Welcome to the circus albeit not the kind you’re anticipating. This is a musical circus where the show is helmed by a one-man army. He is well-known DJ, Ali Merchant, who takes the console on August 23 as part of the Kadak Smashup India Tour. As he works on his upcoming melody set, we catch him behind the scenes for a quick chat.
The Play Boy Club in the city has been remodelled into a circus-themed jamboree inspired by the iconic Bombay Circus. A circus tent made of canvas fabric consisting of an oval area, enclosed by flags on top, has been installed.
Inside, there will be a fleet of clowns and jugglers cheering Merchant as he puts on his groovy gloves to up the ante on the music. “I will be playing pretty much everything. There is going to be house music, hip hop, new age hip hop, trap besides everybody’s favourite, Bollywood,” he says, adding, “I like the ‘scene kya hai’ mashup of mine which has become popular in clubs these days.”
The concert will be a new audio-visual experience that the DJ has worked on for the last few months. His labour of love for Delhi, he says.
The past year has been a game-changer for his career. His remix album called Tabaahi, in addition to an India tour with singer Guru Randhawa, campus shows, performing at Dubai Fashion Week, and playing alongside DJ Snake, have all added a new dimension to his musical trajectory.
“I started by playing in front of 200 people. Now it’s mostly a crowd of 5,000 to 7,000, going up to 15,000 at one time. It’s been a journey of self-learning,” he says. After this tour, his focus will be on originals that he plans to release later this year. “Do watch out for my favourite Tabaahi 2.0 remix album scheduled in October.”
As we look forward to his music, Merchant is eager to see the venue. “I am excited to see how they pull off the circus theme. Like me, I appreciate their vision of creating an experience rather than just a run of the mill event,” he says.
After Delhi, he will take his sound swag to Udaipur on August 30 and Chandigarh on August 31. There will be more touring in September too. Till then, back to the capital circus.
When: August 23, 8:00pm-1am,
Where: Samrat Hotel, Chanakyapuri