Pali & Jay bring South Asian beats to the Edinburgh Fringe
![Pali and Jay's Ultimate Asian Wedding DJ Roadshow. Credit: Rich Lakos Pali and Jay's Ultimate Asian Wedding DJ Roadshow. Credit: Rich Lakos](https://cdn.comedy.co.uk/images/library/misc/900x450/p/pali_and_jay2.jpg)
Pali and Jay - an uncle and nephew DJ duo - are promising the ultimate night out in Ultimate Asian Wedding DJ Roadshow. It's a celebration of British South Asian talent, where audiences become the guests at a messy after-party. We spoke to writer and performer Viraj Juneja (who plays Jay) about creating this show, plus song recommendations and why he might actually give this all up to work in a vape shop.
Tell us about the show in 5 words or less.
ULTIMATE. NEVER-BEEN-SEEN-BEFORE. GROUNDBREAKING. MAIN-EVENT-TYPE- SH*T. THESE ARE ALL ONE WORD! ARE YOU STILL READING? I'M NOT SHOUTING.
What have been some highlights of creating the show?
Getting to answer all these press questions. I love being the centre of attention, so I've been craving this! Haha I'm joking (not really).
I'd have to say having the creative freedom to use all my ideas and thoughts that I've been noting down over the years. I had always dreamt of making use of our funny encounters at gigs. I would wake up at 2/3am and start expanding on an idea that I had put into my notes and then I'd be up the whole night trying to create a scene from that or wander how it would fit into an episode.
As creatives, people don't see the struggle or the hardship we endure, they only see the Instagram post announcing the show. I guess the most rewarding part of it all is knowing how frustrating the process can be. Before you got an option or commission. You can beat yourself up for not being on it 100% if the time but you don't have to be. You don't have to be motivated every single day. Even if you write one line or no lines that day just still know you're excited about what you're creating, that there's nothing like it and it stands alone in its place in this world. Be motivated, be frustrated but be present for when the opportunity arises. It'll all be worth it.
If you weren't an absolute DJ legend, what would you be doing instead?
Probably working in a vape shop. It's not a bad life, I would be head of quality control so I would get to sample all the products. Every single one. Hey, I guess then I'd be a professional gasser. Most people call me that anyway, so it seems only right. Oh, also in the vape shop we would have a section where we play vinyl's so people could vape and chill out whilst listening to classic records. Wow this sounds great, I might get onto it.
What is the one song guaranteed to get a British South Asian crowd pumped up?
Personally... Gerra De De by DJ Dips but the version with Miss Pooja, Kaka Bhaniawala Lehmber Hussainpuri. If you can remain seated and not feel your body being called onto the dance floor whilst hearing that beat, then you're not human, you're an AI.
Aside from playing some banging tunes and getting the party started, what are you most looking forward to about the Fringe?
Roaming the streets and catching a wacky interpretation of Shakespeare's [i]Macbeth[/o] at 9am, haha! I've never been to the Fringe before and I'm almost trying not to anticipate anything because I want to live it in the flesh for the first time without any preconceived ideas. Also... I'm looking forward to watching my guy Tez Ilyas perform his stand-up show! (Not just because he's in our show.)
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