Rummy Sharma
In a freewheeling and hilarious chat with The Score Magazine , Rummy talks electronic music in India and more …
One of the earliest trailblazers of electronic music in India , Rummy Sharma is no stranger to the country ’ s buzzing clubbing scene . If anything , he has contributed a decent amount towards , bringing state of the art international sounds from Europe to India since the 90s . Rummy today lives in Berlin , Germany with frequent visits to Delhi and other parts of India that his shows take him to .
If one thinks back to the early 90s when electronic music was barely setting foot in India , a name such as Rummy Sharma would be hard to miss . More so for the party goers and initial converts to the electronica magic in the capital city of New Delhi .
Recognised as one of the oldest and most cherished of Delhi DJs , Rummy has played at some of the most cult clubs of the city and the world . He has been responsible for training a whole generation of DJs , for bringing world class artists to India along with introducing international bar chains such as Capitol , Orange and his very own Kuki .
And of course , working hard towards inculcating a taste of Techno and thereby other cousins of electronic with a series of curated gigs .
Rummy has several firsts to his credit and is often credited as the pioneer of Techno in India . He was also the first and the only Indian to have played at the prestigious Love Parade Festival in 2006 where he brought his own truck and played alongside Teisto , Pauk Van Dyk , Andre Nalin , Martin Eyerer , and several other world class DJs .
Rummy Sharma started his DJing career in 1992 but amidst his busy spinning schedules across the country and continents , it is now that he is finally concentrating on the producer in him . “ It is a natural progression . It was always my dream to become a producer , however , for a long time ; I didn ’ t have the bandwidth to do so as I was busy running my clubs . Production requires a lot of focus , concentration and time and it ’ s vital to do so internationally ” he said .
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But , is just DJing a viable profession in the long term ? “ I think just being a DJ can be a little limiting as a career move , not just in India , but anywhere . As a producer you control the creative process and you can create large scale projects that are international in scope , by working with diverse artistes . Production of good quality music is vital . India as such is not a very developed club market and is still many years behind the international scene , but I ’ m glad to see it evolve .”
But , back in the day , DJing or producing music was not looked upon as a jolly task or even a much acceptable profession , says Rummy narrating the ordeal of his initial days . “ I remember when I started DJing in the early 90s rather 1991 , hardly anybody knew about this profession in India . I was almost disowned by my family as they assumed that I work as a band master in some cheesy cabarets in Delhi .”
“ You know , I would be stopped by the cops in the middle of the night who ask me about my profession , when I told them it confused them and how . They had no clue about what they should do with me , so eventually , they let me go ,” he chuckles .
On a serious note he reckons , “ It ’ s not necessary to spend lot of money on the equipment initially , but I would strongly recommend high quality training by a professional , for people who aspire to follow this profession in all seriousness ”.
Cut to 2013 he shifted base to Berlin , Germany and has been winning accolades in the international Electronica circuit with several releases such as Wade in the Water with Iranian maestro Namito , among other tracks . The song had Rummy bringing great gospel vocals from a children choir from UK , combined with Namito ' s studio skills . Over time he has shared the stage with the likes of Oliver Klein , Dimitri , DJ Rush , DJ Quicksilver , Grand Master Flash , Akon and Edward Maya , among others such as DJ Sven Vath , Dr .