As another party season rolls around, GQ gets the inside dope on the Indian (and Indian-origin) DJs and producers serving up the biggest bangers and dominating the rave and hip-hop scenes, in India and abroad. (Bonus: All the gear you need to make your own viral cuts).
NUCLEYA REACTION
GQ spends an afternoon with Udyan Sagar, behind the secret gates of India’s dance music phenom
As my scooter eases up to the location that I’ve been sent, I stop, unsure, and make a call. There’s no indication of an address and the two-storey Portuguese-style house, all pillars, grand windows and balconies, with two German cars parked in the driveway, differs from what I’d imagined.
But, of course, this is Nucleya’s house. The man headlines Indian festivals, plays at Glastonbury and Electric Daisy Carnival, and his music features in big-budget Bollywood films. The palatial estate where he lives with his wife and son – rented, while he develops a larger and more secluded property – shouldn’t be that much of a surprise.
Up to a point, I also know Udyan Sagar to be an individual so concerned with his privacy that he has his parcels delivered to another address. When I first interviewed him in 2013, a time when he’d just left the more experimental electronic duo Bandish Projekt and was putting together the electrodesi album that would be Koocha Monster, he came across as shy and modest. Since then, every chat and chance meeting with the unassuming artist has only reinforced that impression. Nucleya, the leading light of Indian electronic music, has a personality more likely to be associated with a solitary gardener than a superstar DJ.
“I have many different sides,” Nucleya tells me, almost as soon as we’ve begun our conversation. We sit in the airy bedroom, overlooking the river below and he’s at pains to point this out – so frequently, in fact, that we chuckle at the catchphrase by the end of our conversation.
This story is from the November 2018 edition of GQ India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the November 2018 edition of GQ India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
The 30 Best Watches Of 2024
Rounding up the best shapes, materials, complications and sizes from this year's horological novelty treasure chest.
Wes Lang's Heroes of Love...
Last month, LA-based artist Wes Lang unveiled The Black Paintings, a monumental series of works that play like storyboards to a raucous midnight horror movieand a spiritual quest. Here, GQ collaborates with the artist on a fashion story that brings his stylish characters off the canvas.
The Miraculous Resurrection of Notre Dame
In 2019, a fire nearly destroyed the crown jewel of France-and the nation set a breakneck five-year deadline to bring it back from the ashes. This is the story of how an army of artisans turned back centuries to restore Notre-Dame by hand, and wound up reviving something even greater than the cathedral itself.
"IT'S NOT ABOUT BEING PERFECT. IT'S ABOUT BEING REVOLUTIONARY."
Beyoncé Knowles-Carter talks business, legacy, art, and family
The Wedding Singers
Madboy Mink's dynamic duo, Saba Azad and Imaad Shah, redefine festive style.
A Watch Is More Than Just a Pretty Face
As collectors look to make their grail watches stand out, they're turning to unique vintage bracelets and paying thousands on thousands for straps on the secondary market.
The Fluidity of Cartier
Why Gen Z stars are obsessed with this historic maison.
A Princess with Passion
From restoring monuments to reviving hereditary crafts, Bhavnagar's Brijeshwari Kumari Gohil has her sights on the future.
THE FUTURE SOUNDS LIKE AT EEZ
The Coachella-slaying, multi-language-singing, genre-obliterating members of Ateez are quickly becoming load-bearing stars of our global pop universe.
DEMNA UNMASKED
He's the most influential designer of the past decade. He's also the most controversial. Now the creative director of Balenciaga is exploring a surprising source of inspiration: happiness. GQ's Samuel Hine witnesses the dawn of Demna's new era, in Paris, New York, and Shanghai. Photographs by Jason Nocito.