These two best friends are more soul sisters who have pushed forward against all odds, and made a name for themselves in the music scene today. Mumbai-based Nina Shah and Malika Haydon are now India’s leading female DJ duo with their unique deep baselines fused with techno beats and tribal percussions and go by the moniker — Electroverts. The duo was recently signed by Spinnin’ Records. All set to perform in the city soon, they are the first women in the country to be signed by the label! In a candid chat with us, they tell us about their early days and how their passion for music grew.
Recently, they released a single with the youngest DJ in the country – Zaeden, which has already made waves across the country with over two million hits on YouTube! “Zaeden was fun to work with. We had similar sensibilities and tastes in music and hit it off instantly,” says Malika about the collaboration. Together, the duo are called the Electroverts. How did they get the name? “We tried punning on words,” laughs Nina. “At that time, the electronic music scene was coming up so we wanted electro in the name. And we’re both extroverts so we kind of mixed it up and came up with it,” reveals Malika, rather smugly.
To be as close as the two seem, they need to have known each other for quite a while. “We are actually family friends. Our mothers knew each other even before we were born so we ended up growing up together. We have also globetrotted together which is how we discovered our love for music and realised our similar taste,” admits Malika smiling. The artiste, who’s sister has manage to make it big in Bollywood doesn’t want to follow her path, despite starring in a video alongside Saif Ali Khan in Agent Vinod. “I’m not comfortable acting as I don’t know how to do it. I don’t want to be in movies,” says the DJ who prefers being behind the console! But has she ever been compared to her sister, we ask.
“Initially, we were compared to each other but we’re both completely different from each other. She wakes up early in the morning while I’m more of a night owl. And she’s not interested in my field, and neither am I in hers. So there’s no question of competition either,” reveals Malika about her sister Lisa Haydon. Coming back to the Electroverts, how did their family react when they told them about what they wanted to do? “My mother and sister were super supportive but my dad didn’t think too much about it as he didn't think we would really hit it off,” quips Malika. Nina on the other hand, wasn’t as lucky.
“My dad sat both of us down and had a long talk about it with us. When he realised we were actually serious, he let us have a go at it. And now, everybody is encouraging of us,” says Nina who admits to being camera shy and hence isn’t ready to try out in Bolllywood! The duo who are frequent performers in the city will be performing along with DJ Zaeden on October 1 at High Ultra Lounge. “We love Bengaluru and the people here. They are so open to new music and have been encouraging us ever since we started out,” add the Electroverts in conclusion, about why they love performing in the city.
