DJ Toshi

Pakistani DJ and EDM producer, co-creator of Biba

Compiled from 1 recorded interview. Every statement below is drawn from the passage cited beside it.

DJ Toshi is a Pakistani DJ and EDM producer. He says he has always been mixing and still prefers performing to producing. He is one of three people who made Biba. He describes his main purpose in EDM as bringing a desi vibe, since the country's flag has not been present in the EDM industry.

Early life and background

Toshi says he was introduced to music in 2016. He says that around 2011 and 2012 he listened to EDM, including David Guetta and Armin van Buuren, on a friend's Android phone. He also says that he and his friends did not have the money to arrange a DJ. [1]

Education

Toshi says he was at the same school for his whole life. He describes it as a very good school and says his father went out of his way to have them study there. He and his brother were the first in their family to take O-levels and A-levels. [1]

Toshi describes himself as having been a backbencher. He says maths was a strong subject for him. In his A-levels he took Urdu, and then sociology alongside it. He says he finished his A-level graduation in 2017. [1]

Career

Toshi says that at one time he was only cutting songs and mashing them together, and that he made his own preset rather than downloading one. He says he did not create a page until he had content. He says he has always stayed behind a shield and was not widely known to the public. He also says he had one show in Islamabad and another in Faisalabad the other day. [1]

He says he made some commercial music just to survive. He says people in Pakistan forget you quickly, so he had to make hits, and he describes himself as a hit maker. He says two of his most recent songs were number one on Spotify. His first good commercial track was called Pakistani. [1]

Toshi says he started calling a few producers, who asked who he was. He says he had a remix of Nazia Hassan that he wanted to make at that time. He says the Annural project blew up and was amazing. [1]

He says he received a call saying that he should do a track for an album. He says that after making other music for so long, they decided to put out music for the public this time. He says he did the drop, and that the vocal melody was another person's work. He also says a Pakistani EDM producer was the first to make an EDM album. [1]

Biba

Toshi says Biba was his own thing, and that he enjoyed it more. He says every big fish in the industry has listened to Biba. [1]

Views

Toshi says EDM is close to his heart, and that the period of EDM made him Toshi. He says he makes the songs that are close to his heart. He says his desi vibe never goes away and always shows, including on Instagram. He says he wants the Pakistani EDM scene to rise. He also says that instead of a normal guitar, one can use a sitar. [1]

Toshi says mixing is a different art from playing other people's tracks. He says a three-hour set has a flow that lifts the listener and then takes them to a calm point. He says the performance is what the audience pays for. He says it cannot work that way on a global scale because his audience needs vocals. [1]

He says you need people around you, and especially good people. He says that when he likes something, he does not check whether the person behind it is small or big. He says he believes in releasing one good one. [1]

Toshi says that without a personal connection, a producer is credited only in the description below, as in "music by Toshi". He says that he and other producers do not get that recognition. He says ghost producing is part of the game. [1]

First international show

Toshi says his first international show was in Dubai. He says the Ultra Music Festival was taking place in Dubai, and that Ultra was postponed due to COVID. He says he took the first flight and went back to Pakistan. [1]

He says he has played four or five shows, one of them in Karachi. He says he closed his laptop and mixer and put everything away in the cupboard. He says his management was smart enough. [1]

Gaming

Toshi says he has always been a gamer, from before he made music. He says he played competitively, in tournaments, and played only COD and no other game. His brother introduced him to PUBG. [1]

He says a very good friend of his is one of the best players of South Asia. He says his own skill is part of his PUBG success, but that he would not have excelled as much without someone's guidance. He says he plays paid scrims from 3 a.m. at night. He says that when PUBG was banned, he was the first to make a video about the unban. [1]

Personal life

Toshi says his father told him never to give up, and warned him he would always be a failure if he gave up after failing A-levels. He says that if his father had not told him to go ahead, he might not be doing it. He says his father has been out in the world, to about 36 countries, understood this thing, and so let him do it. He says his father asks him to come and sit for one day in a week and tell him all the work he has done. [1]

Toshi says his family, including his brother, his parents and his sister, played a role in his life. He says the impact on his life came from his friends, and that he will keep going to sit with them, whatever happens. He has two circles of friends, one in Pindi and one in Islamabad. He says a friend whom people see as an influencer is, to him, the best person and the best friend anyone could have. [1]

Timeline

2016
By his account, is introduced to music.[1]
2017
By his account, finishes his A-level graduation.[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2021-09-01 The bluff that turned DJ Toshi into a producer Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

Who is DJ Toshi?

DJ Toshi is a Pakistani DJ and EDM producer. He is one of three people who made Biba. He says he has always been mixing and still prefers performing to producing.[1]

What does DJ Toshi do?

DJ Toshi is a DJ and producer working in EDM. He says he is more into playing trap music and likes to play at 150 BPM. He describes his main purpose in EDM as bringing a desi vibe.[1]

Where did DJ Toshi study?

DJ Toshi says he was at the same school for his whole life. He took Urdu and sociology in his A-levels, and says he finished his A-level graduation in 2017. He and his brother were the first in their family to take O-levels and A-levels.[1]

Where was DJ Toshi's first international show?

DJ Toshi says his first international show was in Dubai. He says the Ultra Music Festival was taking place in Dubai, and that Ultra was postponed due to COVID. He says he took the first flight and went back to Pakistan.[1]

Does DJ Toshi play PUBG?

DJ Toshi says he has always been a gamer, from before he made music. His brother introduced him to PUBG, and he says he plays paid scrims from 3 a.m. at night. He also says that when PUBG was banned, he was the first to make a video about the unban.[1]

References

  1. The bluff that turned DJ Toshi into a producer . Thought Behind Things , 2021-09-01.
Show the source passages (76 statements)
  1. He says he has always been mixing music and still prefers performing to producing. I've always been mixing. Still now, I prefer more performing than producing. Till now.
  2. He describes himself as a hit maker. what sort of a musician you are, what would you say? I'm a hit maker.
  3. He says he listened to EDM around 2011 and 2012, including David Guetta and Armin van Buuren, on a friend's Android phone. I used to listen to EDM a lot. Like back in 2011, 12, I remember mere dost ka ek Android phone hota tha, pure group mein ek hi Android phone hota tha, usme hum woh David Guetta aur Armin van Buuren sunate rehta tha.
  4. He says that he and his friends did not have the money to arrange a DJ. Ab hamare aise halaat ho gaye ke hamare paas koi DJ arrange karne ke paise hi nahi the.
  5. He says he made his own preset rather than downloading one. Phir what I did us time bhi, I made my own preset. I could have easily done ke main kuch download karke chala leta.
  6. He says that at that time he was only cutting songs and mashing them together. Nahi, us time mein kuch bhi nahi. Us time maine bas jis tarah you cut a song, you mash it together, us sirf yeh kar raha tha.
  7. He says he did not create a page until he had content. Toh jab tak mere paas ek content nahi aaya na, maine page nahi banaya.
  8. He says he was introduced to music in 2016. 2016 mein I was introduced to music.
  9. He says he took Urdu in his A-levels, and then sociology alongside it. I actually switched to my like, maine Urdu diya A-levels mein. Phir maine sociology diya saath
  10. He says maths was a strong subject for him. Maths meri bahut achi thi pehle se.
  11. He says he finished his A-level graduation in 2017. agar A-levels ki graduation keh le, woh 2017 mein hui thi.
  12. He describes himself as having been a backbencher. Lekin main towards more, I was the backbencher, theek hai?
  13. He and his brother were the first in their family to take O-levels and A-levels. me and my brother are the first one in the entire family who did O and A-levels.
  14. He says he was at the same school for his whole life. Puri zindagi Saint Mary's mein.
  15. He says it was a very good school and that his father went out of his way to have them study there. Bahut achha school tha aur mere baba out of the way ja ke humein udhar padha rahe the
  16. He says his father told him never to give up. kehne agar tu mera puttar hai na, kabhi zindagi mein tu ne haar nahi maanni.
  17. He says his father warned him he would always be a failure if he gave up after failing A-levels. Agar tu ne aaj abhi haar maan li aur yeh tu ne A-levels nahi clear kiya, toh you will always be a failure.
  18. He says that if his father had not told him to go ahead, he might not be doing it. agar mere walid sahab mujhe na kehte ke puttar tu kar, toh shayad main na kar raha hota.
  19. He says his father has been out in the world, to about 36 countries, understood this thing, and so let him do it. woh bahut saare he's been out in the world like 36 countries aur yeh woh unko yeh cheez samajh thi toh unhone mujhe karne diya.
  20. He says his father asks him to come and sit for one day in a week and tell him all the work he has done. woh mujhe yeh baat kar dete hain ki yaar beta jab hafte mein jo saare kaam karte ho na ek din aake baith ke mujhe bataya karo
  21. He says his family, including his brother, his parents and his sister, played a role in his life. Meri zindagi mein ek toh mere ghar walon ne, mere bhai ne, mere ammi abbu ne kiya role play, meri behan ne.
  22. He says the impact on his life came from his friends. Jo main impact dala, woh mere doston ne dala.
  23. He says he will keep going to sit with his friends, whatever happens. Till date, this aandhi ho, toofan ho, is podcast ke baad bhi main unke saath ja ke baithunga.
  24. He has two circles of friends, one in Pindi and one in Islamabad. I have two circles, okay? The one in Pindi and the one in Islamabad.
  25. He says a friend whom people see as an influencer is, to him, the best person and the best friend anyone could have. Waliyah Najeeb. Ab people see her as an influencer. Lekin main bataun, usse achi, usse achha insaan, usse achi dost koi ban hi nahi sakta.
  26. He says he has always stayed behind a shield and was not widely known to the public. I've always stayed behind this bubble, behind this shield, ke nahi, mujhe log nahi jaane.
  27. He says he had one show in Islamabad and another in Faisalabad the other day. Mera ek show tha Islamabad mein, ek Faisalabad mein the other day.
  28. He says he made some commercial music just to survive. Is cheez mein lekin maine kuch commercial music banaya. Right. Just for the sake to you know survive.
  29. He says people in Pakistan forget you quickly, so he had to make hits. Pakistan mein 42 hour memory hai, log bhool jate hain aapko. Toh I had to make hits.
  30. He says two of his most recent songs were number one on Spotify. So I made the both of my recent songs were number one on Spotify.
  31. He says he believes in releasing one good one. Lekin main believe karta hoon ek achha nikalo.
  32. He says you need people around you, and especially good people. You need people around you. And especially good people.
  33. He says he started calling a few producers, who asked who he was. So I started calling few producers and they were like, haan, tu kaun hai bhai?
  34. He says he had a remix of Nazia Hassan that he wanted to make at that time. Us time mere paas Nazia Hassan ka ek remix tha jo main banana chahta tha.
  35. He says the Annural project blew up and was amazing. the Anural thing happened I mean it it blew up it was amazing.
  36. He says that when he likes something, he does not check whether the person behind it is small or big. Koi bhi like mujhe cheez pasand aa jayegi main yeh nahi dekhunga yaar yeh chota hai bada hai main de doonga.
  37. He says Biba was his own thing, and that he enjoyed it more. Lekin usse zyada maza mujhe Biba ka aaya tha woh apni cheez hai.
  38. He says Biba was made by him and two other people. Theek hai, toh main Faraasat, Amar, hum logon ne Biba banaya.
  39. He says he is more into playing trap music. So basically Firasat produces more trap music. I'm more into playing trap music.
  40. He says he likes to play at 150 BPM. kyunki main 150 BPM pe bahut lethal ho ke bajana pasand karta hoon.
  41. He says there is a Pakistani EDM producer who was the first to make an EDM album. Firasat Anees is the first Pakistani EDM producer jisne EDM ki album banayi hai.
  42. He says he received a call saying that he should do a track for an album. Ab mujhe uski call aayi yaar kehta hai yaar Toshi album ka track karna hai.
  43. He says that after making other music for so long, they decided to put out music for the public this time. chalo waise bhi to humne itna arsa doosra music banaya, is dafa awaam ke liye nikal do music.
  44. He says he did the drop, and that the vocal melody was another person's work. Vocal, jo uski ek pyari si melody hai na, it's only Farasat. Drop I did.
  45. He says every big fish in the industry has listened to Biba. Every big fish in the industry has listened to Biba
  46. He says he is not big on hip-hop. I'm sorry, I'm not big on hip-hop.
  47. He says his first good commercial track was called Pakistani. And the first ever good main commercial track was with Demon. It was called Pakistani
  48. He says that without a personal connection, a producer is credited only in the description below, as in "music by Toshi". Dosti yaari na ho neeche description mein likh dete hain music by Toshi or whatever.
  49. He says that he and other producers do not get that recognition. Kyunki humein pata hai yaar humein woh recognition hi nahi milti.
  50. He says ghost producing is part of the game. Ghost produ producing is part of the game.
  51. He says he makes the songs that are close to his heart. main khaas taur pe woh gaana banata hoon jo mere dil se lagta hai.
  52. He says EDM is close to his heart, and the period of EDM made him Toshi. Lekin EDM jo hai na woh dil ke bahut kareeb hai. Yeh woh time hai ke jisne mujhe aaj toshi banaya.
  53. He says his desi vibe never goes away and always shows, including on Instagram. Meri desi vibe kabhi khatam mere woh hamesha show bhi Instagram pe hoti hai is podcast mein bhi show ho rahi hoti hai.
  54. He says he wants the Pakistani EDM scene to rise. usme meri koshish yeh hoti hai ki yaar kahin na kahin Pakistan ka EDM ka scene upar jaye.
  55. He says his main purpose in EDM is to bring a desi vibe, since the country's flag has not been present in the EDM industry. there's no flag that our flag has never been you know there in the EDM industry. So my whole and main purpose is aur woh jo meri ek ek meri desi vibe hai.
  56. He says that instead of a normal guitar, one can use a sitar. Jo instruments hain na like agar aap ek normal guitar uski jagah aap sitar use karo.
  57. He says it cannot work that way on a global scale because his audience needs vocals. Aur saari baat ab ek lekin us tarah nahi ho sakta global scale pe kyunki hamari awaam ko chahiye vocal.
  58. He says the performance is what the audience pays for. Uh because the performance is everything. You are paying for the performance.
  59. He says he follows Hans Zimmer closely. Hans Zimmer ko main bahut zyada uh you know religiously follow karta hoon.
  60. His brother introduced him to PUBG. PUBG mere bhai ne mujhe introduce karaya tha us pe.
  61. He says he has always been a gamer, from before he made music. Acha, I've always been a gamer as well. Before music, I've been a gamer.
  62. He says he played competitively, in tournaments, and played only COD and no other game. Competitive khelta tha us time bhi, tournaments waghera, lekin aur koi game nahi khelta tha, sirf COD khelta tha.
  63. He says his first international show was in Dubai. I got my first international show in Dubai.
  64. He says the Ultra Music Festival was taking place in Dubai. Ultra Music Fest ho raha tha Dubai mein.
  65. He says his management was smart enough. So, my management was smart enough. Shout out to Umar as well.
  66. He says DJ Snake is a major influence on him. DJ Snake aa raha hai, he's like my, my thing. I love DJ Snake.
  67. He says mixing is a different art from playing other people's tracks. mixing is a different art altogether. It's not just ke yaar aap chaar logon ke gaane utha ke woh kar rahe ho.
  68. He says a three-hour set has a flow that lifts the listener and then takes them to a calm point. Aur usmein woh poori woh 3 ghante ke andar na flow aata hai ke woh aapko uthata hai, phir ek point pe aapko aaram se sukoon se lekar jayega.
  69. He says Ultra was postponed due to COVID. Ultra has been postponed due to COVID.
  70. He says he took the first flight and went back to Pakistan. I got the first flight and got back to Pakistan
  71. He says he has played four or five shows, one of them in Karachi. to chaar-paanch shows bajaye hain, ek Karachi mein
  72. He says he closed his laptop and mixer and put everything away in the cupboard. Music maine laptop band, mixer band, sab almari mein.
  73. He says a very good friend of his is one of the best players of South Asia. Khan is, uh, one of the best players of South Asia and he is my very good friend.
  74. He says his own skill is part of his PUBG success, but that he would not have excelled as much without someone's guidance. ek to meri apni skill ability hai, lekin agar Khan ki guidance na hoti na, to PUBG mein main itna excel na kar paata.
  75. He says he plays paid scrims from 3 a.m. at night. Main raat ko 3 baje se paid scrims khelta hoon.
  76. He says that when PUBG was banned, he was the first to make a video about the unban. PUBG ban hui thi and I was the first one to make the video of unban