As a series of post-summer parties and top DJ gigs have begun to kick off in Doha, some of the resident DJs of the city’s top night haunts are raring to join in on the groove action.
Portuguese DJ Bruno Rochart has been a resident DJ in WAHM Lounge and performs regularly in Crystal Club – both at W Doha Hotel & Residences – and Siddhartha Lounge by Buddha Bar in Dubai. Born in Paris, Rochart, who has been in the thick of the music from age 11, tells Community the challenges of manning the turntable in a city as vibrant as Doha.
“I’ve been playing in Qatar, more specifically in WAHM at W Doha, for four years already, and till today, every time I walk up to that DJ booth, it’s always a kind of a challenge,” he says, “We are living in a city that’s constantly growing and changing and witnesses a constant arrival of new crowds. As a DJ, my role is to try and ensure that everyone’s enjoying their night and, of course, the music. Sometimes it’s not easy, as music tends to get a bit mainstream and then to further give it a fresh and new music spin gets tough. But I do think it makes a difference; it’s sort of like a good trick that attracts people and fuels curiosity.”
Rochart started DJ-ing by the age of 16, mainly in college festivals all over Portugal. At 21, he founded a nightlife events company called ‘Let’s Celebrate’ and played across the country. Musically, his energy is said to be infectious and the audience is known to really get involved with his mixes, which some say is why his profile is growing in Portugal and the Middle East.
“At the end of the day, it’s great when you can see a change. I do really appreciate the fact that I can contribute to the music scene in Qatar. It’s special for me to be playing here for so long,” he says.
Certainly Rochart has fine-tuned his mixing chops over the years by collaborating with many international DJs such as Boddhi Satva, José Padilla, Ravin, DJ Yass, Stephane Poupagnac, Nicholas Sechaud, Carlos Campos and many others in several events like Fashion TV Party — Lisbon, Fashion Shows at W Doha, Buddha Bar Nights, Ancestral Night, EDP Lisbon Festival, third anniversary of Bvlgari Qatar Store, Official opening of La Spiga Restaurants by Papermoon, Tribeca Film Festival Doha, Stock Market Fashion Week Lisbon, and Calzedonia Fashion Show Lisbon, to name a few. He has also acted as the music director for Rabab Abdulla Fashion Show at New York and Lusail Marina, Doha, and Qatar Luxury Group – Qela.
But how did performing across Portugal in his earlier years shape his musical style? “I think all artistes, not only DJs, bring some trademarks and ‘signs’ of where they come from. To cite a small titbit of history, the Portuguese started world globalisation in the 15th century, and that’s exactly what I love to do – to globalise music, to mix sonorities from all over the world and transforming music to relay one unique message of love, peace and dance! I would say that’s my nature and the biggest influence I derive from Portugal,” he says.
Some of Rochart’s biggest influences are Louie Vega, Boddhi Satva, Dennis Ferrer, Black Coffee, Manoo DJ Gregory, Hot Since 82, Francesco Tarantini, Saint Zepherin and Culoe de Song. His musical style can be described as a mash of Classic, Deep & Tech, Soulful House with Native Beats.
It’s interesting how Rochart knows just where to pay his dues when it comes to music. “Why I love classics? Well, because it’s amazing looking back to where all the electronic music came from, and realising how everything started!
Let’s say that classics transmit a very special feeling and touch our souls in a different way than the contemporary style,” he explains, “Perhaps before, musical instruments were more useful than computers. As for my experience of transforming and mixing different styles, the other styles mentioned are the ones I identify with the most and the ones that can permit me to mix easily with instruments and voices or lyrics from all over the world.”