From Calcutta to Belgium: DJ Roop On Classical Roots, Tomorrowland 2024 and All Things Music

DJ Roop shines apart in the dynamic world of electronic dance music as a special blend of innovation and tradition. DJ Roop, whose real name is Kaushik Das, captures the spirit of Kolkata’s unique music culture while aiming for global notoriety. Come, read on his artistic transformation from the electric environment of his classical Indian roots to Tomorrowland 2024 in this exclusive interview with News18.com.

Excerpts from the interview:

There’s an air of intrigue to the name DJ Roop. Could you speak about how it expresses who you are as an artist?

My name is Kaushik Das. Currently, I am working as a full-time software engineer at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). Currently, I am also pursuing my full-time M.Tech degree from Jadavpur University. I am also currently working with the Tomorrowland Foundation Music & Arts School, Kolkata, as their DJing faculty, and at the same time, I am a Disc Jockey (DJ) & music producer by passion. When on stage, I am known by the name DJ ROOP. So the artist in me is just half or 1/4th of my daily life. My friends and colleagues generally say that when I am on stage, I am totally different. But what I usually feel is that I am someone who never wants to stop struggling, hustling and grinding. I have always wanted to explore more and more on whatever field and subject I have an interest in. At present, Electronic Dance Music is what I love doing and I wish that one day I can represent India in the International Dance Music scene along with all the legends who are currently ruling the charts.

It’s a big step to get from classical Indian music to EDM. Why did you decide to combine these two apparently unrelated genres in your performances?

Well, I have always tried to do something that is pretty unique and very different from what the majority of people are doing. Because that would gradually be my unique identity and what I would be known for. I started doing music as an Indian classical singer. I used to sing & play the harmonium, that is how I got my initial music training. But then slowly, when I was in Standard 8 or 9, my interest shifted slowly towards electronic music. So now, after 10 years, as I have been doing this for quite some time and now it’s time that I create my unique identity, I felt it could be a nice idea to combine these two forms of music and try experimenting with the audience. I am eager to see how the audience reacts.

For a lot of musicians, Tomorrowland is the ultimate. What feelings did you initially experience upon discovering that you would be performing at an event of such renown?

On December 26, 2023, I was working at my office in TCS. I was a bit sad because I got no correct gig to lock for NYE. Suddenly in the afternoon, I got an Instagram text from one of the Tomorrowland employees, whom I met during Martin Garrix’s visit to our school [Tomorrowland Foundation & Ek Tara Music & Arts School, Kolkata] , asking if I was available on July 27, 2024. I said yes, and that is when he revealed to me that they wanted to have me perform at Tomorrowland Belgium 2024.

After seeing this, I was almost jumping inside my office, ODC. The scenario was a bit weird, all my sadness was gone and I was totally unknown about how to react to this. I instantly called my parents and informed them about this and they were really happy. I asked a few of my college seniors if I would have any semester exams during this time or not and they confirmed it. I told this news to one of my colleagues & also to one of my very close friends.

Later on the same day, I got the first ever email regarding my act at Tomorrowland Belgium 2024. Later in January 2024, the conversation went on further in mail and they confirmed my travel and stay for all 3 days of the festival’s 2nd weekend and my act on July 27th, 2024, at the RISE Stage for the hosting of Yves V presents V Sessions.

How do you, as an Indian artist, want to appeal to a broad worldwide audience while incorporating aspects of your culture into your performance at Tomorrowland?

To be honest, I still haven’t finalised my playlist. I will do it once I hear back all the clauses about the music copyright & licences of the venue. But I have plans to play such songs that have English vocals, which makes the international audience easy to connect with, but the other instruments in the song should have some Indian ethnic essence, because I don’t want to be just another DJ.

Well, I expect that I will be given a bit of an early time slot, and hence, it would not be correct to play enough energetic bangers in my set. So I have planned to play tracks that give us a fusion of soothing, energetic, indie type vibes. I have many plans to support Indian producers by playing their original songs during my set. Also, I will say that the audience should expect surprises in my set. I am currently working on those surprises. I have never done something like this in any of my gigs before and if I am able to execute it properly at Tomorrowland, that will be the biggest influence from our culture.

Also, I have planned to wear something ethnic, like a kurta or some mixture of Indo-Western style or maybe an Indian cricket team or football or hockey team jersey so that at first glance I can also look like a guy coming from India.

It’s quite the voyage from Kolkata to Tomorrowland. Could you elaborate on the mentors or network of support that you have had along the way?

This achievement couldn’t have been possible without the support of Ek Tara, Tomorrowland Foundation Music and Arts School, Kolkata. I would like to thank all my students at the school. It is just because of their growth results that I am getting recognised as a teacher/trainer. Also, I would like to thank the employees of Tomorrowland, who believed in me and thought I could really add some extra spark to their festival. Also, a special mention goes to the Sunburn Festival team, because they gave me the opportunity to play at their festival and their different events, which I think was an initial boost to the international festival scene. Also PartyMap, who had helped and guided me in many aspects. Other than these, I have always followed many DJs and tried to research how they work, get inspired by them, dig deep into their business ideas and much more.

Working together is a big part of the music industry. Do you have any future collaboration dreams with any artists? If yes, why?

I am already working on a few songs on which I have collaborated with a few young producers. But yes, if I could collaborate with Indian celebrities, in whichever form it may be, that would really be a dream come true for me. Because I will not only be able to gain their knowledge and experience, but I will also be able to get a lot of exposure to the audience. I would also love it if my songs could get released by some big record labels, because exposure is something that is very, very necessary to every artist. Also, I would love to meet all the legends at Tomorrowland and I am trying to come up with some ideas now, so that once I am there I can share them with them and maybe if they find it interesting and agree for a collaboration. Collabs always help in sharing experience, knowledge, inside information, expanding audience listeners and many more.