Where are you originally from?
India, but I was born and raised in Indonesia. I have recently changed my Indonesian citizenship, which made it easier for me to work here.
So tell me, what makes a promoter?
Well, I bring international acts in Indonesia, namely Jakarta and Bali. I deal mostly with the artist, approaching their management and give them a proposal to play in Indonesia can I arrange permits and oversee everything.
This should be a really fun job to have?
is! I meet new people every day, even with the constraints to meet a deadline for an event, in the end, it is great fun, always great fun.
How many people are in your team?
We are only three of us, but we are working with Berlian Entertainment and we outsource most things because we are based on the events. We probably take a great event every three months so that we hire a team to help put together each event. We used to be called before the media, but now it is hybrid events and we go there for four years.
What you have in this job?
Since I was young I wanted to, I could see bands that I liked and I always wanted to get them to Indonesia. I finally met the right people, who took some time, and the hardest thing was the construction of the company's name; to get the confidence of sponsors, artists and customers.
How long did it take to win people's trust?
We were lucky really because the first event was DJ Tiesto at Double Six in Bali and in Jakarta X2 before 2008, which helped us a lot with credibility. He was always the biggest DJ at the time so it really put us on the map.
photos I've seen of you with Robbie Fowler for the Indonesian Masters Cup EPL which you organized. How was he?
There is a really nice guy and actually we had a great time. They were all very easy and were like, "Do not worry about us. We just want to see Jakarta." They were in Jakarta for four days and they went everywhere.
Where is your favorite place to dine in Bali?
I am a lover of street food and my favorite thing to eat is certainly Nasi Pedas Ibu Andika. Give me a pedas nasi every day and I'll be fine.
So what is the last event you had in Bali?
We just threw a rave party at the beach Balangan called Rave Party secret, which was like a proper rave before he went shopping. I arrived at 22:00 and there were already 800 people there, 50 percent of tourists. The main DJ was Ismai Jerome is probably the number one favorite DJ Indonesians that his music is to their liking here.
What you need for your acts be able to play here legally?
We just need a work permit so that artists can perform here called the 312 Visa. They made it easier for artists now because they can get these on arrival and that has really helped us. He's better actually. Before, artists had to go to the Indonesian embassy in their country to obtain the visa was difficult for them with their busy schedules.
Do you have concerns about the safety here?
So far, no. I think the Indonesian people favor the entertainment scene. I find them really nice and no worries about security.
Your actions should like to come to Bali right?
Yes, they do. DJ Tiesto loves so much that he ended up doing her photo shoot for his latest album cover to the monkey forest and a private villa. I helped with the shoot and was proud to be asked because the coverage will promote Bali.
So what would be your dream event to throw, Darshan?
I'd do something like Tomorrow Land, which is a massive festival in Belgium. It was during a long time and every year it has been more and more. It is a great concept of a festival - dance music, but on the theme with jungles and things and very well organized. It would be really difficult, but I hope in the future I can.
Who do you think is the act most difficult to Indonesia?
I must say that John Mayer. He had some problems with security in Indonesia in the last few years. I hope he can see things getting better here and change his mind. I would really like to do it here.
What do you think of the whole fiasco Lady Gaga?
Indonesia is a religiously diverse country and I think if you want to launch a Lady Gaga concert everyone should just respect each other. I think Lady Gaga has more fans now, after all. She is an intelligent woman and one of her new songs, "Partynaseus", she sings what happened in Jakarta. You need to act like it here and I think in the next two years we will see many changes and some more acts to come to Indonesia.