Su Real, a Pioneer of Indian Trap

Podcast

Once upon a time in an exotic country called Trapistan: a man with a colorful baseball cap, pilot goggles and a bag full of samples comes on a camel and opens up his silver laptop to start a crazy set. That's how the story would be told in Su Real's imagery. We move a little closer to reality: In 2008 the producer, DJ, blogger and trackmaker Suhrid Manchanda moved from New York to New Delhi, called himself Su Real and became resident DJ at the – at these times most acclaimed – club «Livingroom». Some years later, together with Nucleya, he was one of the firsts to introduce genres like Tropical Bass, Moombahton or Trap music to India.

On her research trip to Delhi, Theresa Beyer from Norient met Su Real and talked with him about the importance of the local crowd, about the revival of music television and about how transnational identities help to put a specific Indian stamp on trap music.

EAST WEST BADMAN RUDEBOY MASH UP TING – Video by Su Real

Su Real - SoundCloud Playlist

Impressions

Su Real in front od the Summerhouse Café at Aurobindo Place Market, Hauz Khas, South Delhi

Haus Khaz Village, the clubbing district in South Delhi

«Twerkistan» by Su Real

Twerkistan by Su Real

Biography

Theresa Beyer gehört seit 2011 als Editorin, Kuratorin und Mitherausgeberin des Buches «Seismographic Sounds – Visions of a New World» zum Kernteam von Norient und beschäftigt sich mit Themen wie Queeren Musikkulturen, experimenteller Musik in Städten wie Belgrad oder Neu Delhi, und reflektiert in Vorträgen über die Chancen des multilokalen Kuratierens. Neben ihrer Norient-Identität ist sie Musikredaktorin bei Radio SRF 2 Kultur. Follow her on LinkedIn.

Published on July 14, 2017

Last updated on August 11, 2020

Topics

Diaspora

Place

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Facing Racism and Sensationalism

Podcast

by Ziad Nawfal

Hamed Sinno is the lead singer of the Lebanese alternative rock band Mashrou’ Leila. In this podcast he talks about belonging, identity, and representation. And he explains where he is facing racism and sensationalism when doing music as a Lebanese artist in a global context. A podcast from the Norient exhibition Seismographic Sounds, written and produced by Ziad Nawfal.

Quotes from the Podcast

#belonging

«We are abandoned from Beirut for the most part.»

#identity

«I try as much as possible to avoid questions of my own identity. When it comes to music I prefer a modular, performative writing, that I love so much for its playfulness. When you are writing, identity becomes more a hindrance than anything else.»

#representation

«The thing that is questionable for me is this idea of speaking for other people outside the band; speaking for Lebanese youth which is such a ridiculous category, like there is one singular youth.»

#racism #stereotypes

«There is always this narrative about the Arabs as Islamists, as fanatics, as terrorists, and then: the artist is the exception. I do feel like that’s racist.»

#gender #sensationalism

«The other part that is a bit strange is this insistence on addressing my sexuality for press purposes. There is some sort of sensationalism that is to happen around this idea of an out-gay musician in Lebanon. The idea of being reduced to these things is very problematic for me. When I wake up I think about my writing. I don’t think about being gay.»

#jazz #Arabmusic

«I grew up in a house where there was a lot of jazz, there wasn’t any Arab music. The only Arab music that I had when I was growing up was Fayruz’ Kifak Inta, that cassette, because my father used to play it for my grand mother when she was dying and he was singing along to her when she was lying in bed.»

#message

«We don’t pick subject matter for any particular reason, just write about the things that we like and the message is literally just the lyrics and the music. It’s not like the lyrics and the music referring to a bigger message that we are trying to communicate.»

Biography

Ziad Nawfal is a Lebanese DJ, radio host, music promoter, and producer who has been making himself busy in the Beirut underground for nearly three decades now. He got his start in a legit role, playing music on the city’s government station Radio Liban. Always existing on the periphery of the station, and proudly flouting its rules, Nawfal programmed a show with a DIY ethos, playing lesser-known tunes from indie, psychedelic and experimental circles. He later became a DJ and promoter around the city, continuing to discover the hidden alternative scenes of Lebanon and the wider Middle East. He’s been active ever since, using his radio shows, as well as his record label Ruptured, to join up the eclectic range of sounds going on in the region. Follow him on BandCamp, Instagram, Mixcloud or on his label Website.

Published on August 10, 2017

Last updated on October 06, 2020

Topics

Belonging

Othering

Queer

Race

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Specials

Seismographic Sounds

Seismographic Sounds: Podcasts

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Italian Trap

Mixtape

by Francesco Fusaro

A new generation of Italian trap has quickly re-appropriated the music and made it the most bottom-up, teenage-oriented repertoire to make it into Italian mainstream media and music charts in the last couple of years. Listen to a mixtape by Francesco Fusaro

Biography

Francesco Fusaro, Italian NTS Radio resident DJ, music producer, and musicologist is based in London. He has written about music for Italian and international media outlets and released music under his real name and other monikers on several independent labels. He is also the co-curator of the «anti-classical» recording series 19’40”. Follow him on Instagram, X, or on his Website.

Published on July 04, 2017

Last updated on August 11, 2020

Topics

Belonging

Migration

Protest

All Topics

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sounds

Su Real, a Pioneer of Indian Trap

Biography

Topics

Facing Racism and Sensationalism

Biography

Topics

Specials

Italian Trap

Biography

Topics

films

images

sounds

words