When you label someone an underdog or the subject of a Cinderella story, you inevitably feel some kind of pity for that person. Well, you can leave your pity at home today for this unlikely DJ who's been flourishing for years. DJ Kalkutta may be one of the more visible DJs we've profiled 1 but don't think you have the whole picture just yet. She started out falling in love with producing music at a young age but at the suggestion of an ex-boyfriend she took up DJing, which opened up new doors for her as she went on tour with Cash Cash and Karmin. It was at this time that she was attending NYU’s Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music and the Berklee Music Conservatory to fine tune her proclivity for music production. Not only has she gone on to DJ sets around the world, one of which Prince sat in on and enjoyed, but she's also charted now on the Billboard Hot 100 as a songwriter and shows no sign of slowing down. But all of this probably wouldn't have happened if it weren't for one woman--her adopted mother.
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Born in Calcutta, India (hence the name Kalkutta), the young music prodigy's fate was handed over to a Mother Teresa-founded orphanage at a mere 2 days old. Well into her infancy, an American woman adopted Kalkutta, brought her back to the states, and gave her the shot at a brighter future. The dance floors of the world thank you, Kalkutta's adopted mother. Although Kalkutta hasn't returned to India since, she plans on visiting to check out what the music scene is like. Once she arrived in America, it didn't take long for her to feed into her natural attraction for music: "I spent most of my childhood in the middle of nowhere, so I really had to go out of my way to find Hip-Hop. I was the first kid in my class with Napster and the first thing I downloaded was Illmatic." Eventually she came across the unique style of Timbaland's Middle Eastern influenced beats, which was the closest thing she could enjoy that reminded her of her cultural roots. When she tried her hand at making a beat herself, she ended up with what she calls a "Rob-Fusari-wannabe-hot-mess."
Once she picked up some basics from her ex-boyfriend on the 1's and 2's, she moved onto taking lessons from Scratch Academy instructor DJ Jay Jung. From there, she networked hard to insert herself into the circuit for gigs in the Big Apple: "That grind was real AF [as fuck]. I don’t think I met a single person between 2010 and 2012 that I didn’t 'pitch' myself to in one way or another. Lots of freejaying occurred. It was the worst of times, it was the worst of times." Her first gig was at the Adidas Originals store in SoHo. Although she took it as a low pressure event, she could feel the nerves kicking in. Then, with her 2 Technics 1200s, Numark X6 mixer, and Serato SL1 in tow, she had her first real test as a DJ for people to dance at the Hudson Hotel. She claims that "surely my set was horrible and incredibly random [but] they hired me again so couldn’t have been that bad [laughs]."
Since then it's been a sharp, upward curve as her calendar filled up faster with new shows than a diner's reservation list on Mother's Day. She admits that her style of DJing has been evolving each year, for the better--"depending on what and who I’m inspired by and how that corresponds with musical trends. I’m also always trying to improve from a technical standpoint and constantly striving to be more creative. I probably couldn’t sit through a set of mine from a few years ago now [laughs]." For the benefit of the rest of us, she's picked up some pointers along the way:
- "I will say the gay community is consistently on the pulse of every musical trend. So is the UK. If you want to know what lies ahead on the musical landscape look to the Brits and the gays. Dey know."
- "Events definitely give you more flexibility to ‘educate’. Clubs expect you to keep people moving so they can make money. If you want to put people on to hours of music they have never heard before you might make a really great blogger though...and I hear there’s money in ad space!"
And also some things you need as a DJ:
- "Tolerance for nightlife politics."
- "Firm grasp on marketing/branding."
- "Give good email. (Oh, you thought I was gonna say something about musical knowledge? Ha!)"
For those keeping an eye out for the next trend in DJing, Kalkutta has you covered:
"Content based booking. Gonna be all content based sooner than you think. Better learn yourself a DAW real quick, kids!"
On the producing side, she can tell that being a DJ as well has made her hyper aware of what other producers are doing as she assembles sets and discovers new music to play. When she's in the booth, she's chasing after that "'gotta hear this over again immediately' crack factor." The process may look something like this: "For original stuff I keep everything incredibly simple at first. Start with deciding a BPM and giving it a very very basic version of what will eventually become the percussion for the song. Then I figure out the chord progression for the hook. I usually just throw in a piano and at most a bass and write around that first. The emptiness of the track lends so much creative freedom to the writing process--bells & whistles can come as the song develops." It's this regimen that has secured her publishing deal with Sony ATV as well as a structured outlet for her first in with music.
As many DJs are prone to do these days, Kalkutta mixes her passions (fashion and music) by DJing many high end clothing brand parties. When she's not coming up with the new hit radio song2 or spinning for Republic Records' VMA after party, her goal is "napping." Oh, and Timbaland, if you're reading this somewhere out there, Kalkutta wants to know, "How did you decide on the Arabic & Bollywood samples you used? Were they just random or recommended by someone?"
1. [Yes, that was her DJing Good Morning America in a bright Adidas tracksuit]^
2. [Kalkutta co-wrote and co-produced "New Americana" by Halsey which was the second most played song on Apple Beats 1 Radio during its first month out]^
Last Call
1. What is your favorite movie of all time?Catch Me If You Can
2. As a young DJ, who was the one DJ you looked up to?MEL DEBARGE.
3. As a DJ, what's your biggest pet peeve?Requests prefaced by slurry lengthy stories about how it’s your friend’s birthday/bachelorette party/inside joke song/you need to get laid--nobody cares!
4. What is your current DJ set up at home?Technics/mixer to spin on, Duet 2/Apple display/Axiom 49 key/Macbook Pro retina/AKG mic/Rokits for production.
5. What's your favorite record of all time?No single all time fave--but some greats are: Amy Winehouse Back to Black, Lauryn Hill The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Frank Ocean Nostalgia Ultra, Missy Elliott Miss E So Addictive, MIA Arular and obv Michael Thriller.
Keep up with DJ Kalkutta on her Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, website, and Youtube.
Bryan Hahn has some questions of his own for Timbaland like why do you have to be so dirty at producing? He's on Twitter @notupstate.