Jeremy Olander returns to the turf he first performed on in India.
Swedish DJ and producer Jeremy Olander is no stranger to the Indian subcontinent. He’s a hit with the techno music lovers and his shows are a testament of the popularity he has garnered here. We caught up with him for a one-on-one just before he took the stage at the Absolut Enchanted Valley Carnival 2016. Read all about it below.
Credits: Absolut Enchanted Valley Carnival
The Sherp: Jeremy, you’ve performed in India a couple of times. What made you say yes to Absolut Enchanted Valley Carnival (EVC)?
Jeremy: To be honest, I played the first edition here. It was in 2013 I think and it was the first time that I actually played in India. It was Prateek (Pandey) who brought me here and I had such a good time, that first time. The years following that I’ve been to Goa and I’ve been doing club tours and this offer dropped in and it just felt really nice to kind of close the circle in a certain way and return back here. So I guess that’s why it felt good to do it.
The Sherp: What is it about EVC that makes you want to come back and perform for your fans here?
Jeremy: As my first experience of DJing in India, I loved the whole scenery down here. It’s a super nice resort where you feel relaxed and it’s very different compared to the rest of India which is quite up-tempo and hectic. So it’s a completely different vibe and experience than anywhere else in India, to be honest. Even in Goa, everything is very fast and very crowded. And, I loved the crowd here and everything was very professional and it reminded me of festivals that are run in Europe and U.S. When everything is run in a professional kind of way, you feel comfortable to perform.
Credits: facebook.com/jeremyolander
The Sherp: As your personal opinion, do you feel there should be more festival like EVC where there is a diverse line-up that isn’t restricted to any genre?
Jeremy: Yeah I think it’s good. Let’s say there are people that come here for the Bollywood music and they walk by a tent where there’s techno playing and they might go “Oh! This is interesting”. Music is all about discovering new genres and finding new artists, right? It’s like this constant that is looking out for new material and when you mix genres together, you get an even better melting pot. Whereas, if you have a strictly techno festival, everyone is going to know what they’re going to hear from the artists and it’s not going to be something that really stands out to people.
The Sherp: If you had the chance to pull up another artist on stage with you to do an impromptu collaboration, who would it be?
Jeremy: Oh wow. Like a back-to-back set I guess? I’m not a very big fan of having singers on stage. I understand that some people do it but it’s just not me. I would probably do a back-to-back set with someone that’s a little bit different to me. I did one with Guy J in Goa a couple of years ago and that was really cool. You know what, I would take someone more unknown. Maybe even Nick Warren; he makes super nice music and he’s an awesome guy. I love to listen to his music. It’s hard to name one at the top of my head.
Credits: facebook.com/jeremyolander
The Sherp: Since you’ve come to India so many times, are there any Indian artists you are looking forward to collaborating with?
Jeremy: I’ve been trying to scratch the surface a little bit but it’s hard to know where to go. I have this thing about Indian music that I can only imagine a high-pitched female vocal. It’s a little bit more old school when they go up really high and it’s really hard to find that kind of thing. But I guess I like the old school Bollywood music. I don’t know if they do that anymore, do they? Do they go up that high? I really love the song “Dum Maro Dum”. It has this mysterious vibe about it with the Hare Krishna thing.
The Sherp: What are your plans next year? What can your fans look forward to?
Jeremy: There’s going to be a lot of touring, probably a lot more than 2016. I’m focusing a little bit more on my label, trying to build that up a little bit more. I’ll have some label nights outside of Sweden because I’ve done some label nights in Stockholm, my home town, which is great since all my friends are there and a lot of people enjoy my music there. But I feel the need to take it outside because then you can brand your own party and decide who to invite, the line-up and all these things. So that’s going to be a pretty big thing next year; going all out at the label parties.