No ear here for Desi music

There was a time not long ago when the entire world seemed to hum the chart-topping Kolaveri with a dramatic sadness. Or, groove to Chammak Challo when it was a cheery evening. In the city too, Kovaleri was a rage and ruled the charts.And yet, the DJ of a popular star hotel in the city was prevented from playing the number one evening by the hotel authorities, simply because it was a song of Indian origin.Chennaiites may be desi at heart, but once the alcohol flows in liberally they dance to a different tune, and stay away from desi music as much as possible.That the city has no ear for vernacular tunes is the most common refrain of popular disc jockeys of the city. This could be because local music is not being promoted as vigorously as it used to be, they explain, recalling a time when flyers, pamphlets and ads in local dailies about upcoming desi nights would bring in scores of people to swing to Indian numbers. Today presents a sad story in this regard.Shane, a resident DJ at a popular watering hole in the city, says, “I hardly play desi music these days because there is no demand whatsoever. This is the only reason why I haven’t specialised in it.”Likewise, DJ Mike who works at a star hotel in the city says, “We have desi nights that are dedicated to Bollywood classics and remixes, but the club is never full. I’m sure the desi night concept will soon phase itself out.”The overall musical experience in clubs and pubs across the city now is a broader horizon of hip hop, clubhouse, techno and international chartbusters. Sriram, a resident DJ of a popular club, says, “Nobody even requests Hindi or Tamil tracks these days. It almost feels like they do not want to listen to songs that play over and over again on television, and are looking for something new every time.”Tamil hits like 'Appdipodu', 'Kolaveri' remix and 'Evandi unna pethan', folk songs like V'aala meenukkum' and 'Jingidi jingidi unakku', and Bollywood songs like 'Sadda Haq', 'Chammak Challo', 'Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu', 'Where's the party tonight', 'It’s the time to disco' and 'Fanaa' continue to rock crowds that flock a handful of clubs in the city that have designated desi nights.Almost every Indian movie that is released includes either an item number that can be remixed into a club song or a club song itself, making the jobs of DJs on the mission of infusing more regional tracks into their lists easier.  And yet, you are not likely to hear any of these in a club in the city. Chennai DJs believe that reviving Indian music in clubs would be possible if clubs become liberal in this regard. Is anyone listening?What Chennaiites are swaying toWant to sound really cool? The next time the resident DJ in the house plays one of these new genres of music, make sure you talk about it to your bunch of friends. What could be more interesting than knowing new music by its name! A quick look at what is trending in clubs these days will prepare the pub-hoppers for what will come their way soonDubstepListen to the same song 'Dost Hai' (Girl I loved you) in the Hindi remake of the movie, 'Ekk Deewana Tha' (2012) to understand how much music has changed in a matter of two years. The genre of that song is called Dubstep. It is characterised by overwhelming bass beats and spurts of drum patterns. It was introduced in the United Kingdom as a part of a DJ’s experiment to check his sub-woofer system. When the track was played at a party, the crowds stopped for a moment before going completely crazy, as they had not heard this kind of music before. Ever since, DJs have been introducing dubstep in their evenings to get the crowd’s attention. For those who love old-school hip hop, dubstep will soon be the way to grooveDnBWhen a wave of music engulfs everybody in the club and the beats are so fast that it takes a while for the body to move to the tempo, the DJ must be playing a genre called Drum and Bass or DnB. It started off in the late 90s in the United Kingdom, as a party of a DJ’s rave party collection. With a tempo of 160 – 180 bpm (beats per minute), DnB has a lot of takers going wild in Chennai. The genre is easy to relate to, as it has traits of jazz-influenced vocals. The song Kannukul Kannai from the movie Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya (2010) is a perfect example for DnB-influenced regional music. Trisha paces up and down in the video, while Simbu tries to follow her, perhaps matching the genre that is fast and difficult to just amble along to!Psychedelic tranceThe other genre that has been widely rejected across the nation, but is slowly finding its way back in private parties in Chennai, is psychedelic trance. All Pink Floyd fans understand what this means because the album Dark Side of the Moon is a perfect example of this gripping genre of music