Come Dance With Me: Recent Episodes
Pooja B
Pooja B (she/her) is an Indian artist who is now based in Berlin. Her sound was heavily influenced by the music she heard here when she first visited the city back in 2016. Her idea of techno is a skittish exploration of time and space in this Dystopian world. While futuristic, loopy, industrial sounds for dark clubs are her signature style, she can skillfully adapt to play music for outdoor spaces which still have a sprinkling of her special flavor.
Last year, she curated the 'We The People' Covid Relief Fundraiser Compilation which received a lot of support and acclaim from all over the world. This was a special effort to gather artists of Indian heritage to come together to raise funds for covid relief work in India while they live far away from loved ones.
Now DJing for over 12 years, she has played several festivals and clubs in Europe (Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Spain), Asia (Bali, China, India, Japan, Sri Lanka), South America (Chile), and the Middle East (Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, Dubai). Her most recent noteworthy appearances were at Sisyphos, Suicide Club, Mensch Meier in Berlin & for Bronx Sauna, a queer rave in Stockholm.
She co-founded The EQ Way collective in India and curated 'The EQ Way' radio show on Flux Music (Berlin), which provided a platform for female-identifying & queer artists to showcase their music to a wider audience. She hosts a bi-weekly radio show called "ikigai" on India’s primary community radio, Boxout.fm which is a journey diving into realms of dark industrial techno.
She has been a resident at Analog Room a weekly underground party with a cult following in Dubai, where she was based because of her flight-attendant job. She also held residencies at Warped & Electric Days prior to this, also in Dubai.
Pooja B releases her music under the alias “ikigai”. Ikigai is a Japanese concept that means "a reason for being". Her reason for being is to make people dance :) In a short time, she has had releases on Sonata Music, Underdub Records, Fabrik Music, SMR Underground, Fehlr Musik, 22.2, and has had 3 Bandcamp self-releases. She also takes a firm stand against racism, sexism & environmental issues, which she expresses via her music.
It was so much fun playing this set for the wonderful folk at the first edition of the Celestial Festival :) Unlike a usual build-up to a set, since I was handed the room with great energy, I felt that momentum needed to continue for just a little longer before I took things down the trippy rabbit hole that I love to wander....a journey I hope you enjoy as much as I did ;)
Top sets also by Coco Cobra, BB Deng & Toshiki Shimada!
A lil something about the Celestial Festival and the amazing work they did:
This festival was curated to celebrate the Asian Diasporic community by amplifying our stories and voices by platforming up-and-coming talents from our community in this event. Their goal was to highlight the diverse Asian cultures through music, sound, taste, and visuals in the celebration of the Lunar New Year. If this year has taught us anything, it is that the Asian Diasporic community is still misunderstood, misrepresented (by the mainstream media), exotified, and marginalized. In Germany specifically, there is a lack of awareness as to how diverse Asian identities and cultures are. The Lunar New Year festival is one step in providing a space for pop music and interdisciplinary art practices to bring the Asian diaspora together, raise awareness of diverse identities, and strengthen solidarity across communities (within and outside of the Asian Diasporic identity)."
Making this mix was an opportunity for me to feature Ukrainian artists, labels and compilations which raised money for humanitarian work. This is not an easy listening mix as it resonates strongly with current times. Some tracks are about resistance and some tap into the feeling of angst. I discovered some gems by lesser known artists and dropped some from. my fav artists. I am very excited to share this mix with all the listeners.
If you fancy, you can donate by going to my artist page on Soundcloud and clicking 'Support Pooja B/ikigai' and all funds will be matched by me and sent to humanitarian work in Ukraine for the LGBTQ and POC communities.
Tracklist: Vzir - Zavoloka Adsath - Amotik Mental Highway - Dasha Rush Spheric - Border One Brain Cycle - Art Electronix Sadsath - Amotik Choice - R.M.K Transplantation - Positive Merge Destructive Power of Chaos - Miracle of birth Second Burn - Setoac Mass UFO Sonar - Sandro Galli Fly by Night - Dimi Angélis Red Horse - Recid Offline (feat. Rødhad) - FJAAK Ghost - Woo York
If you like trippy ravey shit, skip over to after 30min of the set. The last of the music I played at the end of an epic weekend. Reliving and sharing those moments with the world coz it was fuckin special and a privilege! Hope you enjoy dancing to this as much as I LOVED playing this set ;)
Hellllllo!
It's been a long time since I put something here. So here goes :) Tried to capture the mood of an all night set into an hour taking a steady curve up with a mixbag of tunes. Hope you like it and if you do tell me what was your favourite bit.
As always turn it up and #ComeDanceWithMe
Ola :)
Recorded this set on the flight in from Paris where I was stuck unexpectedly due to a bird strike on our plane's engine and hence missed my NYE Chennai gig. The music had to be played and shared so here it is....sometimes things don't turn out quite like we plan so we need to improvise. I will make it down soon for another gig and I hope y'all had a smashing NYE anyway.
This is a snippet of a b2b set I played with Blackdual warming up for Amotik in Madrid last weekend. It was super fun as this wasn't planned and the set and night went so well! Big love to the crew in Madrid who showed up early and stayed dancing late. Can't wait to go back again <3
PC: @fractionmusic
Did this very special set for the TECHNO UNDERGROUND show on Fluxfm.de based out of Berlin. Big up to Pawas for the feature. Not for the milk hearted ;)
One last set for the year...expect to hear some of these sounds at the last gig of the year where I warm up for Nick Curly on the 29th Dec at Kitty Ko in Bangalore. And then we dive into the new year with some heavier sounds when I play alongside Klaudia Gawlas at Decibel Dubai on the 11th of Jan after which a bunch of us take off for the year's most awaited rave 81115 on the 19th & 20th of Jan (if you know you know) ;) Get set for the weekend with this and if you're in town in any of these cities, swing by and COME DANCE WITH ME!
A special mix that I did for Soul of India edition 21. Some current favourites on the playlist, grab 'em if you like. Yes sharing the playlist because it's a day of spreading some love ;) Go ahead and make someone's day by sharing as well <3 Enough banter, now turn it up and COME DANCE WITH ME!
- The Horrorist - One Night in NYC (Chris Liebing Remix) [Things To Come Records]
- DIB - Otaku 010 (Original Mix) [Longitudinal Waves]
- Ø [Phase] - Alone In Time? (Floor Mix) [Token]
- Setaoc Mass - Hard Drive 0.3 (Original Mix) [Figure]
- H880 - KEPLER
- Agent Orange - Liquid Lunch (Original Mix) [Bitten}
- D-Deck - Pincer (Original Mix) [Alleanza] 8.Rebekah - Orbital (Original Mix) [Mord]
- Tadeo - The Labyrinth [Token]
- Infiniti - Skyway (Marcel Dettmann Remix) [K7 Records]
- Amotik - Solah (Original Mix) [Amotik] 12.Andrea Belluzzi - 75 (Original Mix) [Synewave]
- FD CTRL - Moonship [Underdub Records]
A snippet of the set I played at a very special rave in Sri Lanka with the dearest and craziest folks I know....those moments so close to the heart somehow cherished through these sounds. One way to take me back when I can't really be there and yet live all those memories as they come flooding right back to me. If you were there you know what I mean....Hope it makes you smile just the way it makes me :)
After much trouble from SC over my special anniversary podcast, this is finally going up. It was also aired on the Deeper Sounds radio show hosted by Andy Eastough on Sunday. I personally love the groove after the first 20min or so, but some seem to like the twisted tracks in the start very much. Let me know what you think of it :) This podcast series has come a long way, meandering through many soundscapes that I continue to explore. I can't say I strained every nerve to get here, but I have done the best I can along with juggling a flying job. And I am thankful that I can live in accordance not with 1 but 2 of the best things that make me. Might I add that someone's picking up the pen again and you will have some juicy content to read soon. Very excited about everything that's in store! Thank you all for listening, dancing and being there <3 Now enough with the emo if you read all of it. Turn up the bass, and COME DANCE WITH ME!
Mostly chill grooves for this edition of Deeper Sounds that was aired yesterday on my friend Andy Eastough's show. It's awesome what this guy is doing as he usually features new and fresh talent on his show from across the globe. A great platform to showcase new sounds and for different artists to meet. Check this one out and share the love xx
When I play this kinda sound it makes me happy in the true sense. Fiddled around layering many hypnotic loops...setting a mesmerising motion of dance. I hope I'm able to transpire what I felt while making this set to all of you. Now turn it up and COME DANCE WITH ME!
Back from a techno heavy weekend from Berlin and this is what I did on the plane. Very chilled and one of the most experimental I've got with music. Hope you like! And as always please do let me know what you think of it :)