It’s margazhi ...the season of ragas and swaras, but it’s also the season to party, revel, and shake a leg... to DJ Aqueel’s beats. The DJ, famous for Bollywood Dance Music, is in the city to perform at The Park tonight. Known as one of the forces to spearhead the remix revolution in early 2000, Aqueel has managed to remain one of the popular DJs in the country even post the remix craze. Remixes of ‘Dil Kya Kare,’ ‘Nahi Nahi,’ ‘Chalte Chalte’, ‘Pyar Manga Hai,’ ‘Tu Hai Wahi,’ are all part of his work. And, a lot of them sung by Kishore Kumar. “I love Kishore da ’s songs. I have remixed so many of his songs, and these gained a lot of popularity because they came packaged with present day club music,” says Aqueel adding, “Remixing his songs is one of the most difficult things for any DJ because the songs of those times were slow!”
In the profession for more than a decade, he believes music is his soul mate and can’t think of any other profession but being a DJ and a music producer. “Back then DJ-ing was a new concept in India, but it was an established profession in other countries. DJs such as Tiesto, Armin Van Vuuren, and Paul Van Dyk inspired me.” Aqueel, who also enjoys playing House and EDM, says, “The night life in India has seen a lot of change in the last decade. The crowd loves all genres of music, if it is played well. However, Bollywood Dance Music along with EDM is becoming one of the most preferred genres among youngsters in night clubs.” According to him, Mumbai and Delhi are still the two cities that top the charts when it comes to partying.
Apart from regularly mixing it on his turntable and travelling across the globe, there’s something else he’s occupied with — composing music for a movie. “I am composing songs for Amisha Patel’s upcoming project, which will be my debut as a music composer. Then I’ll be touring and playing in Australia and the U.S. early next year.” What other plans? “To treat my fans with more tracks, which will get them to rock the dance floor,” he signs off with a smile.
ADVERTISEMENT