Kahani and Kunal Merchant Explain the Indo Experience Warehouse on Debut India Tour

The DJ-producer duo behind the platform and label took over reopening night at Rockpool at W Goa this month

- ANURAG TAGAT

THE PARTY don’t stop when you’re in Goa, much after the new year crowd slinks back to their offices. It’s still tourism season and the newly reopened Rockpool at W Goa is more than happy to capitalize on it. The sprawling space by Vagator Beach recently hosted New York’s Indo Warehouse, the platform and label founded by DJ-producers Kahani aka Armaan Gupta and Kunal Merchant on January 5th.

With over a thousand in attendance, Indo Warehouse also included sets by selectors such as Ethyr and AREUBLUE, who have been part of the movement in the U.S. and Europe. The reopening of Rockpool at W Goa coupled with Indo Warehouse’s debut India tour showed some programming might at a time when other venue spaces like antiSOCIAL are also cropping up in the state to make the most of party central.

Over a Rockpool, though, with lights along the railing that led down to the main dancefloor and disco balls strung up, it felt like an uncomplicated night with tables also set up for a chill vibe. Indo Warehouse were chill, for sure, but that was only part of the journey. The artists steadily built the tempo up, winning audiences over with tracks that sampled A.R. Rahman’s Bollywood hits, “Yeh Mera Dil Yaar Ka Diwana” sung by Asha Bhosle, Abida Parveen and R.D. Burman’s “Mehbooba Mehbooba” in a seemingly spectral way that hit when you least expect them.