‘We’re united in our desire to dance’

Eat, sleep, rave, repeat — Fatboy Slim’s anthem resounded through packed EDM festival grounds over the last two years and one can expect the cheers to get louder as the electronica demigod descends onto the console this Saturday. “It is still only my second time in India so it still feels like quite an adventure for me. A new audience, a different culture but we are united in our desire to escape into a world of dance and celebration. We are bringing the big show, so anything can happen and probably will. I aim to see smiles on faces and a little wiggle of the hips,” he writes to us over an email interview ahead of his gig.

Earlier this year at Creamfields in the UK, the Rockafeller Skank artiste indulged his fans in a fun activity as part of his Smile High Club where he, along with revellers at the festival, formed a Human Smiley. Approximately, 2,000 people joined a human chain that formed one big smiley face. The pictures, taken for a bird’s eye view were glorious but Fatboy has no qualms in calling it what it was — a tad bit pointless. “It was a huge leap into the unknown for all of us. We learnt a lot whilst doing it. It seemed a simple idea but as we were setting it up it became more and more complicated but then on the day it went back to being simple. People like to get involved and smile at our own collective absurdity. It was possibly the most pointless yet enjoyable stunt I’ve ever pulled!”

That doesn’t mean it was the end of it though. Ask him if he wants to recreate the experience for his Mumbai fans and the answer is positive.

The English electronica artist was last in India three years ago. Having performed across countries and continents, the 52-year- old tells us that there’s a lot more that he is yet to explore. “I’ve been a DJ for 35 years. I started playing punk rock but just as I turned 18 and was old enough to play in nightclubs was literally the day that electro music started with Planet Rock and Blue Monday. Right now I am driven by DJing rather than production. This of course could change at any moment, but I’ve been lucky enough to be part of a scene that has been growing and developing from underground clubs to the huge festivals, commercial success and worldwide acclaim. It’s been an incredible journey so far and lots to expect in the future.”

Speaking of his 18-year-old self, Norman Cook wasn’t Fatboy then. “At around the age of 18, I was old enough to play in nightclubs and in those days I went by the name of DJ OX. Fatboy Slim is an oxymoron I found interesting and it’s a name that I adapted years later.”

Interestingly, Norman was a drummer with a Punk Rock band before he became an ‘electronic soul boy’. He says, “Patrick Cowley’s 15 minute megamix of I Feel Love by Donna Summer in 1981 blew my mind and converted this punk rocker.”

Fatboy considers The Clash, Grandmaster Flash, Armand Van Helden, Diplo and Brian Eno as his top inspirations. And while he enjoys the adoration from his young fans, there’s one fan tribute that he can’t quite wrap his head around. “I do worry about some of the tattoos I see...do those kids really want my name on their arm for life ”

Catch Fatboy Slim live at Bacardi Enchanted Valley Carnival, Aamby Valley City, Lonavala on December 19, 8.30 – 10. 00 pm Tickets: Rs 4,000 onwards at evc.co.in