DJ Shaan: The First Indian To Perform At Tomorrowland

Tomorrowland - ultimate destination for lovers of electronic/dance music and throw away Ray-Bans, has an addition to this year’s line-up and he’s Indian. DJ Shaan, a relative newcomer in the industry, has beaten all odds and will join the likes of headliners Bassnectar, Diplo, Steve Aoki and Skrillex.

The production heavy and commercially massive music festival takes place in Belgium and the U.S. and is known for its psychedelic, over the top, carnivalesque atmosphere and production. To put it mildly, it’s pretty huge.

DJ Shaan, otherwise known as '(S)haan' has collected a lot of firsts for himself – he debuted at Sunburn, Goa, in 2010 when he was just 15 and proceeded to perform alongside David Guetta, Hardwell, Swedish House Mafia and Tiesto, even playing at London’s Ministry of Sound this year, becoming one of the first Indian artists to ever do so. His music is unabashedly mainstream electro-dance-pop and his SoundCloud features remixes of popular electronic outfits such as Avicii.

(S)haan also happens to be the son of Shailendra Singh, the inceptor of Sunburn Festival and joint managing director of media giant Percept Limited.

That’s a lot of information to assimilate - we’ve got some great artists in the country right now who’ve undoubtedly had a lot more experience performing and creating music, so it’s interesting to see the very young, energetic (S)haan, who hasn’t really hit the scene on his own just yet, reach heights that few Indians could even dream of.

To think that nepotism has a role to play is only natural; it has been brought up by many. In a recent Times of India interview, Shaan Singh had this to say about the claims:

“I just let them believe what they like to believe. There always was, and is, hard work. It was never easy. You can get your first opportunity from anyone or anywhere, but it's up to you to make it count. I was told before playing my first big gig that it was practically an elimination round.”

There might be some truth to that statement – hard work and commitment deserve credit even if your "first big gig" is Sunburn. The videos of his performances are packed with energy and he has an indisputable connection with his audience. He’s also remarkably young for someone with his resume and understands how to create commercial sounds that a wide range of audiences enjoy.

We look forward to his performance at Tomorrowland, he has a lot to prove and now is the time to do it. Let's hope there's no ghost producing either.

Words: Diya Gupta