This week we feature the current favorites and obsessions of Sumana ‘DJ Sumie’ Murthy who threw iPod dance parties in her college dorm room and quickly realized her knack for getting the crowd on the dance floor. Continuing to pursue music and education, she earned a law degree while deejaying private events in New Jersey. Today, DJ Sumie is an attorney in New York and New Jersey, and she runs a mean game of kids musical chairs at banquet halls across the tri-state area. Find her on the internet @djsumie and catch her at the next Bollywood Disco event.
1. “In My Heart” — Deepside Deejays
While it usually takes a feel-good desi jam to get me on the dance floor, the Romanian DJ duo Deepside Deejays drop musical interludes on this track that get my shoulders moving and my body grooving.
2. “Sawan Aaya Hai” from Creature featuring Arijit Singh
I’m a sucker for a good Bollywood love song. These days, Arijit Singh’s vocals are synonymous with the latest soulful and melodic slow tracks that I obsess over. This week, this is definitely my love song on loop.
3. “Chaandaniya” from 2 States featuring K Mohan
Within the first two minutes of a Bollywood heartbreak song, I’m usually halfway through a box of tissues with mascara running down my cheeks. The uptempo guitar riff and K Mohan‘s light vocals on this track keep me from getting a bad case of the “womp womps.”
4. “Balle Balle Shawa Shawa” from Yaara O Dildara Featuring Harbhajan Mann
For the “inner Punjabi,” in all of us, for our general love of celebrations and family weddings, for dramatic Bollywood love-triangles, and of course, for my uncontrollable shoulders.
5. “Habibi Law Zaalan” — Mohamed Hamaki
One of my favorite aspects of deejaying is the exposure I get to world music. I get to discover international hits and introduce them to audiences that may have no idea that this Arabic song by Mohamed Hamaki is about to get stuck in their head.
