Industry veteran DJ Alex reflects on two decades of technological shifts, genre explosions, and unforgettable moments behind the decks, while offering insights on staying innovative and passionate in a rapidly changing industry
Words by Sakshi Dhingra
Your career has spanned over 2 decades now. How has the approach towards music and performance evolved?
There have been different genres which has come in place thanks to the internet. So mediums like Instagram, Facebook, and you name it, and it’s there. Earlier when we started our career, we used to buy music, we used to pay money to get our music recorded.
I started playing on cassettes, and had a big suitcase filled with them. I had one assistant who used to rewind and fast forward the songs, and give it to me. Then, I used to again cue it and mix it without all the digital evolution, which has come right now. I used to do it that way. But then music has still not changed. Obviously, Bollywood is the main key.
With time, thanks to internet, we have genres like EDM, hip hop, techno, Bali techno, and Punjabi music itself. Cultural music itself has also become very big. So it’s not just Punjabi, it could be South Indian music as well.
All these genres are becoming very popular with time, but then we should thank the Internet for it.
Can you share a memorable moment from your career that has taught you a very important life lesson?
This one time, I was performing at a Sangeet after-party, and the floor was filled with people having a great time. And from somewhere, this gentleman comes to me and asks me to play a particular track. And I had already played it once because it was a very popular number, so I just asked him to wait for a while, because I didn’t want to be categorised as a guy who doesn’t have music.
This guy comes back after 10 minutes and asks me to play the song. And this time, it was pretty harsh. I tell him it’s not possible, and next I see a gun coming out of his pocket, and held to my head. He simply told me there’s 2 ways of doing this.
What I realised, is that every client should be treated as God, and we should fulfil their wants unless they are not asking beyond my professional abilities.
What advice would you give aspiring DJs to maintain longevity and passion in their careers?
First of all, you have to have the knowledge of music and the love for music. Because a doctor giving medicine to his patients every day becomes a boring job somewhere down the line. In the same way, we are somewhere doing the same thing every day. If you don’t have passion towards doing this job, don’t get into it.
You also have to have a lot of patience because it will take time for you to get somewhere. Today it is easier because you have the Internet, so you can learn things easier. Back in the day, we were paying to learn it.
So, you need to put in your 100% hard work, have passion, and take your time. So, patience is very important.
