An Interview with Yon DJ
On a mission to bring the greatest and most universal dance music of all time back to the airwaves, back to nightlife, and back to the dance floor, Yon DJ has channeled his diverse experiences into his own music.
At age 17, he played at school carnivals, then at friends’ birthdays, and at 18, at the VIP rooms of Bangalore’s nightclubs. His music is the culmination of a lifetime of DJing around the world and of his time spent observing people’s reactions to music and their experiences.
His Story
Listening to DJ Yon share his story with us has been nothing short of inspirational, filled with positivity and the hopes of a better tomorrow. Living life with no regrets, Yon tells us about the difficulty he faced having to convince his parents when it came to deciding his future as a DJ. While it may have been a difficult few years, seeing their son grow and gain the acclaim he soon did, they were nothing but proud of their boy.
Like all struggling young artists, the initial few years for Yon were testing times, having to deal with the diverse music culture and the influx of modern music equipment. He soon learned to not get overwhelmed by it all but to instead take inspiration from those artists who were at their prime, enjoying being behind the console and winning the hearts of their audience.
Very soon, he kick-started what can only be seen as an incredible journey as a musician, DJing at some of the biggest private events of the last decade. Yon eventually worked his way up from there and was introduced to other genres which he enjoyed experimenting with along with making new music. What makes Yon one of the most sought-after DJ’s is his ability to keep the audience on the floor while playing some incredible old-school tracks.
His innate ability to relate with his audience and connect with them has won him quite a lot of appreciation and recognition.
Over the years, Yon has gotten the opportunity to work with some of the most elite and influential personalities and has a long-standing association with Taj Westend for a good 8 years now. Yon has also started an electronic music band along with 4 other fellow DJs and they together produce lots of music, using their own production for the process and are proud to have put together over 300 tracks for the Bangalore Fashion Week that is used even today. Today, they own a record label, recruiting talent to help them showcase their work and talent.
Looking forward to taking his music label a long way, Yon dreams to one day open a music school to keep the passion of DJing going strong among the youth of today. Yon goes on to share with us special moments with his audience and his long-term association with many of them. He is also responsible for having launched various music initiatives that are truly representative of his never-dying passion for the art.
2020 And His Time In Lockdown
A true optimist at heart, Yon is a believer that in every challenge lies an opportunity. While the pandemic has no less affected him financially and mentally and as someone not used to sit idle, the last few months have been challenging for him in more ways than one.
While the initial few months came as a much-needed relaxing break for Yon, after the first 2 months, the seriousness of the situation was terrifying, to say the least, and made him truly understand the value of things.
Following that was a turmoil of emotion, first of that of hope and then soon followed by the harsh truth that the pandemic was in fact here to stay a while longer.
Not being able to lend a helping hand is what Yon feels most terrible about but given the situation, knows that it is not in his control. In spite of it all, however, he has managed to see the silver lining and speaks of the vast learning he has acquired over the past few months in terms of re-inventing and upskilling himself in various areas of his keen interest. “The trick is to work towards finding your way out and that will go a long way in helping you discover other avenues that you are skilled at,” is what he has to say. Yon has been spending his time studying music and the algorithms being used and exploring the space of music production as well. This time has taught him valuable life-affirming lessons including the impact of well-established family values and who our true friends and well-wishers are.
“How slow life is with being fast” a unique perception of life that Yon very rightly points out and how the pandemic has given us the chance to reflect on these ideas and change us for the better. He has also started a pet-food startup initiative during this time and along with his 2 partners are aiming towards ensuring their product has a low carbon footprint while focusing on providing the best quality food to pets.
Yon is not afraid to add that the pandemic has destroyed him but has also helped him get up and showed him how much he can do. Sage advice was once given to him by a mentor, “Only dead fish go with the flow.” Yon has since then lived each moment with absolute resolve and with a keen determination to make the most of what he has. Wise words from his father about living life at one’s own cost rather than at the cost of others, and it is with keeping all of these words of inspiration in mind that Yon continues to lead his life to the best of his ability.
2021 And His Take On The New Year
Fun, one word that Yon uses to describe what he believes the new year will best represent, seeing that this year has been all about question marks and understanding the privilege of physically interacting with others. He is confident that a whole new range of opportunities is sure to open up while also acknowledging the learning that he has acquired over these last few months.
Parting Thoughts
“The only important thing is to remember that today is not constant and it is in rediscovering and facing challenging situations that we get the opportunity to re-invent and try out new things. Think futuristically and work towards doing what you love best. Music-wise, my advice would be to play the music that you love and resonate with and, not just the ones that are popular as it is all about having the right vibe to help you help others experience the music you play. Don’t stop re-inventing as it is not the end of the world, we just need to learn to work around it. We all possess other talents and we need to work on them to help us understand where best to use them.”
Listening to Yon DJ speak and share with us his wisdom and experience has been nothing short of inspirational, filled with hope and all things good. We thank him sincerely for his sage words of encouragement and wisdom and here’s wishing him the best of luck for the future.
In case you missed out on being a part of the live session, head on over to our Instagram page to watch the recording.