Get ready people she’s here! Adding gigs on the international arena to her belt DJ Tikka Masala is quickly becoming a phenomenon. With music in her blood (her family’s trade was building harmoniums in Kolkata) the DJ avatar was a natural progression.




Studying Hindustani Classical music since the age of 5, after her family migrated to the US, she gradually morphed from student to performer – singing at family events very much in the vein of suburban desis. No stranger to emotional journeys DJ Tikka Masala felt alienated and disconnected from India through her teenage years.

Moving to New York from across the river in NJ, she got involved with queer youth groups of color. Her roommate Trent and she launched the now, almost institution, “That’s my Jam” at Sputnik bar downtown. Sputnik’s lack of dissonance - underground hip-hop meets high profile setting, appealed to the activist in her. The non-gender specific messaging around her events made her a unique presence getting her absorbed into events for social justice groups like the Sylvia Riviera Law Project. “It’s a great way to party” she says.

To Tikka Masala being a DJ is not about play-lists but “hearing the beats and rhythm”. In a single night the music seamlessly weaves from Lady Gaga to Bollywood to Electronica. It’s all about “putting on a beat that will keep them on the dance floor”. Spinning for Color me Queer was like a trip down memory lane – evoking images of road trips with her parents. “A lot of music is about nostalgia and sentiment and not bling and flash”. Her desi music repertoire certainly stands testimony to that. There’s an incredibly well developed vocabulary from a certain era in Bollywood.

It’s no wonder the Rubin museum commissioned her as one of their House DJs. In fact the South Asian down tempo Electronica you probably heard there was a compilation that she put together.

So what was next for her? There’s a combination food cum music party in Berlin where she pairs up with her chef friend – how’s that for eclectic! Then on to Amsterdam for Gay Pride – to DJ at “De-Trut” and finally London where you can get your groove on to her music at “Wotever”. Too humble to admit her talent, she attributes her going places to the queer DJ network. “There’s a lot of giving and receiving”.

Her parting words, said with her signature endearing grin “Be cool, conscious, safe, respectful and inclusive and you’ll end up having a great party. This idea’s working out really well for me”.

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