Chasing The Sunrays

SLEEPLESS IN LAS VEGAS: DJ AQEEL

REVERED PARTY SPOT
Las Vegas. All the clubs are simply mind blowing with the best DJs in the world playing the most amazing music, in particular: Marquee, Hakkasan and XS.

IT ROCKS BECAUSE
Every one is here to party and have a good time… making it by far, the best city in the world.

MEMORABLE TAKE-AWAY
I learnt how to play Texas hold ’em poker!

NON-STOP PARTY METER
A night out normally lasts three or four hours; I go to Vegas every year without fail.

HIGH NOTES
It is mostly hip hop and house, but amazing music.

THE MOOD
The energy of Vegas, the city that never sleeps, is incomparable. No place can match up to it.

ON THE WISH LIST
I would love to play in Ibiza – another very cool party destination.

VISIT
Las Vegas all year round and Ibiza from June till September.

FAVOURITE PARTY SPOTS
Miami, Ibiza, St Tropez, London.

LOCATION DETAILS
Marquee: marqueelasvegas.com, Hakkasan: hakkasanlv.com, XS: xslasvegas.com

GETTING THERE
Virgin Atlantic flies into Las Vegas from Mumbai with a stopover in London (partially operated by Jet Airways).

Personal mantra: Expect the Unexpected.
DJ Aqeel is a prolific international DJ, and has played twice at the World Economic Forum in Davos (Swiss) representing India and entertaining the likes of Bill Clinton and Kofi Annan. As a producer, his remix albums have sold over seven million copies worldwide; he has also introduced the first ever DJ-owned record label in the country under the brand Power Play Records. He’s behind The Super Club in India, with nightclubs like Poison, Bling and Hype.

LIFE’S A BEACH IN GOA: NIKHIL CHINAPA
REVERED PARTY SPOT
Zanzibar, the beach shack on Baga beach, is one of a few. I’ve also done some amazing gigs in Manipal, Indore, Baroda and Bengaluru…there’s something special about playing to your home crowd.

IT ROCKS BECAUSE
It’s a magical feeling playing music on a beach, looking out at the sunset and the ocean. It’s therapeutic and sublime… makes you feel that all is well with the world (even if it’s not).

MEMORABLE MOMENT
The amazing crowd we had in 2007/2008. Those were undoubtedly some of the best years we’ve had at Zanzibar.

NON-STOP PARTY METER
Six hours a day for five days straight.

HIGH NOTES
Beach house music: it has an easy tempo and brings out the smiles.

THE MOOD
It’s on a beach in Goa…

VISIT
December 30… every year.

LOCATION DETAILS
Zanzibar is on Baga beach, outside Mambos in Calangute.

GETTING THERE
Most local airlines fly into Goa daily from Mumbai and Delhi.

Personal mantra: Nothing brings people together like dance music.
MTV mascot, DJ, VJ, promoter, festival director, radio host, dance music fanatic, Nikhil Chinapa wears many hats. At MTV, Chinapa has hosted almost every show the channel has aired. Chinapa and his company, Submerge Music, is known for having been instrumental in bringing the most prominent DJs to India and is credited to be a pioneer for EDM in India. Married to DJ Pearl, he also hosts a popular weekly radio show called Together.

NON-STOP DANCING IN IBIZA: ANISH SOOD

COOLEST PARTY LOCATION
Definitely Ibiza (the third largest Balearic island in Spain).

IT ROCKS BECAUSE
It has a phenomenal vibe. Clubbing drives the entire island’s revenue and everything around it is designed to ensure you have the best nightlife experience ever – with the scale of the clubs and lineups. It is a pilgrimage every serious dance music fan must make at some point of time in their lives.

MEMORABLE MOMENTS
The amazing sunrise and sunset views.

NON-STOP PARTY METER
I was at one party from 3 p.m. until 5 a.m., so that’s 14 hours straight!

MUSICAL NOTES
Different clubs play different styles, though it’s all primarily dance music, ranging from commercial and funky house to deep house and techno.

THE MOOD
Loud music, colourful drinks and a lot of pretty people everywhere.

COMPARABLE PLACES
I hear Las Vegas has now become the new Ibiza.

NOSTALGIC TRACK
The Keys by Matt John.

VISIT
June-September.

ALSO LOVE PARTYING AT
Shanghai for the super vibrant and diverse cultural atmosphere it has, Amsterdam during the dance event week and Berlin for its industrial techno clubs.

GETTING THERE
Fly into Spain on Jet Airways or any European carrier (with a stopover in Europe). From Madrid or Barcelona, the local carrier, Iberia, flies regularly into Ibiza.

Personal mantra: It’s all about stage presence and audience interaction.
Anish Sood, 23, has releases on labels around the world, playing over 70 gigs a year, selling out the biggest clubs and festivals including Sunburn, NH7 Weekender and Invasion Festival and performs alongside some of the biggest names in dance music. His debut EP Wanna Be Your Only Love was aired on Armin van Buuren’s A State Of Trance and a music video released nationwide on VH1. Hear him live 6th – 8th of this month at the Enchanted Valley Carnival, Aamby Valley City.

LIVE THE MOMENT IN WARUNG: DJ DEMI

REVERED PARTY SPOT
Warung (South of Brazil, just north of Florianopolis).

IT ROCKS BECAUSE….
It’s an Indonesian hut, warung, along the Praia Brava coastline with 3,000 of the most beautiful people spilling onto the beach, dancing like there’s no tomorrow. The open-air structure at the back of the venue is also in line with the sunrise with a breathtaking view. Not to forget the beaches, the food, the weather, the hospitable people. And hang-gliding!

MEMORABLE MOMENT
I was performing for their New Year’s Eve show, and I didn’t know that this night in Brazil is celebrated with everybody dressed in white, a superstitious belief to symbolise a fresh start, a new chapter, a new year. I’ll never forget the view that particular night when I walked into the DJ booth and was faced with a sea of white in front of me that stretched as far as the eye could see towards the horizon. I stepped up in view of thousands of people, dressed like the ‘grim reaper’.

NON-SPOT PARTY METER
A whole weekend!

THE MOOD
There’s a strong sense of ‘living’ in the moment especially in the southern regions of Brazil. At the same time, I’ve also felt at my most calm and serene state of being. There’s an infectious vibe that reverberates all around you.

NOSTALGIC TRACK
Playing Aztec Knights of the Jaguar at Warung reduced me and pretty much everyone in the club to tears.

VISIT
Anytime between November through March.

ON THE WISH LIST
A six-week music festival called Kazantip, which is held on the northern coast of the Black Sea in Ukraine near the Crimean peninsula. Everyone I know has come back blown away by the experience.

LOCATION DETAILS
Warung Beach Club, Av José Medeiros Vieira, 350, Praia Brava, Itajaí – SC, Zip Code: 88306-800. Phone: (47) 3348-7643. Web: Warungclub.com.br/en/warung

GETTING THERE
European airlines like Lufthansa will take you as far as Rio de Janeiro, after which the local TAM airline will fly into Florianópolis. Warung is approximately one hour by car from there.

Personal Mantra: To give you what you want, not what you expect.
London-based DJ and producer, DEMI, has worked his way up from the open-air venues in Bali in 2000 to the milestone achievement of a Radio One Essential Mix with the SOS project; with two critically acclaimed SOS compilations Balance 013 & Ministry of Sound presents SOS; along with a sonic collage of the seminal deep house label, Alola Record’s rich back catalogue entitled Sounds like Alola Volume 2.