Dj Ruchir AKA Ruchir Kulkarni tells us how he Mastered the Art of Bollywood Djing
Dj Ruchir AKA Ruchir Kulkarni tells us how he Mastered the Art of Bollywood Djing
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Starting at the Age of 15, Dj Ruchir has now been playing for over 15 years and has performed at more than 2000 events.

"Back in the day the technology was not the best compared to modern times. We had to use CDs instead of USBs and Laptops and a single CD could store around 12-15 songs. So you can imagine us carrying a folder of 100-200 CDs to perform at a gig. The speed of transitioning songs had to be equally fast and switching between CDs was a difficult yet a fun task."

Dj Ruchir has performed at various Celebrity Parties, College Festivals and Corporate events. But how did Bollywood Music come into play?

"I have grown up listening to Bollywood music all my life and there was not really an alternative. I started listening to other genres when i started learning Djing. I knew only the super hit english tracks"

The transition from CDs to USBs

"I switched to USBs in the year 2013. I was still not introduced to the concept of Rekordbox. That came in much later. But playing from USBs was far easier and time saving than playing through Audio CDs. The consoles had also upgraded a lot over the years and multiple new functions were added to them overtime."

What makes a great Bollywood DJ?

"That's a tricky question because when we say Bollywood Music it generally includes all the independent and regional tracks as well. Over the years many new artists have entered the music industry and their tracks are great. Some of them have not yet featured into Bollywood Movies but yet have a lot of listeners. Coming back to the question what makes a great Bollywood DJ, what i feel is that there are three main things to know. The First is to know your music in and out. Maybe you are a 20-year-old DJ but there will be people in the crowd who are 50 Years Old. So, you need to know the music from the 60s to the latest tracks in the 21st Century. A good portfolio of 500 to 1000 tracks is a good starting point (Dancing and Party Tracks mostly). The second most important thing to know is how to categorise the music into sub genres. You can do it year wise (80s, 90s, 2000s) or you can do it tempo and time signature wise. 

How i have done it is all the music released before 2005 is in Sub Folders like 80's, 90s and 2000s. I have a made a folder for all the original songs post 2005, a separate folder for 6/8 Time Signature tracks and another folder for Punjabi Music. This makes it easier for me to scroll through hundreds of songs at once and i have a good idea where to find which song.

The third and the most important thing is to know when to play which song and for how long. Typically you should play a song for not more than 2 mins. Otherwise, the crowd starts getting bored. The flow of your set is extremely important. I prefer to start with a slow tempo and gradually build the pace. That idea has worked for me all these years. Once you have sorted your tempo and flow you can then move on to advanced concepts like Harmonic Mixing which i think is the best Mixing Style. Harmonic mixing or key mixing (also referred to as mixing in key) is a DJ's continuous mix between two pre-recorded tracks that are most often either in the same key, or their keys are relative or in a subdominant or dominant relationship with one another."

Last few Tips for New DJs

"Djing is a game of instinct. With time and experience you will develop your own style and begin to realise what works and what doesn't work. The more gigs you do the more experience you get. Also attending events of other DJs who have been doing it for years now helps to understand the process."

Dj Ruchir has his original music out which have millions of views and plans to release more tracks this year.

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