Desi Making Waves

By Elaine G. Flores

A Chat with DJ Rekha

DJ Rekha Says DJs Should Be Heard And Not Seen—You Should Hear What She's Saying

On October 23rd, an enthusiastic crowd packed New York's classic dance club S.O.B.'s (Sounds of Brazil, but nobody calls it that) to celebrate DJ Rekha's debut CD, DJ Rekha Presents Basement Bhangra. For the last decade, Rekha Malhotra, born in London and raised in Queens and Long Island, New York, has been shaping the city's cultural landscape with monthly Basement Bhangra Dance Parties. Her new CD features 17 tracks fusing bhangra, hip-hop and dance hall. As the party, which included her beaming parents, kicked into high gear, the artist kept to the sidelines. But her music most certainly took center stage. Recently, I spoke to DJ Rekha, who is cerebral, blunt and lively. Here's what she had to say.

There was a real demographic mix at the party. Is that something you tried to generate?
It happened organically, and it’s something I have to say I’m excited about. I just do my thing and whoever comes by, comes by. I think part of that has been the partnership that we have with the club, with S.O.B.'s. I’m a New Yorker, so it’s just who I am. It’s also the style of music I select and the way we play it. It has a broad appeal.

How did the parties come about?
We were called in to do a gig, opening for a band, and it was a cold night in February. We were hired to DJ and get the word out and promote it as well. You know, their expectations were kind of low (laughs). “The band wants to play here, it’s in February, we’re not paying them a lot of money, let’s see what happens.” The DJs also didn’t get a lot of money that night, but got incentives if we brought people in. So, we turned it out. Two months later, they’re like, “Why don’t we try to do it monthly?” And fortuitously at that time, Bally Sagoo signed to Sony. Sony was looking for avenues to promote him, and so they had him open. He ended up being the jump-off for the night, which ended up getting a good crowd; the party just built from there. That was April '98, and we’ve been there the first Thursday of the month ever since."

Sunaina Maira, a professor at UMass Amherst has suggested that there's a new "remix Indian-American subculture." Do you see yourself as part of a new Indian-American subculture?
I don’t exactly agree. I think her phrasing, Desi “remix culture” is inaccurate. There are two words that get tossed around a lot. One is "culture"…one is "scene." I think sometimes they are artificially created to give meaning to things. No artist wants to be put in a box ever. I think I’m part of a larger cultural awareness of things that are South Asian and Indian. I think I’m part of the fabric of New York clubland. I think for some second-generation South Asians, this is one possibility and one place to socialize…I think for people who are interested in different things in New York, this is another [option]. I mean, there are so many things going on. I’m a part of a moment in time where, as second-generation immigrants, we are becoming of cultural importance in this country. Yes, I’m part of that by virtue of the fact that I'm South Asian and a culture producer in the same way my colleagues are in different arenas in the arts. And we straddle both worlds.

And the whole thing about "remix," to really dissect that word, I don’t remix. Remix is a word that gets tossed around, as is "bhangra." There was this whole wave of remix CDs that came out in the mid-90s. These DJs would take these Bollywood songs, it was totally underground, put beats on them and put their name on it and release CDs. I never did that. In fact, I personally, aesthetically, don’t like that. Bollywood figured it out, caught up and started making their songs a lot more club-friendly and danceable, I think in large part in response to that. So to use the word remix doesn't come out of that scene at all.

Do you have a level of frustration with the way things are perceived? Do you have pet peeves or annoyances?
I think, with all due respect for Sunaina's work, some of the terminology she uses is not accurate, even in describing music. She has a book out and uses worlds like "techno" and "remix," and it’s just not as informed in describing music, so that’s my only frustration. I mean I know her personally, she’s a very nice person ... I don’t think things are as simple as that … I have to deal with it, with the press sometimes. Part of it is just people learning. That’s just part of the process of people becoming aware of things.

Have you encountered any criticism from purists who want the music to retain a classic form?
I guess about a bunch of years ago, maybe six or seven years ago, I was part of a panel at the Smithsonian in D.C. and it was supposed to be a discussion of the spectrum of bhangra and yeah, I got a lot of shit then. (laughs) But outside of that, there are always people who want it more pure and more this and more that. By and large, I don’t get that criticism too much; people understand that what I do works well in the club space. I think at this point people respect that I have my own aesthetic and taste. I’m not the be and the end all of any thing or any genre. There hasn’t been a whole outcry.

How do you see the genre changing?
I find, because hip-hop has embraced or discovered South Asian elements in their music, it kind of empowers second-generation South Asians to think it’s a possibility or to even step up and say, "You're using my culture, let’s see what I can do with it." I think just in general as part of a larger movement, producing music has become cheaper and easier and better quality. I think the quality of the production of bhangra music have gone up tremendously.

Without putting you on the spot, do you see yourself as changing or shaping South Asian culture?
Whoa.

I know, I lied, that’s totally putting you on the spot.
That’s a little heavy. I think, if anything, I’m just hopefully creating awareness about it.

Who would you say are your biggest musical influences?
Oh, the influences question. It's so hard to say, I grew up listening to so many sounds. Like Prince. One might not connect bhangra and Prince, but Prince is a huge musical influence. And largely because he, even now, even today, just does his own thing and has a lot of control over what he produces. Rather than being a direct musical influence, it was important to see that he worked within the system at times and worked out of it and went back to it and played with it and challenged it all the time. And he is a great performer and gives it his all and knows his stuff.

Did you catch him at the [Madison Square] Garden a few years ago?
I caught him on that run and went to Boston and saw him. Because shows like that are just impossible, I'm ready to go wherever I can get a good seat, even if it’s four hours.

Because you’re an artist, how hard is it to balance the business side, like promoting yourself.
It’s thoroughly exhausting and always difficult; it doesn’t get easier.

If someone wanted to follow in your footsteps what would you tell him or her about the business aspect?
Marry rich.

Anything else?
My advice on that front is to be nice to everyone, know that you have to work hard and have a good network supporting you. You don't do a CD alone. You don't do an event alone. Knowing how to establish a strong network will help make that successful.

What would people be surprised to know about you?
I lose my cell phone every two months. I don't know if that's surprising.

Are there misconceptions about you?
I don't know if people know that I really like to cook.

Oh, what's your specialty?
Chicken. Any kind of Indian chicken dishes. I think the misconception is when people see me at my events and I have my "running things" face on. I'm actually just a laidback, chill person. But part of that is wrapped up in being a woman running things. If you're on top of your game, you're perceived a certain way.

Do you think people think you're tough?
I think there's a whole bitch factor of an aggressive woman or a woman taking care of business. That's a whole other social issue.

Are you shy? At the show, it was all about you, but you didn't seem to be a spotlight hog. Kind of off to the side, you really weren't having the whole being-dragged-on-stage to dance thing.
I've learned to do it a little bit more, but I don't like to be that person. DJs should be heard and not seen. I do it if I have to. It's nothing I expected, it's a byproduct of the work, the spotlight. I'm not trying to be Beyoncé or anything. Some people like to shine. It's a byproduct of what I do.

For more on the artist and DJ Rekha Presents Basement Bhangra, check out: basementbhangra.com, myspace.com/djrekha or djrekha.com.

Elaine G. Flores is a feature writer for Soap Opera Digest, columnist for the St. Louis American and freelance writer. She is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists and lives in New York.

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