Desi Dance Party with DJs, Rappers and Dhol Players

Remember the desi dance party we told you about that Mishti Music, DJ Maieli, Dj Anjali, Discostan, Horsepowar and a bunch of other dope South Asian artists threw in LA? Well, unfortunately we couldn't be there but it looked like it was a blast. We caught up with DJ Maieli (LA based DJ producer and one of the organizers of this event) and asked her about how it all went down. 

Tell us a little bit about this event, what was it all about and why did you guys put it together?

Taz (Mishthi Music) and I had been talking for a few months about starting an alternative club night that would combine all our favorite dance music infused with South Asian music. A sound we felt was lacking in the Los Angeles music scene. When Dj Anjali and the Incredible Kid from Portland hit up Taz to let her know they were going to be in town and were looking to play a show we decided this was the perfect opportunity. We teamed up with MTooray, US’s first female dhol player and co-founder of dholnation and Aruna Irani from LA’s Discostan to perform and put together this event. 

Horsepowar had just flown in from India and was stopping by LA for her birthday before heading to perform at this year’s SXSW so it worked out perfectly adding her as a special guest to the lineup for her LA debut. We also had a dance crew, henna booth and a clothing vendor. We really wanted to make this show as interactive as possible and involve as many people from the community.

Los Angeles has so much amazing young Desi talent but unlike other cities that have a more collaborative supportive tight-knit group, here we are very spread out and kind of isolated, largely due to logistics, so I wanted to create a space for us to celebrate the music from our culture and have an event for everyone to come together regardless of ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, etc. and connect through dance and music and have fun, which is exactly what went down so our mission for the night was accomplished but this is just the beginning. I truly felt like I was part of something special on Friday night and I can’t wait to see the growth from here.

It's great to see South Asian artists bring people together and spread the culture in a new and unique way. The more people we talk to the more its clear to us how necessary it is to create spaces that facilitate us coming closer to one another and learning from each other. 

Lets bring this party to NY!

For more follow Mishthi Music, Horsepowar, DJ Maieli, Discostan, DJ Anjali and the Kid, Malinder Tooray.