5 minute read
DJ WISH
Vishnu Babu, popularly known by his stage name DJ WISH, is a well known disc jockey and music producer based in Goa. A native of Pondicherry, DJ WISH shifted base to Goa two years ago. Through the course of his career spanning more than 10 years, he has performed at several high-profile music events like Vh1 Supersonic, Oktoberfest, and the One People Festival.
In a brief tete-a-tete with ItsGoa, DJ WISH shared insights into his life, the journey of his career as a DJ, the various challenges and struggles that he faced during his journey and lots more.
Tell us a bit about yourself. I was born and brought up in the Union Territory of Pondicherry. I grew up in a small town called Karaikal. I did my schooling over there. Then I moved to Thanjavur and pursued my degree in engineering over there. I started DJing while I was in my final year of college and eventually moved to Chennai.
How & when did your interest in DJ-ing begin? I always had a thing for music, especially loud music. Back in those times, whenever I got to see good sound systems like Sony or Pioneer, I used to go crazy and get hyper. I always wanted to hear them at their loudest. So yes, that craziness for music was there in me from childhood.
Then it was in my third year of college. There was a cultural program happening in my college and they wanted someone to play music and I started acting cool, pretending to be a DJ. From that moment, I developed an interest in learning DJing professionally. I wanted to be a DJ. I wanted to explore what is my opportunity here and what I can do in this field.
Take us through the journey of your career as a DJ. I started DJing at a bar called Pulse in Chennai. I used to play there for around 4-5 hours, but didn't get paid for the work. The only thing I got to do there was practice my stuff for like 30-45 minutes max. After that, I had to play original music. I used to travel in local trains during those days. My sister supported me financially during that time because my parents were initially not supportive of what I wanted to do for a living. They were disappointed that I finished my engineering and got into the music industry.
After this, I eventually started getting into good places. I bagged residencies at some of the best clubs in Chennai. Then, in 2013, I decided to explore the market outside Chennai. I wanted to become a proper freelancing DJ. Go out, travel, explore other cities and other markets. That's how it all started.
Tell us about your first gig as a DJ The experience of my first gig as a DJ is something that I'll never forget. I was booked at this place called English Club in Coimbatore. I didn't have much knowledge about the place. It was a New Year gig in December 2008. I was not told about the type of music that I was supposed to play at the gig.
Back in those days, we had to carry CDs, so the music collection was limited. So, I took whatever music I had with me and went to perform at the club. Since the club was called ‘English Club’, I thought it was to be a retro rock kind of gig. But, it turned out to be a proper Bollywood membership club. I was abused left and right and it was a New Year gig. They did not even give me dinner or something in the night. I cried that night because I was young and I had no clue of what I was getting myself into. It was difficult.
Name a few DJs who are your favorites.
I would name three of my favorite DJs. The first one would be Skill X and second would be Eric Brits. Why these two? I've been very emotionally connected to these two artists. The very first time I saw them performing in India, I was just crying out of joy. People around me were trying to stop me, but I could not stop. Then third, I would say Don Diablo because of his production style. The way he controls the crowd is very unique.
Apart from DJ-ing, what are your other endeavours? Apart from DJing, I am also into music production. I write and produce music. I also run a talent management and booking agency where I organize India tours for international artists. It's been four years since I've been doing that.
What are your future plans?
My future plans are to release a lot of music. So I recently started another stage name where I am producing and performing different genres on that name. It's called ‘Not That Wish’. And also, I have huge expansion plans for my agency to make it one of the best in Asia.
