NH7

The inaugural Smash Up was held at Smaaash! in Kamala Mills, Mumbai on Friday, March 8. The night was curated by Delhi producer/DJ Dualist Inquiry and played host to three electronica acts.

DJ duo AlgoRhythm were the first act of the night. Varun Patra, one half of the act alongside Paloma Monnappa, got the night started with some nu disco and electro swing.

Two huge projectors were casting some truly trippy visuals on vast stretches of the ceiling at Smaaash!

Dualist Inquiry was in charge of the proceedings and he alternated between geeing up the crowd and introducing various artists. Here, Paloma Monnappa of AlgoRhythm finishes her set before handing over the console to Mr Bakshi.

The masses gathered at Smaash! by around 10pm and they were certainly in the mood for a party. For a modest Rs 500, patrons were given three drink coupons and one starter, which has to go down as one of the more economical nights out in Mumbai. The venue was pretty huge, with a bowling alley, virtual cricket lanes, arcade games and more, but most people refused to leave the dancefloor, which was a good sign.

DJ Amul came on after AlgoRhythm and he continued with the nu disco vibe. The set was well paced and allowed the ex-Zenzi resident DJ to showcase some of his crazy skills.

A comically over-sized balloon was a special guest at the event. We were informed that it was brought to the venue by attendees of a bachelor party that took place at the venue on the afternoon of the gig.

The last performer of the night was glitch hop DJ/producer Ez Riser, a new avatar of Sohail Arora of Bay Beat Collective. He played a lot of crackling, glitchy beats that got an already fired-up crowd to bounce around on the dancefloor like crazy.

The party was so intense that one of the bigger speakers fell hard during one of Ez Riser's tunes. Now that's how you drop the beat!

Dualist Inquiry took charge of proceedings but he also spent time talking to lots of fans who wanted to meet him. His debut album Doppelganger is out this week and check out these tour dates to catch him live in your city.

Finally, all the "smashing" ceased and people were getting out of Smaaash! on a high note. Hopefully, this is just the first of many Smash Ups!