From MTV Select in the ’90s to hosting the hottest music festivals in the country, Nikhil Chinapa has been the reigning authority on music trends consistently. When asked about popular music though, he jokes, “I go to the gym and I’m happy to report that the music they play there is nothing I recognise. However, almost all of it is unbearable.”
Musical trends are constantly in flux, says Nikhil, and quite often cyclical, “It’s incredible to see what the preference of each new generation is, quite eye opening to be honest.” He is also the curator of the VH1 Supersonic festival which is known for bringing a lot of diversity into their line-ups. The upcoming edition features headliners such as English indie rock band Alt-J, American rock act Incubus and electronic music trio Major Lazer. “This year, we’ve included a live stage at the festival alongside our mainstream, bass and underground stages. We try and stay ahead of the curve by observing and keeping our ear to the ground, and I feel our team somehow manages to achieve that at every edition of the festival,” he adds.
When asked about his home-town Bengaluru, Nikhil feels the party crowd here is still the best audience to play music for. They are discerning and don’t walk into venues with preconceived notions or prejudices. “When your audience is open minded, it allows artistes to take bold risks with their music choices and that unpredictability in the music, invariably ends up with interesting consequences. Yes, “consequences” was the word I was going for,” he says cheekily. His music style is still as wildly erratic as it has always been. However, he stresses that the bottom line is he only plays music he loves, no matter the genre.
According to him, there is a ton of really great underground music that’s being releasing of late. Nikhil takes over Koramangala Social tonight and he plans to keep the vibe fresh and groovy. “I’ll be playing an underground set, so expect techno, tech house and house music all night long.”
Rs. 300. November 17, 9 pm. At Koramangala Social. Details: 65651595
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