It was seven years ago that DJ Ashish Nagpal was first approached to play in Chennai. But weirdly, something or the other got in the way and ensured he never made it. “Most of the time, the dates I could play just weren’t available,” the spin master from New Delhi confides. He adds quickly, “Especially the last four gigs that I had planned for Chennai just didn’t work out.” But on Saturday, his jinx with Chennai’s party scene was finally broken as he played at The Park’s Twilight festival promo party.The festival slated for October 13 is definitely one for music enthusiasts to watch out for, bringing to town a host of popular DJs including Nikhil Chinapa, Rohit Barker and Pearl.
For now though, back to Ashish Ngapal. “My first gig in Chennai...” the funky disco-disc jockey beams. “You can imagine my excitement, I’ve heard a lot about the enthusiastic crowd down South.” Having played for the likes of British business magnate, Sir Richard Branson (Virgin group owner), Prince Ismail of Morocco and a host of Bollywood celebs, 30-year-old Ashish is in the form of his life.
His sole challenge at the moment? “My constantly ongoing plan is to try and sleep on time,” he admits with a laugh. With a versatile selection of classics from the 80’s and the 90’s, Paul Van Dyke inspired-trance and electronica and commercial house on his repertoire, this dance master works his magic on just about every kind of crowd.
Ask about working on compositions for the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week, and he responds with gusto, “To me, whether a party or a fashion show – it’s always about creating a great vibe with the music. So I keep collecting tunes that sound good to me whenever I’m travelling and then match those beats with the ambience I’m at.” Sounds simple enough, but granted with the high rollers on his list, there’s a lot more to it than vibes alone.
There’s probably also another reason why this DJ embraces the fashion circuit as much as he does. His girlfriend, model and Bollywood actress – Khushboo Goyal. So is marriage on the calendar anytime soon? Ashish takes a moment to pause before he responds, “Settling down is definitely important to both of us.” Between gigs and lot of travel for Ashish and shooting schedules for Khushboo, he sums up, “It’s a busy year ahead for both of us, so lets see what happens – you never know!”
In the pipeline, Ashish hints at a DJ training school in the works. “Fingers crossed,” he says with chuckle. Emceeing and percussion skills, the latter that Ashish has been developing since the age of four, will also slowly be weaved into his regular gigs, he tells us. “But right now,” the spin master promises,“I’m going to make sure that I keep that dance floor buzzing.” No point asking the man any more questions. Let’s get the party started.
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