Su Real
New Delhi
Su Real is an award-winning music producer and DJ known for pioneering new genres like Trap, Reggaeton, Dancehall and Desi Bass in India. For over a decade, Su Real has raved at the rapidly-evolving forefront of homegrown popular culture, representing the new era of Indian-origin dance music producers who create and curate for the modern Indian dancefloor. His all-inclusive approach to music ensures his status as a champion of the underground who can also whip a main-stage crowd into a joyful hysteria.
This penchant for being ahead of the curve led to his winning 1st prize on “The Remix”, a musical competition on Amazon Prime Video in 2018. The original show was viewed in over 200 countries and featured the judges Sunidhi Chauhan, Amit Trivedi and Nucleya declaring the team of Su Real & Rashmeet Kaur as champions.
Building on this success, he was invited to produce a monthly mixtape for BBC Asian Network as part of Bobby Friction's popular show. Meanwhile, his track ‘Bajre De Soundboy’ was licensed for the worldwide EA FIFA '18 trailer, which hit over 7 million views across platforms.
Taking his signature style across the country, Su Real has blessed the stage at the most reputed music festivals including Sunburn Festival, Vh1 Supersonic, NH7 Weekender, Red Bull Tour Bus, Magnetic Fields, Simba Uproar, Goa Sunsplash, Meta Creator’s Day, MTV Bloc Party, India Bike Week, and more.
Su Real has shared the stage with a veritable who’s who of international dance music: Major Lazer, Skrillex, Diplo, Marshmello, Yellow Claw, NGHTMRE, 4B, Borgore, Branko, JSTJR, Pretty Lights, Hudson Mohawke, Flux Pavillion, MC Zulu, Alo Wala, among others.
In almost a decade of touring across India, Su Real has headlined a number of times at all of the country’s most iconic music venues like Blue Frog (Mumbai), Antisocial (Mumbai), Social (Delhi, Mumbai, Chandigarh), Kitty Su (Mumbai, Delhi, Chandigarh), High Spirits (Pune), Roxy (Kolkata), The Humming Tree (Bangalore) and Auro (Delhi).
In this new era of viral trends and overnight sensations, Su Real has gradually crystallized over the years into a known constant in India’s music scene. In 2008, after 10 years as a music publicist and party-hopper between New York and Montreal, he returned home to his native New Delhi, where a growing local scene was taking shape. Of course, he dove right in - programming the events and cultural activities at the legendary T.L.R., the first venue that lit up Hauz Khas Village with non-commercial music and alternative arts & culture.
Su Real initially gained notoriety as a DJ in 2010 with his Disco 31 nights at T.L.R. It was here that he truly developed his unique “bashment” DJ-ing style that mashes up Pop, Hip Hop, Trap and EDM with an endless variety of global, ethnic flavors like Dancehall, Reggaeton, Soca, Afro, Baile Funk and especially Bollywood and Indian Folk/Traditional music into a massive masala mix. Yesterday’s classics mingle with the latest hits as everything gets mixed up, fried up and served up hot & spicy for the desi dancefloor!
During a time when most Indian nightclubs only allowed a narrow bandwidth of mainstream music on their speakers, Su Real was hosting the country’s first Trap nights and Global Bass parties with a handful of like-minded DJ’s and producers; importing new sounds and styles for young, Internet-savvy audiences hungry for the latest trends.
By 2013, Rolling Stone India declared, “Su Real is the legendary secret ingredient to some of Delhi’s recent favorite underground sets / parties / combinations thereof.” GQ India further attested to the hype, “When he’s not playing mad professor in his West Delhi beat lab, he’s as likely to be tearing up a festival green room or inciting a thousand simultaneous heart attacks from behind the decks.”
Nucleya was actually an early benefactor, offering him key support slots on his tours & album launches. Paying it forward, Su Real was one of the first to recognize young Ritviz’s potential, collaborating with him on a track (‘Turn Up’) and selecting him for opening slots. The Mumbai Mirror wrote, “While fellow producer/DJ Nucleya has spearheaded the genre of Desi Bass, it is Su Real who has added weight to the genre and converted it into a movement.”
Music journalist Anurag Tagat added in an in-depth ½-page Su Real feature in The Hindu (2016), “Desi Bass has become one of the most dependable genres for clubs in 2016, and it is not just Nucleya we have to thank for that. There is an entire movement that the DJ is part of, which includes the likes of Su Real, Ritviz, Mojojojo, Sickflip and more. Dominating the scene recently is Suhrid Manchanda a.k.a. Su Real.”
Su Real’s official catalog spans 4 critically acclaimed albums and over 20 singles including official releases with Zee Music Company and Times Music. Su Real has produced 20 music videos; 12 of which have been featured on VH1 India, MTV Beats, 9XM among other media outlets.
The catalog kicks off with two landmark, critically acclaimed full-length albums, ‘Trapistan’ (2014) and its follow-up ‘Twerkistan’ (2016). Both albums were ahead of their time for the Indian market, introducing Indian music fans to Trap, Twerk, and Moombahton. Although these were nascent, unfamiliar sub-genres at the time, today they dominate the global soundscape - in India, as well.
Towards the end of 2019, Su Real released ‘Visa On Arrival’, a full-length album of 12 songs inspired by the growing appreciation for Dancehall and Reggaeton in the desi diaspora. The album launched under Apple Music’s exclusive Hear It First promotion and was subsequently added to their global playlist A-List Pop. Tracks from the album have also been featured on Spotify’s “New Music Friday - India” playlist as well as playlists and features on Indian outlets like Jio SAAVN and Gaana.
Since then, Su Real has remained prolific, releasing a steady stream of new music. As part of the ‘Real Dutty Beats’ partnership between Su Real and Mumbai-based producer Dutty Deedz, the duo have released a slew of hip hop singles featuring an ever-expanding line-up of some of India’s most exciting next-gen rappers and lyricists such as MC Altaf (Gully Gang), Shah Rule (Gully Gang), GD 47, J Trix, 7Bantai’Z, Dopeadelicz, Nasty Ninja, Kaater and General Zooz (Reggae Rajahs). In 2022, Su Real co-produced the song “P.O.V.” with GD 47 for his performance on the hugely popular hip hop TV show, MTV Hustle S2.
Su Real’s unique style of fusing Indian elements with Western dance music has been tapped by major global brands to produce original music for their ad campaigns. The client list includes E.A. Sports, Absolut, Jagermeister, Dunkin Donuts, Google Arts & Culture, and Red Bull, among others..
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Additional Press Quotes (Selections):
“The capital city’s Suhrid ‘Su Real’ Manchanda has been known for dropping only the finest genre bombs on unsuspecting audiences, whether it’s a festival, a club gig, or at your average sweat-soaked grinds.” - Red Bull India (Jan 2020)
“After winning The Remix, a popular show that aired on Amazon Prime, Suhrid Manchanda a.k.a. Su Real (is) no less than an energy bomb. He is credited with starting the underground music culture in Delhi as a DJ, organizing Disco 31 nights at T.L.R. Cafe in Hauz Khas Village.” - FHM India (Jul 2018)
“Su Real a.k.a. Suhrid Manchanda needs no introduction. The Indian musician producer-cum-DJ likes going against the grain and it is reflective in the vibe of his music - best described as Explosive, Sweaty, Sexy, Diasporic and Inclusive.” - Asian Age & Deccan Chronicle (May 2018)
“… Su Real infuses modern dance music with Indian influences… With the explosion of EDM and its related genres like trap, bass, house, and dubstep, legions of Indian producers like Nucleya, Mojojojo, Ritviz, Dub Sharma, Sickflip and Bandish Projekt are applying the East-West fusion to the wide range of EDM, which he believes, is a sound that represents the Indian youth today.” - The Tribune (Oct 2016)
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Links:
www.realsureal.in
www.instagram.com/realsureal
www.youtube.com/realsureal
www.facebook.com/RealSuReal
www.soundcloud.com/dj-su-real
www.bit.ly/spotifysureal
www.bit.ly/applemusicsureal
realsureal.bandcamp.com
www.mixcloud.com/realsureal
www.linktr.ee/realsureal
SU REAL’s tracks
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