In what is still a largely male dominated turf, Pearl, with her unique style and zest for music has managed to carve a niche for herself in the field of disc jockeying. Married to DJ Nikhil Chinapa, she is the co-owner of Submerge, which is responsible for bringing a lot of international talent to Indian shores. “I have been playing for a decade now and I have no idea where the years flew by! It’s been a massive and thoroughly enjoyable journey with a great mix of gigs and acts,” she says.
Having spent a decade on the console now, Pearl believes that Electronic Dance Music scene in India is booming by the day. She is currently putting together tracks for her set at Sunburn’s Mumbai edition over the Good Friday weekend. And as much as she loves her job, she’s doubly excited about playing for one of her favourite set of audiences, Mumbai! “The best part about the audiences in Mumbai is that they’re very receptive to new sounds. And that aspect is growing by the day. I see the knowledge about EDM spreading every year here,” she says adding, “Audiences are always in a flux. That’s a given. But it’s reassuring to see more and more people entering the fray and taking to EDM.”
Apart from Mumbai, Pearl loves to beat in Goa. “Playing at Sunburn Goa at the end of the year is like a culmination for a year’s worth of work where audiences from every corner of the country gather for a few hours. It’s an emotional experience to say the least,” she says.
Having toured the world over the last few years, Pearl has her international favourites too. And Japan for one, tops the list. “The clubbing crowd in Japan is extremely forward thinking, much like every other aspect of their lives. They also pay a lot of attention to he sound systems, more than I have seen anywhere else in the world,” she says.
While spinning tracks is an unparalleled high for the artiste, sometimes she just likes to let her hair down and bask in the high decibels of sound. “I was in Malaysia recently for a concert and had the chance to listen to Chemical Brothers after my set. It’s a perfect end to a festival when you soothe your ears after having played all day long,” she says. Giving her listeners a preview of what follows on the weekend an excited Pearl says, “It’ll be a mix of techno and progressive trance. And if time permits, a drift of trance.”