Review: Grime Riot Disco, Mumbai
21 October 2011
Uncle Chill sports a bandana, wears sunglasses and does this awkward semi-hop and squat kind of dance move. He's probably in his forties, dances alone and doesn't give a damn. Next to him, an American dance instructor in cowboy boots flirts with a couple of local hipster girls. At the other end of the room, India's biggest electro pop star, Monica Dogra, chats with radio jockey Rohini Ramnathan. An arm's length away, two men in formal wear who look like they've just stepped out of a business meeting roll up their sleeves and jump wildly. Byculla boy Ruskin Master surveys this madness from behind his DJ console...
Welcome to Grime Riot Disco [GRD]. An anti-party, where you don't have to dress up (that's not to say you won't find people who do), where the drinks are cheap and the vibe so inclusive that everyone feels it's their party.
Promoted by designer, Kunal Lodhia, and Dogra, one half of Shaair + Func, GRD came about when the duo “realised the need for a basic dance party". An anti-party even, that goes against the regular clubbing experience in Bombay.
“We are not looking to pull in a certain type of person. We'd rather see different people come together and watch what happens when they all know they are there just to have fun.”
To break GRD down further; grime (the adjective, not the genre), riot (the verb) and disco (the noun). In keeping with these requirements, the itinerant night's current host, Cool Chef Café in Worli is located in an inner lane with surroundings as grungy as they come in Bombay. The dance floor can get sweatier than the Irani Hamam in Dongri and the disco “has a warm, house party feel to it.”
Since it started in November 2010, GRD is one of Bombay's few parties that is a throwback to the late 90s and early noughties, when Bhavishyavani Future Soundz, a collective of DJs, designers and artists, deliberately looked to host their eclectic music nights in shady venues across the city. How fitting then that GRD's first night after a hiatus of four months featured Mathieu Josso, from the Bhavishyavani fold, alongside DJ Ruskin.
It's a welcome sign of things to come. More collaboration, openness to different genres of music, a dedicated and increasingly growing tribe of followers, and one fucking great party!
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Words: Kenneth Lobo
The next installment of GRD is to be held in Mumbai on Nov 12 and plans are already being made to bring the party to New Delhi. For more info on upcoming events follow the links below: