Gamechangers 2 (Friday October 18; 16.30 Felix Meritis) Click for more information
“To tell you the truth, I think I have succeeded despite the odds. Nothing has come easy for me. I’ve often had to fight my own company and team to execute my vision. It’s a cliché but, my ideas are often ahead of their time.
“I really think that when your intentions are pure and you have a bigger goal in mind, things fall into place.”
While ADE’s much anticipated Gamechangers 2 panel includes dance/ electronic music making pioneers Giorgio Moroder, Nile Rodgers and Cabaret Voltaire’s Stephen Mallinder alongside tech visionaries Dave Smith (MIDI) and Gerhard Behles (Ableton) it also features India’s EDM founding guru Shailendra Singh.
“In my gut, I knew that EDM would really catch the hearts of this country. It has very few lyrics, and it’s complete energy,” he says of his decision to launch Goa’s Sunburn Festival in 2007, “I knew that the Indian youth, regardless of their language in this United Sates of India, would connect with the music. EDM really has the power to unite.”
Prior to becoming involved in nightlife and dance music, the wildly successful entrepreneur busied himself in sports marketing, talent management, live music and entertainment and writing a how-to succeed book called F%&k Knows?’ and will be sharing some of his hard earned knowledge at ADE on Friday 18 (at 14.30 in Felix Meritis’ main room F5: http://bit.ly/1eG429F )
Such as what have been some of his biggest mistakes?
I’m not being arrogant, but I’ll be honest. I’m too wired up to make mistakes,” he laughs, “I see the big picture, and I see every piece of the puzzle. I can sort out all the logistics in a second, because I know exactly what people want. India is an interestingly chaotic market. At times is can get complicated and mistakes can certainly happen.”
“But there’s no getting around that,” he concedes. “With 40 Sunburn gigs happening this year, and work continuing across all other arms of the Percept company, and my own personal creative projects to tackles, I hand over some of the reigns and equip my team to handle all eventualities. The Sunburn team is completely dedicated and very emotional about the Brand”.
So is he superstitious?
“Not at all, I really actually believe in what I wrote in F?@K Knows – you never know what is going to happen next,” he says.
“You’ve got to be prepared for whatever comes and you have to make the most of it. You never know if you are actually going to wake up the next morning. There is nothing like the prospect of death, to make you live.”
Skrufff (Jonty Skrufff): You started your career in sports marketing, talent management, live music and entertainment: what prompted you to try and take on dance music?
Shailendra Singh: “Throughout my career, I have created, planned and managed thousands of India’s events. I’m in the business of making people happy. The fact is, India’s youth population is exploding. There are 600 million Indians under the age of 25. I knew they needed to be entertained. In a country that only offers movie theaters and cricket matches as entertainment for the youth, I wanted to offer a chance for kids to get outdoors, meet old friends and new and enjoy themselves.
So in 2007, I actually launched two different music festivals, Metalfest and Sunburn. Metalfest did better, financially – but in my gut, I knew that EDM would really catch the hearts of this country. EMD really has the power to unite.”
Skrufff: What was the original vision for Sunburn Festival in particular?
Shailendra Singh: “Sunburn has always been ‘of the fans, for the fans, by the fans’. I’m pretty wired up to the pulse of the country. I knew what these 600 million would want – they would want to be entertained. And, with Percept’s 27 years experience (his marketing agency), we knew how to give it to them. We always keep the fans in mind when making a decision for the brand and looking ahead for the future.”
Skrufff: Many politicians and media owners in India have long demonised club culture for being basically about drugs and Western decadence: how much of an issue was that when you started Sunburn?
Shailendra Singh: “All my life, I have been against drugs, prostitution, smoking, gambling. I’ll enjoy a nice glass of wine, but otherwise I’m a very clean, straight, legal guy. In our 7 years of running these massive events, we have never once allowed the gig to go over curfew. And outdoor curfew in India is 10pm!! Can you imagine shutting an international festival at that hour?
From the start, we have had no tolerance for drugs and even for smoking outside of designated places. We have followed all the rules and regulations set forth by the government and law enforcement. We invite families to come and enjoy. My 75 year old mother comes to our events! And luckily, our fans have been exceptionally well behaved. We really have to thank our fans for breaking the stigmas associated with electronic music here.”
Skrufff: How much of an issue does it remain today Have you had any events targeted by cops drug-testing everyone inside?
Shailendra Singh: “We actually request law enforcement to monitor our gigs. We ask the Narcotics officers to give us a brief of what we can do to remain complaint. If they say ‘put up 20 cctv cameras’, we put up 40. If they say 2 ambulances outside, we arrange for 5. Again, at the end of the day, it’s all about the fans, and it’s our responsibility to keep them safe and secure. Our fans have been incredibly supportive and well-behaved, so no one has had anything to really sink their teeth into.”
Skrufff: India was one of the first countries to develop a house music scene via the raves in Goa of the early 90s: why didn’t those parties cross over to a wider audience earlier?
Shailendra Singh: “I think because it was mainly trance music. It was raw and real and very creatively disorganized. It was hard for the greater population to grab ahold of that. And I don’t think the real Goa ravers wanted it to become mainstream. Kind of defeats the purpose. But, more so, live entertainment and intellectual properties were a thing of the future at that time. Only now, has that same energy been able to spark off a forest fire of dance music fans all over the country.”
Skrufff: You’ve been closely involved in selling the likes of Guetta and Tiesto to a virgin audience: how well known were each when you first brought them? (what challenges did that bring and how did you address/solve them?)
Shailendra Singh: “The digital revolution/ explosion has pretty much made a one world economy. The young people are so wired up that Guetta and Teisto were already household names here, when they came. It was a no-brainer to get them.”
Skrufff: Why did you decide to write a book?
Shailendra Singh: “The idea for writing the book came from a dying desire of wanting to be able to share my knowledge, experiences and feelings with the ‘Young New India’. I’m both blessed, and have worked hard, to have an incredible life so far. Crazy moments, bizarre experiences, comedy and tragedy. Not for any sort of preaching and teaching. . . but just to connect with this energetic and promising bunch. I thought, ‘what better way, than laying it all out there in a book?’.”
Skrufff: Why call the book “F%&k Knows?’
Shailendra Singh: “In the mid-90’s, whenever I asked questions to my friends, my family or to the universe, the answer generally was ‘God Knows’. It occurred to me, in many different ways, at many different times, that I was not going to get a chance to meet God anytime soon. He was obviously not going to pop down and have a quick chai with me and answer my questions. So, I decided to name my book ‘F?@K Knows’. I think this is an easier thought for humans to connect with and to explain the very interesting unpredictable life that we live.”
Skrufff: How big a role has luck played in your life/ career?
Shailendra Singh: “I think there’s more bad luck than good. 10 minutes after we opened the gates on the biggest EDM show India had ever seen – Swedish House Mafia – and thousands of kids were still running into the venue, we got word that a huge politician had passed away. Someone else might have pushed through despite the risks (protests in the streets, forced closure by supporters of that party) but we took the call to cancel the gig.
When Swedish House Mafia returned, their plane was struck by lightening in Bali. When we are minutes away from opening the gates to India’s biggest ever product activation event at the O2 Arena in London, riots hit the city. Full lockdown happened. But despite all of this, we have managed to pull it all off, without the world ever knowing the challenges.”
Shailendra joins Giorgio Moroder, Stephen Mallinder (Cabaret Voltaire), Nile Rodgers (Chic), Dave Smith (Dave Smith Instruments founder) and Gerhard Behles (Ableton CEO) on the Gamechangers 2 panel at ADE, which takes place on Friday October 18 at 14.30 in Felix Meritis’ main room F5: http://bit.ly/1eG429F )
Questions by Jonty Skrufff (who also moderates the panel).
Shailendra Singh Fuck Knows - click for more