Kampai boy enthralls

Barely three years into the city’s music scene, but it didn’t take long for Rumit Virmani to find his claim to fame – This DJ-cum-music prgrammer has been involved in getting down international acts like Troyboi, Ganz, Holly, LUUDE and an international property Run the Trap to India.  The 24-year old Mumbaikar who is now based in Bengaluru has also opened for the pre-party of a weekender in September last year, aside of opening up for acclaimed  names like Troyboi, Quix, Wuki, Chimpo. In a candid chat, he tells us more just as he prepares for  an upcoming gig on March 7 and about hosting a new monthly show at an online community radio...

“The upcoming gig will feature an audio-visual showcase, with heavy bass music,” explains Rumit, who got popular among  the city’s youth with his solo project Kampai. And now, this city artiste is set to venture into online radio boxout.fm.  “It is going to be about me showcasing a new sound/genre every month. I  like listening to sounds which are outside the bass music spectrum. like house, disco, baile funk, downtempo electronica etc. There will also be a guest DJ feature every month with a new guest coming in and also showcasing different sounds which he wouldnt usually out out online. So every month, it will be new selections, new sounds, fresh vibes.”  Rumit largely plays electronic music, with a heavy emphasis on bass. “Groovy, energetic, and fresh – that’s how I’d like to describe the vibe of my set. Kampai was built with just one intent –  pushing boundaries in the Indian electronic music scene through experimentation in his sets and finds inspiration in an assortment of different sounds and genres,” he says.

Having perfomed across the country  (Chandigarh, Jaipur, Delhi, Pune, Mumbai, Goa, Guwahati, Shillong and  Raipur), Rumit is no stranger to India’s metropolitan crowd. But, he  believes Bengaluru’s crowd knows its music. “They come in late to gigs, but come in knowing what exactly they want to  hear and what to expect from a gig. They know their music for sure,” he reveals. While it’s been a bumpy journey, these three years has taught Rumit wisdom and lots more. Speaking about what worked for him, he enthuses, “I believe I have evolved by growing the network base here in the city and by also being connected with people from the industry outside the city. Just watching everyone in this industry (I am only talking about people who are doing work towards changing something and placing something new on the table) always makes me also work harder and gives hope that we can do things a little different and not just work with what works for the market and what not. The best way for an artiste to grow is by playing in different cities and venues. Every time I play, it is a different experience and you get to learn something new everytime you play. I rethink as to what went wrong and right with the sets I play and try to be better the next time I am playing,” he shares.

While accolades are great, the simple joy of just being an artiste surpasses the momentary high. “The simply joy of people having fun and a good time and also taking back something new, even though if its a less number of people is what eggs me on to give my best as a DJ.” He adds, “People around inspire me the most. People who are working hard to make this electronic music scene better in India, be it music programmers in venues across the country, be it agencies like Krunk, Wild City, Gently Altered.” On the big dream of changing the artist scene here, Rumit concurs, “Working towards eventually having my own artist management agency, the focus of this agency is going to be towards people who listen to non conventional dance music.  This will include throwing curated club nights with DJ/Producers from the electronic music scene who are pushing underground music consistently in India and also get down international artist from abroad to India and introduce the Indian audience with something fresh.”

Rumit will be performing live at Kitty Ko on March 7.