Stoned Asia Biography
PATHAAN
Pathaan is one of the very few UK based DJ’s
to have truly crossed the dance/world divide. Whereas
many other world music DJ’s lean nearer to the
roots market, Pathaan’s history is steeped in
dance culture - a stance that is reflected in his popular ‘left-field’ reviews
for DJ Magazine, and his numerous appearances in London,
Ibiza, Italy, Madrid, Barcelona, Brazil, Istanbul,
New York and many far away spots.
Most interesting to lovers of the Asian Underground
sound has been his unique and highly absorbing Stoned
Asia Music series of compilations, which reflect a
personal passion for global chill-out with a sitar
twist. Also a growing musical diversity had led to
the release of ‘Pathaan’s Small World’;
a moniker showcasing the open-minded attitude of his
club nights combined with an obsession for seeking
out the very latest global platters.
Pathaan’s obsession with music started when
he was studying Software Engineering at University
in Leeds. At the time it was house music that pressed
his buttons, and most notably the acclaimed house DJ
Danny Rampling that gained his admiration. After returning
to London, Pathaan worked at Heathrow Airport for United
Airlines. The hours suited his extra curricular activities,
as a 5am – 1pm work shift gave him enough time
to go record hunting in the afternoons and plan his
bid for DJ stardom in the evenings.
After the obsession with house music ended a brief
dalliance with trance began before being replaced by
more ambient forms of electronica. “I became
disillusioned with the whole club scene because I felt
that club-land was full of pretentious, drugged up
people,” he states. Before going on a trip to
India in December of 1996, Pathaan had given Talvin
Singh a tape of his DJ’ing, and after he returned
Singh offered him a residency in the now legendary
Blue Note café. The club night known as Anokha,
and alongside Pathaan’s chilled café sets
would be resident DJ’s State of Bengal and Talvin
Singh on the main dancefloor.
“At the time I was mixing anything from Nusrat
Fateh Ali Khan, to Aphex Twin, to the Rolling Stones,” Pathaan
states. “I played right across the board – which
is a formula that I have stuck to over the years. One
thing that stuck with me since my house days was the ‘Balearic’ sound,
where musically anything goes. So as long as there
is progression and food for thought in why I’m
mixing the sounds that I do, then I’ll do it.”
Nowadays Pathaan incorporates a variety of sounds
from throughout the world, but likes to maintain his
strong Asian/World slant. “My aim has always
been to share the hunt,” he confides. “Because
I write for DJ magazine I get sent a lot of great music,
and that combined with my passion for travel, and an
inability to go past a record shop without diving in
and buying loads of records, means that I’ve
always wanted to share my passion. I don’t think
I’ll ever get to the stage where I think I can’t
buy records because you can always find something in
the bargain buckets.”
A three-week trip to Brazil enlivened a continuing
passion for Brazilian bossa nova, and Pathaan is at
pains to point out that he’s always been a fan
of this type of sound even if it hasn’t always
been apparent in his DJ selections. “Stoned Asia
Music was a tag that I gave to my music back then,
but now I find that if I just play Asian beats all
night long, it’s boring. Even if I played a three-hour
set of Asian beats ranging from ambient to the dancefloor,
then I would still think it’s the same sound.
That’s why I released ‘Small World’ for
Stoned Asia Music, to reap the benefits of my live
sound as it stands today.”
With this said, it is another project that Pathaan
thinks will really take him to the place he wants to
be. Having reached an agreement with ‘Music For
Dreams’ - to release a compilation entitled ‘Pathaan’s
Global Rotation’. The name stems from his residency
in New York up until September 11th, and the plan is
to tour the album with a view to taking up a new residency
in New York on a monthly basis. Watch this space……….
The reason that Pathaan ended a very successful stint
in the Big Apple is as unfortunate as the events themselves… “September
11th was on a Tuesday and I was due to go out on the
Friday,” he explains . “Of course everything
just shut down after that, and since then I just haven’t
had the urge to go back. It’s all been put on
hold to let things calm down. I just thought it was
possible bad taste to go out there pioneering my own
sound, so I backed off after knowing what the repercussions
would be.
However Pathaan and his US representatives now feel
that the time is right for him to return, and as soon
as they have found the right venue he will return with
renewed vigour.
Another string to the Pathaan bow is his association
with Italian producer Gaudi, with whom he has combined
forces as Orchestral World Groove. The duo combine
a love of dub and percussion with global elements to
provide a startling backdrop of live remixing and unrehearsed
jamming in their unique sets. “Basically I’m
on decks and CDJs with a 4 channel mixer, and through
the mixer Gaudi’s got a Theremin, a Moog, a Khaos
pad, and a drum/percussion machine with 2 or 3 effects
boxes. So we are remixing our own music and other people’s
music live and unrehearsed. It really seems to work
and I guess that’s why we had one of the best
residencies at Cargo in London.”
Pathaan’s path seems to be on an upward curve
at present, and his aspirations for world domination
are strong…“On the whole with ‘WorldPeace’, ‘Small
World’, ‘Stoned Asia Music Editions’ and
recently with ‘Pathaan’s Indian Sunset’,
I want my CD’s to sell the way the Buddha Bar
does. I really am on a mission to take the sound to
as many ears as possible, whether I’m out of
pocket or not. The English press aren’t going
to help me because they’re too concerned with
promoting major league DJ’s; they’re not
into backing the likes of myself and other people who
are pushing the left-field sound. They really don’t
understand it, and that’s the sad irony of the
situation. But I can’t let that bother me; I
have a personal mission to get the hair at the back
of people’s necks to stand-up when they listen
to my sound. I want them to feel something in terms
of production and spirituality. I know it’s a
lot to ask, but if I stick to that formula which I
have since ’97 with the infamous ‘Stoned
Asia Music’ nights then one day it may happen…who
knows?
Words: Phil Meadley
You can now listen to Pathaan on Ministry of Sound
Radio at :
https://www.ministryofsound.com/Music/DJFeatures/Pathaantracklist.htm weekly for an altogether individual sound.
More news to come soon, in the meantime remember
‘
music is a means to strengthen and revitalize the spirit’……………..
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