DJ Ralph Christoph Talks Electronic Music In India, DJs Stop Spinning ‘Summer Of 69’

Electronic music in India is a growing phenomenon but only a few artists show international potential. Here to help is DJ Ralph Christoph from Germany. Christoph will be delivering a talk at the Goethe Hall today at 1830hrs (read 1945hrs) about electronica. He is the head of the Cologne On Pop festival which, given the big deal Mumbai Mirror’s made of it, must be pretty good. Anywho, MM has the interview in which he talks about his experience as a DJ in Germany. The article also claims that “Germany is the birthplace for electronic music”, so there.

Christoph says, on the future of dance music in India

â??The people I met are really into it, they want to change something, they want to create something and I think the time is right for it. They are just fed up with the stuff they are surrounded by and they have to create anew because there are no structures in place. The scene is not big but it’s well-connected and I will be glad if I can help building it up in some small way”

I’m curious. What kind of structures does one need for electronic music? Oh, and Christoph will also be scouting for acts for Cologne On Pop.

Read the entire interview after the break.

 Ralph Christoph, an expert in electronic music and head of the festival c/o pop (Cologne on pop – one of the top electronica festivals in Europe) comes to India for a talk on electronica and to scout for talent that he would like to showcase at his music festival. Held at five different locations in Cologne and parties that run into the wee hours in the morning, c/o POP has been constantly getting the best artists from Europe and also giving a platform for newbies to perform. â??There was a similar project in South East Asia where after research, artists were brought to the c/o POP festival where they were given a chance to showcase their music. Also, German artists went to these countries to produce some music. Every one realizes the potential that this country has. I am the first one here and people will look at my report and will know what the scene is,â? says a seemingly excited Christoph.
ORIGINS OF ELECTRONICA
Germany is the birthplace for electronic music. After the Second World War when the country was pretty much razed to the ground, people wanted to create something different. â??BBC created a radio station. In their studio is where Stockhausen experimented with some nonmusical apparatus and created the first electronic sound. Of course, it has nothing to do with what it is now, but that is the origin of electronic music,â? says Christoph.
He makes it very clear that the workshop will not be a session on teaching how to DJ. The talk will consist of the history and the future of electronica. Armed with a clear idea of the market in Europe and an in-depth knowledge of media trends, the talk promises to provide an insight to a struggling EDM (Electronic Dance Music) market in India.
â??Physical data like CDs are disappearing; the new medium is the internet. This is going to touch every area of music and the changes in Europe are things you might face in India as well. I will talk about market indications and the music business and what it means for a country like India to have a cross exchange with a market like Germany.
â??I will also show a couple of video clips and documentaries by famous artists where you can see the diversity of music in Cologne. There will be some breaks stuff, some diverse techno and some crazy house shit. This will be followed by people asking questions. If people ask me to play some music, or ask me to show some more videos I will,â? says Christoph.
Christoph has been a DJ for the past 20 years and he understands the problems the Electronic music in India faces. â??We had a similar problem in Cologne. We were just doing warehouse parties and illegal stuff. I started the first regular club in Cologne and this was just 10 years ago, where Friday nights were dedicated to electronic music,â? he says.
FUTURE OF DANCE MUSIC
He is really excited about the future of electronic music in India. â??The people I met are really into it, they want to change something, they want to create something and I think the time is right for it. They are just fed up with the stuff they are surrounded by and they have to create anew because there are no structures in place. The scene is not big but it’s well-connected and I will be glad if I can help building it up in some small way,â? he concludes.