Carving out a space for herself in a male dominated industry has been an adventurous journey, but DJ Megha Kawale has managed to stay afloat and leave others far behind in the race. Being India's first female DJ, she has spun the console with her inimitable yet distinctive style of blending traditional house music with minimalist sound.

In a friendly exchange with Radioandmusic.com's Chandni Mathur, Kawale reminisces her early days in the industry and how music has changed for the better now.

Excerpts:

How was your journey from being a supermodel to a DJ?

I always, was a DJ even before modelling. I was an extremely famous DJ but people did not know about me as there were very limited number of parties happening back then. It was only after I became a supermodel I gained that kind of recognition, which helped my DJing as well.

How difficult was it to make your way to being the first Indian female DJ?

We have to admit that we live in a male dominated society. Like every other profession where women want to make a mark, DJing was no less. The only thing in DJing was that late nights were very difficult. Today, when I look back, I am actually shocked and proud of myself. I was so resilient to work seven days a week till five o’clock in the morning and then drive back by myself. It takes a lot for a society to accept you. Right now DJing is a known career so people know about you. When I started off, nobody knew about the art at all. People would think you are working in a sleazy bar as a singer .It took lot of convincing for people and also when it came to my male counterpart. Even after ten years of DJing, a male DJ's mistake is always overlooked but if a female DJ makes the same mistake, people talk. They are waiting for you to make a mistake. Lots of people told me to just flash my smile, body and everybody would look at it and not bother about your music. So it took a long time to make my mark and tell p
eople that I am here to stay.

I took everyone heads on and I was polite about it. For the first three years, I was not even told that I was the first female DJ in the country, doing my music every night. People used to pressure me to perform well if another DJ was coming. After some days when I asked what the issue was and that is when i was told that I am the first female DJ and the word is spreading in the circle.

What kind of tracks do you and your audiences like?

My music totally depends on the crowd. I play for a lot of brands launched nationally and internationally. I have played for different events like the World Economic Forum, launches of clothing brand, cars and perfumes. So basically, my tracks depend on the crowd. What you play in Mumbai can’t be played in Switzerland. If you are knowledgeable you will know how to find the right track. Internationally, either you are a trance DJ, progressive DJ or you are adaptive. Here a lot of DJs are not defining themselves. I play everything and they play the same tune for six-seven hours. This has really helped us giving an edge over others.

What kind of music works internationally?

In India It takes a lot to get people moving. Clubbing is not a part of our culture, we are still in an infant stage. Abroad you can fool the people. Even if you come from Mumbai, you need to know what's happening in Germany and London. But the kind of work satisfaction you get while playing internationally is great. People are so much in love with you. They are responsive and shout so I am really happy. It’s a beautiful feeling. Here also people do it but we need some time to relax and get into the groove. I am happy that the power of internet has grown so much that people have access to a lot of music and DJs from around the world and responsively promote good music and good artistes.

You have walked for many fashion shows, and you recently played at one. Tell us about your set at the India Resort Fashion Week.

Personally, I liked the concept of India Resort Fashion Week. I love the combination of high fashion and cutting edge music together. The kind of energy was pretty high. It was not only about clubbing, but also styling and fashion. My set was mostly progressive, up tempo making it an object for energy.

How well do you feel is the genre of progressive music understood by people here?

There is a set of people who know music, a set who thinks they know music and ones who don’t know about music but tell the world they do. Personally I do not hold anything against anyone. I have been clubbing around the world. I grew up around the clubbing crowd and travelled around the world. I have been fortunate. The knowledge about music of people in India is through the internet. In India, people aged 30-50 plus don’t think clubbing is good. While abroad, the lifestyle is to party in your 30-50 plus. I think for India it’s a good start. Its a baby step and so many international artistes are coming and playing in India. There are good responses. They are understanding it, even if they are not understanding they want to and are trying. If you don’t connect them to good music how will they know good or bad music.

Do you feel the audience opts for mainstream commercial music, or are they open to new forms of music now?

There has to be a beginning for everything and that beginning is the toughest. In the start we have to be appreciative about it, we have to respect and promote it. People around the world know it’s not part of our culture. It has pushed over boundaries and has opened so much. It’s happening to club music, its coming to India, its pushing boundaries and opening doors. Lets see how it turns out. Music has evolved from CDs to laptops. Every three days the songs keep changing so you need to constantly update yourself. I have been doing it for so many years. If you want to stay on top you have to do it. Even when I play music, it’s not what I play, its when I play that matters. Time is everything when it comes to music.

Do you feel DJing has emerged as a full-time career option now?

I am blessed with all I have achieved, whatever beautiful places I have been to and met different people. It’s all been possible because of DJing. The only reason I used to model is because of my height and body. Wherever I used to go I was told to model by people. Travelling as a DJ became very lonely. So I balanced it with modeling. DJing has made me what I am today. It can definitely be taken up as a career. If you are a guy, DJ can be a stepping stone, sometimes people hit it sometimes people don’t. You can have sound, studio, music production and be a DJ as well.

Which DJ is your inspiration?

I love Swedish House mafia, I love to hear them play. If as a DJ I respect someone then it’s Paul van Dyk. I have heard him play in many festivals. He comes up and his music states, 'I am going to play and you are going to dance on it. I am not going to be commercial and you have to listen to what I play'. They will do only ten percent of what they have learned and 90 percent of whatever you like. It really requires a lot of guts. They are old school and they do a great job.

What are your upcoming projects?

I am waiting for a time to release my singles. It not very hard but it’s up tempo music. the people who have heard it really liked them. Maybe I will definitely work on something and release it later.