Less than a year after he started to DJ, Rej Dhingra found himself performing onstage with Wolfgang Gartner, a Grammy-nominated DJ and producer, in Los Angeles on a Friday night.
The fifth-year philosophy student met Gartner in 2006 at a party before he became famous. Dhingra said that being able to DJ with the producer, who had eight singles reach number one on the Beatport Top 10 Chart, just four years later was both unexpected and exhilarating.
“At the time I met him, I wasn’t even DJing. For me, it was super cool just to see how things have changed,” Dhingra said.
After just a year of getting into the L.A. nightlife scene, Dhingra, whose DJ name is Funk the Fresh, not only DJs, but runs “Controversy,” a party at The Standard Hotel’s Purple Lounge in Hollywood every Saturday night. Dhingra also works at the Avalon nightclub’s “Control,” its Friday night event, which according to Dhingra, is the biggest party on Friday nights.
“(Avalon nightclub) is the epitome of this demographic’s musical culture, … especially with our age group,” Dhingra said.
Dhingra got his start DJing and promoting at the Vanguard nightclub. He then created an event in Westwood called “The Sneak” at The Glendon with fourth-year theater student Chad Kenney and fourth-year electrical engineering student Stephen Corwin.
In January of 2011, Dhingra was approached by The Standard Hotel to spin on Saturday nights. Dhingra got his start at the Avalon after checking out fellow electro-house artists, Santiago & Bushido.
“Santiago & Bushido were playing at “˜Control,’ and I ran into the head of their label there. I asked if I could do anything to help. The first thing he wanted me to do was DJ a party,” Dhingra said.
As his DJ name suggests, Dhingra said that his style is definitely funky.
“It’s related to the old style of dance music. I try to do a new play on it; I don’t really try to do what everyone else is doing,” Dhingra said.
This funkiness is paired with an ability to adjust to any party quickly. According to Dhingra, in order to be a good DJ, one needs to be able to gauge every crowd and cater to them specifically.
“I don’t really use a system, to be honest,” Dhingra said. “I’m ready to adapt if I need to.”
Kenney, whose DJ name is GOJ!RA and works with Dhingra at The Standard Hotel, said that he and Dhingra work hard to provide an alternative club scene for a wide range of people.
“The Purple Lounge is not a rage fest. It’s people who want to look good and have an awesome time. It’s a good alternative to the frat party or another typical L.A. club,” Kenney said.
According to Kenney, the Purple Lounge’s appeal stems from the music he and Dhingra create with old-school beats and a relaxed atmosphere. And their creation is well received, as the club reaches capacity almost every week with celebrities, including Amber Rose, in attendance.
Corwin, founder of the blog and independent record label “Uh Oh Disco!,” also contributed to “The Sneak” and currently works at “Controversy” alongside Dhingra. Corwin said that rather than having a typical night at a Hollywood club, they want people to come to “Controversy” at The Standard Hotel and feel comfortable.
“”˜The Sneak’ was the jumping-off point. We wanted to bring music that we liked to students, something that they could get to every week,” Corwin said.
Dhingra said he plans to continue his work at The Standard Hotel and the Avalon after this year. He has plans to increase the accessibility of the L.A. nightlife for UCLA students and said he hopes to start a party on a larger scale in Westwood.
“What we’ve done here is appeal to the most marketable group, and that’s the people our age who are going to these raves. Post grad, I want to continuously do this,” Dhingra said.
With plans to start bussing to clubs from Westwood, the three have every intention of continuing to build what they started with “The Sneak.”
“People don’t realize that this is business. We built this vibe based on the music that I play. We represent UCLA in terms of the youth dance music scene,” Dhingra said.