CHENNAI: Pub-hopping with ‘peeps’, grooving to desi beats, playing poker and exploring new resto-bars in town. For Priyanka Niranjan and Niranjan Ram, Saturday evenings are incomplete without at least one of these elements. Slogging through the weekdays and partying on weekends has been the ritual for the husband-wife duo for the past four years. Under lockdown, the drawing room has become their new dance floor, comfort-wear has taken over dressing-up, the kitchen has become their new bar and virtual parties, their new way to socialise.
“Just when we were excited about the resto-bar culture picking up in the city, everything got jinxed with COVID-19. We’ve created a WhatsApp group called ‘The party goes on’ with 45 regular party-goers. Every Saturday, since the first week of lockdown, we unwind virtually. There are platforms where DJs livestream. If it’s a group party, then we all connect with our socially distant friends over Zoom and share the screen space; otherwise, we party individually at home. We need this distraction to help us surpass the negativity in the air,” said Niranjan, a Besant Nagar resident.
Stay indoors and chill
DJs in Goa, Mumbai, and New Delhi have been performing on streaming platforms days before the lockdown was announced, to recreate the clubbing experience at home. However, in Chennai, the trend took a while to find takers. Madras Vibes, a streaming platform with curations by the DJ community of Chennai, has kept the party scene alive and going. Started two weeks ago, the page features around 90 DJs who take turns performing in three slots of the day, starting from 6.30 pm.
“The objective is to bring about a forum where DJs can perform and do their bit to keep people entertained. Freelance DJs who perform for private and corporate parties have been the worst-hit. There’s no payment or royalty. Our goal is to keep the show on at the comfort of our house. It needs a lot of coordination, proper network connection, and mixer set-up at home to put up a show with minimal glitches. Our page has had 2,000 views so far. Chennai, being a conservative audience, is taking time to loosen up,” says one of the DJs.
The website and its weekly programming are completely managed in-house. Hip Hop, RnB, classic, trippy, techno — the DJs have got all styles covered. “Our livelihood is at stake. We don’t know if things will return to normalcy any time soon, at least with resto-bars and restaurants. During tough times, music can be uplifting and elevating. Each of us curates a list of songs based on the taste of our audience and play them on loop. Some of our senior DJs might have a senior age group of followers, while millennials have their target followers. Even as we miss the personal connection with the people, this could be the future of partying. It’s a competitive market and we need to stay ahead so that we don’t miss out on our followers,” explains the DJ. The team has been putting out fliers on their Instagram page Madras Vibes to spread the word about their initiative.
Partying, the way forward
Five-star hotels, too, have been doing their share to stay connected with their loyal patrons. The hospitality teams have taken to virtual parties on their respective social media pages to keep the scene alive for their clients. Karthik Setty, the admin of the Chennai Thirst Club, tells us how their members have been adapting to nightlife 2.0. “There’s no denying that this is going to be the new normal. Even after the lockdown is revoked, people are highly likely to resort to house parties and avoid mass gatherings. As we slowly get accustomed to online parties, the DJs will have to find a way to monetise their online shows. Everything is in the experimental stage. This has been a wake-up call for this industry,” says Karthik.
A digital future
The website Madras Vibes and its weekly programming are managed in-house. Hip Hop, RnB, classic, trippy, techno — the DJs have got all styles covered. “Each of us curates a list of songs based on the taste of our audience and play them on loop. Even as we miss the personal connection with the people, this could be the future of partying,” says a DJ.
For details, visit the site: madrasvibes.com