BENGALURU: Once upon a time, Fridays and Saturdays at nightclubs, pubs and bars were packed with Bengalureans grooving to some funky numbers. But the pandemic has changed much of that with the energy and vibrancy that once filled these hangouts having turned into eerie silence. DJs in the city are a worried lot, wondering whether social gatherings are a thing of the past. Ivan Nilkon, a popular city-based DJ, says, “My shows were booked from April 2021 to June 2021, but all of them got cancelled. The second wave of Covid-19 has been very severe, and there has been no revenue for us.
Things are getting harder day by day. As DJs, we are geared up to get back on stage, but people are still apprehensive about stepping out,” says Niklon, who is keeping his fans engaged by broadcasting music on his social media handles every weekend. Another city-based techno DJ Ranjana Mishra expresses concern about the curfew having restricted the nightlife of the city.
“When other professions are allowed to resume work, why are artistes not allowed to get back? With more and more people getting vaccinated, there should be no problem in allowing clubs to reopen if the right health protocols are in place,” says Mishra, who has been working on new music for the last three months. “But I am yearning to perform and waiting for audience to groove to my music,” adds Mishra, who is keeping her fingers crossed about a performance slated in Hyderabad in July.
Although most of them continue to keep themselves engaged with new musical tracks, they are not earning any revenue out of it. While the second wave of the infection was marred by pain, grief and agony, these artistes point out that music is one of the best healers. Which is why, Anzar Abu Becker aka a.Becker, a citybased DJ and producer, is collaborating with his partners to bring out an album comprising five tracks. “These tracks are groovy, deep and melodic.
It will be refreshing and make people happy. Right now, I am focusing on producing music tracks, putting my DJing work on the backburner since night clubs are yet to open,” says Becker, who is also awaiting payment for his concerts held before the lockdown. But restaurants and pubs are now holding back from opening out their spaces to DJs because of worries surrounding social distancing. Pravesh Pandey, founder, Byg Brewski, says, “The event calendar is already in place.
However, we are not calling DJs because social distancing will be a problem. I am planning to get a band to perform when the night curfew is lifted. Since the vaccination process is already underway, I am sure we will bounce back in the next 40 days because people are eager to seek happiness and get rid of the hangover of the second wave.”