I stumbled upon Tripti Arora, aka BadTrip, through her DHH mix on YouTube, and her sound immediately drew me in. A guitarist and songwriter turned DJ, she’s been building her identity as an independent artist for the past two years. Her sets blend genres effortlessly, creating a flow with all your favorite Spotify playlist hits, whether she’s performing live or sharing music online. With a love for live music and a knack for crafting a vibe, BadTrip knows how to pull you in, and we had a little conversation with her about what read more in the conversation.
What drew you to start DJing in the first place?
It started quite randomly, and I cannot for the life of me remember what made me stick to it. I was at an indie concert in February 2021 and something about the DJ before the main act attracted me. They didn’t play what we typically expect to hear at a club and rather understood the audience and why they were there and created the perfect vibe for the upcoming artist. More than anything, that experience changed my perception of what DJing really is. Its not just playing the loudest tracks but also knowing that some moments need to be quiet, intimate, and human.
Can you remember the first time you played in front of people? What did that moment feel like for you?
My very first “gig” was a society Diwali Mela that was organised by my Tuition teacher at the time. I asked him if I can DJ with my recently bought controller and he was kind enough to let me along with the main hire for the event. It was nothing fancy but a couple of residents came to me later on and appreciated what I played and that motivated me to keep going. All it takes is an act of courage to start. Life has never been the same since.
How did you teach yourself to DJ, and what were some of the challenges you faced in those early days?
I was in 12th grade at the time and boards got cancelled cause of the second wave. I suddenly had too much time on my hands and I spent most of it learning the basics online. I eventually got a controller from relatives abroad, and after a couple of years of practising on it in my room and house parties, I went to learn professionally at an academy. The biggest challenge I think, is knowing where to start and how to go from there. The learning curve is steep, and the graph of growth in the space is very non-linear. It took me two years of taking whatever gig I got to understand what I wanted to do, the kind of music I wanted to play and build a presence both online and in the live scene. Its still a process where some months I’m always on the go from one venue to another, while others I feel like I’m not doing enough. Although the landscape of DJing is changing every day both in India and globally, there’s still a lot of confusion on where to start, how to learn and what a DJ really does. I get these questions now all the time and try my best to help out.
What has it been like building your place in hip-hop spaces as a woman behind the console?
Somewhat to my surprise, it has been very welcoming. The DHH community particularly has been very kind to me. I never expected people to actually listen to my YouTube sets, but I got so much love that I haven’t looked back since. I’ve loved hip-hop and DHH for as long as I can remember, and I think (and hope) that the love is reflected in everything I put out. In this space, particularly, at least so far, I have never been questioned for being a woman. I have been appreciated as well as criticised in the way anyone else in my place would have been. And I think that’s what women want in any space, to be accepted for their presence and not celebrated or shut down. To exist as humans and not aliens in that field. And I have been fortunate enough to get that so far.
Has your relationship with music changed now that you’re playing gigs regularly?
I’ve always been addicted to listening to music. Even after playing a long set or being out all day playing and listening to music, I often come back home and still haven’t had enough. That’s when I knew that I wanted to do this, cause I can never be bored of it. My relationship with music is ever evolving. I have consciously noticed now, though, that I’m always on the lookout for new music, and new ways to reimagine what I’ve already heard. Much like how it is with songwriters listening to other music and wishing they would have made it, I’m always listening to other DJ sets and marvelling at what they did and trying to recreate that with the same or different tracks. Its so important to listen to others. You never know what you will discover.
How do you prepare for a set, and what goes through your mind when you’re playing to a crowd?
I do a lot of homework before every gig. I want to be as prepared as possible, know exactly what to play when and where. It really helps me be at ease behind the deck. Of course more often than not I have to change things on the spot, but having that preparation really helps be ready for anything that comes my way. I like to put in some of my favourite tracks or some underrated bangers between the more popular ones. As a DJ, I want to promote new artists and put people on new music as well. When I’m on the deck, I know it’s not just about the music I’m playing but also how I play it. The crowd won’t enjoy it till I don’t, so my energy is always extra high the moment I play the first song. People wont care if I miss a transition or two as long as they’re enjoying what they hear.
What are you looking forward to next, either in your music journey or outside of it?
This year has been full of trying new things for me, I have been putting out original music as a separate identity for the past couple of years and recently decided that my lives as a DJ and a songwriter were too intertwined to separate. So now I have combined the two. My music, just like my sets, is genre fluid and I’m hoping to build more of my sound and tell more stories through this medium. I was a songwriter long before I became a DJ and I know now that one cant exist without the other. I’m excited to take on this journey and see where it takes me.
