywood films and TV commercials for a couple of months and also studied photography for a couple of months, furthering my visual career.
Then I went to London, and musically things started to look up. I went to this night at a place called Herbal. They had this awesome Indian style electronica going on. I was already loving London as it is DJ Culture everywhere. Turntables in every joint and wicked record shops to boot. I missed many a meal to be able to afford all these amazing records I was finding searching back alley record shops of London. Anyways I went up to this dude that was playing and told him I thought his music was awesome and he said "Innit". Nah, just joking. He said his name was Nerm and it was the start of a beautiful friendship, that although we are many thousands of kilometres apart, still continues to this day.
And that's how I came to be part of the Shiva Sound System Crew (www.shivasoundsystem.co.uk). A whole crew of Indian's that live abroad and still try to keep the vibe alive and the Indian beats aflowing. We played some tunes together in London, where I also played some tunes with the Kai-Zen crew ( Electronica pure, IDM styles) and then moved on to New York where the Shiva Crew had gigs organized. My cousin Ravina, whom I had been living with mainly in Mumbai, was getting married there and I wanted to be part of that occasion also. I went to amazing shows in New York and hung with The Crew and met Atul (Zakhm)from the Asian massive Crew at the time and Dub Gabriel from Baraka Foundation, both doing Awesome Indian and Middle Eastern styles of music respectively.
I played with Dub Gabriel at the Kush Bar (www.kushbar.com) once a week and moved in with Atul (Zakhm, who now does the Six Degrees Label night with Dub Gabriel at Kush). Awesome dudes, awesome time, saw so much wicked music it should be illegal, and probably will be soon if George Bush gets his way. Big ups to both those dudes for looking after me in New York. I also met Karsh Kale and Navdeep at shows in NY who I reckon are making some of the best Indian Electronica out there to this day.
Then I went and lived in an Ashram in Canada. No music for a couple of months, besides my mini disc which I listened to in bed sometimes. What a change. Yoga six days a week and working on an organic farm. I learnt some valuable lessons here and had such a wonderful time, but I'll tell you about that when I see you in person. This bio is long enough without adding non music bits. Peace
Next to Seattle. I was lucky enough to DJ at a party, as the sun came up my first night out of the ashram, about the same time I was usually doing yoga. Old habits die hard, or was is dying from hard old habits, none of these just ahimsa style partying with like minded people. I met some groovy dudes from the Blue house (www.bluehouse.org) and helped out on large scale sculptures, some of which were being made for the famous burning man festival. We also made some domes for a mayan day out of time party called As One, but I digress again... I started playing at a night called I (Heart) Shiva with Pete Madril at the Baltic Room there doing Indian beats with a tabla player and meeting the likes of James Whetzel and Deepayan, two awesome Indian/Middle eastern producers while living next to the water with a beautiful girl from Atlanta. In Seattle I was again immersed in amazing world music which fueled my fire to get it out there to the general public.
My final destination on my world tour was Japan. I'd never been there before but am sure I will be back there. I love their culture. I played a few shows here, one in the chill out room for a kickboxing tournament, something they didn't tell me earlier, but all our communication was musical as no one really spoke English and I don't speak Japanese. Great fun though and an interesting welcome to Japanese culture. I also played a small underground club near Shibuya and so continues the story of how I move the Indian beats around.
...Now back in Australia for some time doing Gigs in Adelaide and Melbourne at places including Zhivago, The Exeter, FAD, Black Cat, Tomorrow Cafe, The Spot, CBD Nightclub and random other events, with one of the Highlight this year being the Rainbow Serpent Festival (www.greenant.com) (pictured at the top of this page), playing to a crowd of people doing yoga. Other events coming up are the Peace It together festival and the SALA (South Australian Living Artists) festival with VJ Naturesface in August.
Please come and check it out some time and come say hello. I'm always interested to hear what people think and am interested in music you may have worked on or just love.
love
and light,
Daish - DJ Ahimsa
back
to top
or choose one of the links below