City boy and electronic music producer Killwish aka DJ Navendu refuses to take off his gas-mask even when he speaks to us for this interview. It’s his identity, he says, in a tone slightly louder and more firm, than his usual baritone. Navendu is making a list of the mixes he’s going to present next Saturday at Raasta, where he performs every week, trying his best to not let us catch a glimpse of it. “I would rather have you come and experience the groove. It will be a lot of bass heavy music. My sets include a lot of Moombahton, Drumstep and Dubstep. To keep the energy on the floor, I will be mixing them with genres like Hybrid Trap, Soca, Kuduro and Twerk, so you have to come to witness the musical jam,” says Navendu.
Navendu performs every week at Raasta and has gathered a following that he never knew he would be able to generate. It’s taken months of hits and misses to finally arrive to a secure musical space. During his first gig at a New Year’s Eve party a few years ago, Navendu experienced a high that would, in the coming years, take him on a journey to places he never knew existed. “It was my first paid performance, and post it, a lot of people came up to me and told me they didn’t believe it was my first gig that night. Exactly the reason I am still around—to live up to the confidence my fans showed in me when I was a nobody,” says the DJ, sounding a bit emotional. We cannot be sure, as his face is securely tucked away from our vision.
Preparing for his upcoming performance at the NH7 Bacardi Weekender on November 30, Navendu says he’s come a long way in making the stage accept him. It no longer intimidates him, and as he sets foot on it, he sets himself free, just like when he sets off to paraglide every now and then. But before he takes flight again, you can catch him on ground, at Raasta every Saturday.
Time 9 pm onwards
Venue 30 A, First Floor, Hauz Khas Village.