DJ Zaeden says Delhi is always open to new music

With a passion for music since childhood, DJ Zaeden, 21, aka Sahil Sharma was a mere 14 years when he started DJing. And now, the young DJ, who played at the DJ David Guetta’s recent gig in Mumbai, has received acclaim for his remixed version of the international band Maroon 5’s track, Don’t Wanna Know. He says, “I have been a big fan of Maroon 5 since school days. I got an opportunity to remix for them and made the best remix I could. I sent it to their team, and we got a mail from the Maroon 5 team that they loved the remix and wanted to release it officially for India. I initially thought it was a prank,” he says.

For DJ Zaeden, having played at Ibiza, Barcelona, Le Pineda, Mallorca and Amsterdam and at various international festivals​, taking to a console in Delhi is extra special. “Delhi is always open to new music. I love testing out new songs in my home city. I love the vibe here. Nothing can beat the thrill of playing here.”

With songs such as Yesterday and Never Let You Go to his credit, Zaedan a globetrotter, says, “It’s amazing to visit different cities, but having played in different countries, I don’t see that kind of energy anywhere except India.” His new single, City of Lonely Hearts, has also just released.

Having played alongside international artists such as Hardwell , Dimitry Vegas and Like Mike , Knife Party ,Sander Van Doorn , Andrew Rayel , Quintino , Paris Blohm , R3hab , The Chainsmokers, etc., he says it all started with a tape he made for his sister. “I made a remix for my sister. It was a Coldplay song (Magic) and it got really popular. That was a big push to me and some of the biggest DJs started playing it .The recognition came thereafter. I became a DJ that time, before that I was just a music producer.And people started recognising me, ” says the
21-year-old Gurgoan resident.

Influenced by DJ Porter Robinson, Madeon, Illenium, The Chainsmokers, Sahil shares that a lot of his knowledge came from watching tutorials on YouTube. A sound enginer by degree, he has had a musical bent since childhood. ”Music was my full time hobby and passion. I was 14 when I started DJing. I began with making music first. I would often play the table and guitar in school. I participated in the War of DJs and won some of them, too. I would always be in my bedroom making music. But I was never really fond of the theoretical side of it. I used to watch tutorials on the internet like ‘how to play the guitar’. I would really get inspired by going to performances by world-renowned DJs who would come to India for their India tours.”