Diplo might be one of the biggest musicians in the dance music spectrum today, but the American DJ and producer has always stayed humble about his roots.
Diplo has always acknowledged the fact that India has been a big influence on his life and career, and it was quite evident in Lean On‘s video. However, just today Thomas took to his social media to share a touching account of his experience in India during the 2001 earthquake in Gujarat, where he was helping with relief and working to rebuild the affected areas.
You can read my post about our time last year shooting the video for “Lean On” while on tour in India but it wasn’t my first time. When I was 20 I traveled to India after a real big earthquake on the Pakistani border in the state of Gujarat we worked to help with relief and worked locally to rebuild areas and document the process with the Red Cross and other peacekeepers but I took the time to explore everywhere. I was drifting around India for 5 months between Delhi Calcutta even the border of Nepal in Ladakh. I had traded some belongings for a Enfield motorcycle that my friend had been riding around on. He was running away from the army as a deserter so after he showed me the ropes of hustling around rural india he escaped to Bangkok or something. I traveled early in the mornings on the highway to avoid the sun and pollution. I rode 100s of miles on the road and I crashed the bike a few times. When the headlight went out (it was badly wired) a guy on a camel gave me some wire to fasten the exhaust pipe back on a pitch black night on some desert road. Sometimes I would have to walk the bike miles to a garage for parts. This was 15 years ago and India was just starting to explode into an industrial powerhouse. It felt like cities were literally growing out the ground. Giant Tata trucks clogged up the highways and sometimes I would sleep on my bike on a tea stand at 7 am when there were too many cars clogging up the highway. Between all this I traveled with a small keyboard and speaker to play and make music. I listened to albums under a mosquito net at night and dreamed of coming back again. I never did until 15 years later on stage as Major Lazer 🇮🇳.
You can read my post about our time last year shooting the video for “Lean On” while on tour in India but it wasn’t my first time. When I was 20 I traveled to India after a real big earthquake on the Pakistani border in the state of Gujarat we worked to help with relief and worked locally to rebuild areas and document the process with the Red Cross and other peacekeepers but I took the time to explore everywhere. I was drifting around India for 5 months between Delhi Calcutta even the border of Nepal in Ladakh. I had traded some belongings for a Enfield motorcycle that my friend had been riding around on. He was running away from the army as a deserter so after he showed me the ropes of hustling around rural india he escaped to Bangkok or something. I traveled early in the mornings on the highway to avoid the sun and pollution. I rode 100s of miles on the road and I crashed the bike a few times. When the headlight went out (it was badly wired) a guy on a camel gave me some wire to fasten the exhaust pipe back on a pitch black night on some desert road. Sometimes I would have to walk the bike miles to a garage for parts. This was 15 years ago and India was just starting to explode into an industrial powerhouse. It felt like cities were literally growing out the ground. Giant Tata trucks clogged up the highways and sometimes I would sleep on my bike on a tea stand at 7 am when there were too many cars clogging up the highway. Between all this I traveled with a small keyboard and speaker to play and make music. I listened to albums under a mosquito net at night and dreamed of coming back again. I never did until 15 years later on stage as @majorlazer 🇮🇳 #tbt
Diplo is all set to tour India once again with Major Lazer in February, this time bringing his famed Mad Block Decent Party to the country for the very first time, with the likes of Gorgon City, Big Gigantic, Giraffage, and many more set to play.