Hear DJ Akbar Sami's version

DJ Akbar Sami talks to TOI about his new album, and what DJing is all about.
When talking of DJing in India, Akbar Sami���s name simply cannot be overlooked. Indian music lovers fell in love with his sound after his debut album Jalwa. Eleven years later, Akbar has come up with a new album that will set the dance floors on fire for sure. In the past, he has composed music sporadically.But, this year will see him in the avatar of a full-fledged music director. PT caught up with him while he was in town to enthral the party animals.
Interestingly, Akbar���s new album has been launched without a video and, that too with hardly any promotion. Talking about the album, he says that it���s a revival in club remix and presents various genres like tribal house, funky house and electronic house. ���It comprises dreamer���s tracks from R D Burman and Laxmikant-Pyarelal, which are club hits already. I have given it a global sound. I have put various elements of popular club music in Bollywood sounds that are played the world over. But, I wish the music company had done a video too.��� It took him seven months to come up with this album.
He has also composed music for Fast Forward directed by Zaigham Ali Syed. He says excitedly, ���It���s my music all the way, and I am quite excited about it.��� How has the DJ scene changed, we ask this veteran. Akbar says, ���There is a flow of DJs now. When I started DJing, there were just five DJs in the country. There was no future in DJing. I took up that challenge, and I thought I would make something out of it. And now, we have created a platform for the aspiring DJs in India.��� But, he feels that the profession is taken for granted. He jokes, ���If you can play 20 superhit tracks in a row, you are a DJ. In fact, you are not just a DJ, but a good DJ at that!���
Talking about remix music, he says, ���Remix is no longer selling, something that I had predicted eight years ago. Anybody today is becoming a DJ, and music companies are accepting them because they do not know what this genre is all about. And, to cover the bad remix, they use raunchy videos.���
Akbar feels that it would take another 10 to 15 years to create awareness about real DJing, which consists of feeding people with newness and with sounds that are global. Till then, people who can play superhit tracks can be mistaken for good DJs!