Desi at heart

Desi at heart

Ukranian DJ Teri Miko claims that her music is inspired by Indian influences and that she wants to be recognised as an Indian artist

Last week, Ukranian DJ Teri Miko dropped a single titled Wrath of God, in collaboration with American artist Varien and Korean rapper Flowsik. The track is quite a melange of cultures with influences of trap, Indian melodies and an entire verse in Korean. Talking about it, Teri Miko, who will be performing in the city on Friday, says, “I always wanted to collaborate with Varien. I’ve heard a lot of his songs and he’s at a completely different level. When we thought of doing something together, we wanted it to be a blend of cultures. He brought the drum and bass and I brought in Indian vibes. Then we thought of adding rap, and we found a Korean guy who came up with the idea to have the second verse in Korean. By the time we finished the track, we had combined three cultures and our work was pretty unique. This kind of collaboration hasn’t happened before I think.”

The Indian vibe
When she first came to India, she found it to be very exotic. “I was here for a gig and I heard the DJ before me playing Bollywood music. I remember trying to figure out how to incorporate it into my set. If you notice, all my tracks have some kind of Indian influence in them — some instrument, or melody,” says Miko. Even in her latest track, Wrath of God, she incorporates an Indian melody while Varien adds the trap music. “America is all about trap music right now. The trap music scene there is huge,” shares she.

Miko reveals that she’s working on finalising an Indian music-oriented project in collaboration with an Indian artist and details of it will be out on her social media pages soon.

So what about Bollywood music attracts her so much? She thinks for a moment before explaining, “When I go to parties here in India, there is a desi vibe. The music compels you to dance whether you understand it or not, whether you’re from India or not. You cannot stand there and watch people dancing, you will find yourself dancing to the tunes. The music has a special vibe. I have seen that foreigners start dancing to Bollywood music because they can’t control the urge to groove to it.”

Miko shares that she introduces Bollywood music in her set even when she’s playing in different countries over the world. “In an interview I gave to one of the magazines when I was abroad, I told them that I represent myself as an Indian artist. Even though I don’t know Hindi, India grew on me. I hope that one day people recognise me as an artist from India,” says Miko who spends more than half her time in the country as her management is based here.

Cute but dangerous
The DJ has launched her own line of merchandise. The mascot, interestingly, is an amalgamation of a cute teddy and a sort of a monster. “It represents this combination of cuteness and monstrousness that I have in me. I have this cute look, but when I get on stage to perform, I have a whole new side like there’s a different person taking over. I have this heavy musical energy that needs an outlet,” describes Miko.
She also shares that the split-personality mascot was designed by her manager. “It was such a great surprise. He designed it when I was on vacation and showed it to me when I came back. I was touched by the gesture,” says she.

ST Reader Service
Teri Miko will be performing at SHOTS, Pheonix Marketcity, Viman nagar, today 8 pm onwards

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