DJ Smokey, the Mumbai Artist Bringing Indian Roots Into Contemporary Electronic Music
Some music is hard to place. A drum break pushes forward at speed. Underneath it, a trained classical voice or the grain of a traditional instrument holds the ground. It doesn't sound like a collision. It sounds like two languages working out a shared grammar.
That space between worlds is where DJ Smokey works. She is a Mumbai-based DJ, music producer, electronic live artist and educator, and her official website describes more than 15 years in the music industry. Her sound draws on underground bass culture, Indian musical traditions and the wider electronic mainstream. She has also spoken at TEDx about what it takes to keep reinventing yourself as an artist.
A Sound Built Between Worlds
Smokey's underground sound sits in the heavier, more exploratory corners of electronic music
Drum & Bass
Dubstep
Breaks
Experimental Bass
Left-field electronic music
This is music built on weight, tempo and space. What sets Smokey's work apart is what she brings into that framework: Indian classical vocals, ragas, traditional instrumentation and organic textures.
It would be easy to file this under "fusion." That label doesn't quite fit. In fusion, two styles are often placed side by side.
Here the Indian elements sit inside the sound itself. A raga can shape a melodic line and its mood. A classical vocal phrase can act as a rhythmic and emotional anchor. An acoustic texture can warm up a digital arrangement. The bass and breaks carry the movement, and the Indian influences help decide what the track feels like and who it belongs to.
For a Smokey music producer profile, this is the core idea. The Indian elements are part of the identity of the music, not a garnish on top.
Her official website also names RAM Records, Krunk Kulture and VOYCE Records. She was selected as an official mentee through RAM Records' EQ50 mentorship programme, a link to the international Drum & Bass scene that runs alongside her work in India.
From Underground Bass to Wider Audiences
Many artists in bass music stay inside one lane. Smokey's repertoire is broader. Alongside her underground sets, she plays Electronic Dance Music, Bollywood, Punjabi, Pop and commercial dance music.
Her official profile says she adapts her sets for clubs, festivals, corporate events, private celebrations and other live settings. That flexibility matters in practice. A late-night bass room, a college festival and a brand evening all ask different things of a DJ. Reading a crowd and shaping a set around it is a skill of its own, and it sits comfortably alongside her more experimental work.
It also suits her artistic outlook. As a Drum and Bass DJ in India with roots in the underground, she treats the mainstream as another audience to engage with, not a compromise.
A Career Across Stages and Cities
Smokey's performance history spans festivals, concerts and institutions across India and abroad. Selected appearances include:
Locus Drum & Bass Festival, Indonesia
Ziro Festival, Arunachal Pradesh
Bacardi NH7 Weekender, Pune
Sunburn Arena, Mumbai and Jaipur
Life In Color, New Delhi
The Wiz Khalifa concert, Mumbai
The list includes remote festival settings in the Northeast, large-format electronic events and a dedicated international Drum & Bass festival. It also reflects a scene shift, with independent and bass-driven music finding more room alongside commercial platforms.
She has performed across Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and other Indian cities. Her international footprint, according to her official profile, includes Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Qatar, China, Tanzania and Nepal.
Her work has also appeared across UKF, BBC Asian Network, Vh1 India, Rolling Stone India and Boxout FM.
The Sound of Re-Invention
Careers in music rarely move in a straight line. Smokey's has moved between DJing, production, live electronic performance and teaching, and each shift has asked her to reconsider what she does and why.
That is the territory of her TEDx talk, "The Sound of Re-Invention," delivered at TEDxVIIT in Pune. The talk draws on her journey as a DJ, music producer, electronic live artist and educator, and connects it with themes of creativity, reinvention, identity, evolution and experimentation.
The title works on two levels. It points to reinvention as a personal process, the way an artist changes as tools, audiences and questions change. It also treats sound as the medium for that change. For Smokey, experimenting with a new format or a new set of influences is a way of working out who she is as an artist.
For event organisers, this adds a dimension that goes beyond the DJ set. A speaker who has also spent years on stage and in the studio can speak about creativity from direct experience, which suits programmes built around music, culture and career journeys.
Beyond the DJ Booth
Education is a serious part of Smokey's practice. She has more than a decade of experience in DJ and music education, teaching:
DJing
Music production
Ableton Live
Electronic live performance
Mentorship for emerging artists
Her teaching has taken her to institutions and platforms including Audioqube Academy, Beat Bloc School of Music, Echo's DJ Academy (Mumbai), Rising Media School (Thane), and D Min Studio, Seamedu Media School and TIFA Working Studios (Pune).
The teaching sits close to her performing work. Explaining a technique means understanding it well, and working with newer artists keeps her in touch with where the scene is heading. Someone who plays live, produces and teaches can offer a fuller picture of how the craft fits together.
Music, Collaboration and Creative Projects
A few projects show the range of Smokey's work.
Dove / "Jugni – The Reborn Anthem." Smokey contributed to the music production of this Dove campaign project, composed by Sneha Khanwalkar and featuring artists including Raja Kumari and Afsana Khan. It shows her production skills applied to a large, collaborative brand-led project that draws on traditional musical voices.
Sound of Women x Krantinari. This original music project brings together women artists and traditional musical voices around themes of identity, culture and resilience. It reflects her interest in using electronic music as a space where inherited traditions and contemporary expression can meet.
Music for a City Mourning. A musical tribute connected to the 2017 Elphinstone Road railway station tragedy in Mumbai. It shows music used as a response to a moment in her own city, not only as entertainment.
FLOODLIGHT: DnB Aid for Pakistan. Her original track "DRM" appeared on an international Drum & Bass compilation created to raise funds for flood relief in Pakistan. It places her work within a global scene using its network for humanitarian support.
Together, these projects show an artist who moves between commercial, cultural and community-minded work.
Smokey turns rhythm, culture and experimentation into an unmistakable electronic experience
Where DJ Smokey Fits in Live Experiences
Her range allows her profile to work across a number of formats:
Music festivals and club events, from underground bass programming to broader dance sets
Cultural events where Indian musical traditions are part of the story
College festivals, where performance and mentorship can sit side by side
Corporate events and private celebrations, where a set can be shaped around the room
Brand experiences that need a credible music voice with cultural depth
Electronic music programmes, workshops and masterclasses in DJing, production and Ableton Live
Speaker-led creative programmes, drawing on her TEDx experience
For organisers looking for a DJ for festivals or a female DJ in India whose work carries both technical range and a clear point of view, Smokey's profile offers that combination of performance, production and education. Anyone considering DJ booking in India can reach out to DHE Studio to discuss availability and event requirements.
A Sound Still Taking Shape
There is no single template for an artist like Smokey. She plays heavy bass music and mainstream dance floors, performs live and teaches, and treats Indian musical traditions as living material to be worked with. Her TEDx title suggests the underlying idea, that an artist's identity is something you keep shaping over time.
What her work shows is a steady curiosity about what happens when a raga meets a breakbeat, and about who that music is for. She keeps exploring that space, one project at a time.
For talent bookings and professional enquiries, connect with DHE Studio through Book Talent or info@dhestudio.com.
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