What is about dance music that makes it so precious to us? What sustains our passion for this genre day after day even as the times progress and continue to evolve this multi-faceted genre? What does an artist or DJ need to do in order to hone his/her creative ability meanwhile steering the crowd to their own (personal) higher state of consciousness?

On Thursday, July the 5th, on an otherwise boring weekday, these questions found their answers through the mystifying musical abilities of Dave Seaman. Dave, who is no stranger to the Dance music industry, has help shape this genre since the last two decades. Beginning his career as a young DJ playing at one of those “bread & butter staples” of 80s DMC DJs: weddings, bar mitzvahs and birthday parties; he soon became editor of the iconic ‘Mixmag’ and turned it into a devout clubbers bible.

Returning to his console years later, he went on to play alongside other underground giants Sasha and Laurent Garnier. He then set up his own record label, unusually called ‘Stress Records’, which quickly became a byword for quality with the likes of Sasha, John Digweed, Andy Cato & Danny Tenaglia affiliating themselves with the label.

Dave superseded Stress Records with a new imprint called Therapy, and it’s been no stranger to big names either: Popof, Timo Mass, Pig & Dan, Tiger Stripes and Robert Babicz have all played a part in cementing it’s discography. Having played in over 70 countries and all major nightclubs over the world, Dave Seaman is truly a man who is dance music befitting reply to the question: “Can dance music really unite the world?”

Royalty Mumbai was graced by the presence of Dave on two separate occasions. Besides the incredible set he delivered, which only concluded into the wee hours of the night, Dave was at Royalty earlier in the day as a member of the Panel Discussion to discuss Dance music in India.

Simply entitled ‘The Forum’-hosted and organised by Submerge, the discussion included other distinguished panelists who have shaped the dance music industry in their own ways. Starting the discussion with Dave was Pearl, DJ ‘professor’ Reji Ravindran and Editor of Indiecision & NH7 Co-founder Arjun S. Ravi. Joining them later was Submerge co-founder Nikhil Chinapa and 360 Edge Entertainment MD Vishal Shetty.

While discussing the topic of ‘the role of media in the music industry’, a severely jet-lagged Dave pointed out how “..back in the day, my source of information was the newspaper ‘Record Mirror’ and whatever James Hamilton would write about dance music”. He went on to add, “… today, the democratizing of journalism has shaped the entire music industry to what it has become, and that social media tools have now become essential in spreading awareness about music”. He further added that the digital revolution itself has taken over our lives and without it artists are completely cut off from their fans.

He emphasized on the importance of social media when he pointed out that “…earlier artists would never reach out to their fans the way they do now, because there needed to be an aura or a myth behind the fame; but now if an artist doesn’t reach out to his fans, questions are asked as to what is he trying to hide?”

When quizzed about the evolution of dance music, he confessed that Arthur Baker (of Afrika Bambaataa) fame was one of his earliest influences. He also spoke about the first time he heard the Chicago classic Jack your body by Steve Silk Hurley, and how despite its monotonous sound he found it so alluring. With respect to current musical trends, he pointed out how all genres have their ups and down and all adapt to survive. He spoke about the famed UK house scene which went underground in the 2000′s only to resurface recently with the revival of many genres which adapted to current tastes and liking. An interesting point made by Dave was that it was a good thing that newer listeners are encouraged by the more “newer” styles of dance music. That way, they will be motivated to dig deeper and search for the roots of the musical culture and embrace all its facets as long as they are open minded. Ending the panel discussion, he spoke about the amazing ‘Firestarter campaign’, for which he reached out to his fans for financial support in order to compose a brand new mix compilation.

In return of their support, Seaman offered various different products/experiences, ranging from a signed copy of the CD (£12 or more), a personal DJ lesson (£300 or more), and then the top prize; a Dave Seaman DJ set in your own home (there were 5 takers at £2,000 or more). He reached his mark with a few days to spare showing how an artist needs nobody but his/her fans to find all the support they need. Firestarter has opened many doors and in the coming years will be credited as the first of its kind endeavor which showed how true passion for dance music can unite fans world over with their beloved artists without the aid of any corporate middlemen.

Couple of hours later, proceedings at Royalty began at around 10:30 pm, when India’s premier dance music ambassador Nikhil Chinapa took to the decks for the opening set. Starting with a handful of gentlemen on the dancefloor, the crowd slowly built up through the hour as Nikhil dug up the ‘underground house rule book’ and curated a set of melodic genius. Every now and then he would take to the mic and say, “…prepare for a very special night because we have some fantastic music headed your way..”!

Progressing from some nu-disco to disco house, he worked his way up some groovy melodies from the underground chambers of deep tech and progressive house. Starting off with the melodic “Time” by Pachanga Boys and “Hope” by Guti, Nikhil set the mood for a night of groovy escapades. Following it with the sweet sounds of Jack and HVOB (Nicone and Sascha Braemer remix), Miyagi’s “Woodpeckers Love Affair” and the immortal “Divine” by Meat Katie & Elite Force feat. Roland Clarke.

While audience members were dancing away to the progressive and euphoric sounds of deep house, Nikhil added a spectacular remake of The Door’s classic “Riders On the Storm” by the one and only Rassek . Ending with the haunting Sivesgaard’s “In the night” one could easily conclude that Nikhil was indeed at home, as he grooved to the melodies he himself laid down gently on the enthusiastic audience. By about 11:30 pm, a quick glance around told us that the club had reached sufficient capacity in numbers and energy. Hands were slightly raised and upper torsos were dodging the melodies as Dave made his way up to the decks.

Finally, the time had arrived for the man himself to take to the decks. With a final introduction from Nikhil Chinapa, Dave took over the decks and the crowd with the next two hours of the most soulful selection of timeless tracks we ever laid ears upon! Staring off with some homegrown talent, fresh from the workshop of Arjun Vaghale & Anil Chawla, Dave Seaman introduced himself with “Everything”.

Following it up with an armada of sensual deep house and funk house, he kept the tempo up as he shifted through a kaleidoscope of sounds, each time orchestrating the crowd to the grooves. In sync with the music he was delivering, Dave hardly jumped or threw himself at the crowd, but insisted they raise their arms and try to “feel” the surreal energy behind these enigmatic sounds that he calls underground. It was nothing short of an education, as the young crowd of Mumbaikars were taken on a journey of melodies and synths, each time guiding us in a converse manner keeping us company. This was how underground music was meant to be; pure, progressive & profound. Dave Seaman kept us on our toes and hips in motion with more blissful tracks such as the magical “Gush” by Danish genius Trentemoller and “Can’t leave you” by Maceo Plex. Curating a set with such mastery was only making us smile wider as we began to realize that we were in the presence of genius. A special moment of the night was when Dave dropped “Right here (Hot Since 82 remix)” by English giants Rudimental.

Playing at a slightly higher BPM, the bassline drop just sent the crowd into hysteria as the chopped up vocals slapped us down in sync with those savage beats – pure bliss! He then followed the basslines with some vocal melodies with the likes of Samu L with “Restless Dreams (Dave Seaman Remix)” and “Make ‘em Clap” by Coyu & Ramiro Lopez. Other tracks that we stopped over during this journey included “Never ending (M.A.N.D.Y Remix)” by Damian Lazarus, the absolute beauty that was “Aire” by Oliver Huntemann & Dubfire and the peppy “Bad love” by Catz ‘N Dogs & KINK.

Something had transformed in that span of two hours, the energy level had changed completely. There was no jumping and screaming, but everyone was in their own personal utopia; smiling, dancing and enjoying the music. We were taken down memory lane as well when Dave dropped Daft Punk’s “Burnin (Les Loups Bruit infernal mix)”. Following that was “Desert Storm” by Butch as funk and disco were opened up to the audiences as part of the underground experience.

Then in a total unexpected turn of events, Dave looped in the familiar sounds of Progressive house and dropped everyone’s favorite “Layers” by the evergreen Pryda. Shifting through genres has never been a problem for Dave Seaman, as he showed his superior skills at effortlessly fusing a mainstream track with other underground sounds. He then dropped the magical “Late night (Sasha’s Involv3r remix)” by Foals from Sasha’s latest Involv3r series , and those fading vocals of ‘..calling out your name..’ seemed to suggest that Dave was done for the night. Surely enough, he put the brakes on the delightful roller-coaster of melodies and grooves and began to wave profusely only to be greeted by ecstatic cheering and a subliminal encore and to the delight of the cheering audience members, Dave pressed play and out came streaming those happy lyrics of “Good Life” by Inner City!

Ending the night with one final track he chose to do it with “Tonight in Tokyo” from Jamie Jones. A beaming Dave Seaman acknowledged all the adoration and made his way off the decks. However to our delight the night wasn’t over. A look at the watch and it was about 1:50 am, and Nikhil Chinapa stepped up and said, “…you know you just get the feeling, that we’re not quite done yet…so I’m gonna try something now!”, It was clear that Dave had created an emotional atmosphere through this plethora of underground melodies and Nikhil just wanted to continue that energy in order to please the crowd further. He pushed play and rewarded the crowd with “Lili” by Electric Rescue. Nikhil shared how the track is very special to everyone at Submerge and how Pearl played it on the beach at Sunburn in 2011 making it a surreal experience for one and all.

After that, Nikhil played for nearly another hour building on the energy created by Dave Seaman, this time himself grooving along with the audience. Nikhil put in some special tracks like “State of mind (Alex Stein remix)” by The Union, “Generation” by Victor Ruiz & Alex Stein and the familiar sounds of “Colombian Soul” by D.Ramirez & Mark Knight. Bringing the curtains down to a truly magical night, he infused “Uncharted” by Henry Siaz with the awesome Les Djinns by Djuma Soundsytem, ending what can only be described as a spectacular night of underground bliss!

With Nikhil concluding his follow-up set to one of the most brilliant DJ sets I have been witness to, he bid adieu to the crowd and thanked them for being part of this magical experience of underground music. Dave Seaman’s set was truly as enigmatic as the man’s career and reinstated the belief in all of us that true underground music will always be as soulful and as melodic as its ever been for some of us and that dance music can TRULY and ABSOLUTELY unite the world!

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Thank you Dave Seaman & Submerge for a remarkable experience!

Reviewed by Hamed Khalidi.

Edited by Angelica Syiemiong Pereira.