028 INTERVIEW
“I was doing a lot of sound design work for theatres, plays and dramas, wherever sound was
involved I moulded myself to be able to cater to that.”
Stepping up to challenges is part of everyday life, and in the world of publishing there are always new opportunities on the horizon. Reviewing the experience of my first ‘Big Interview’ for mondo*dr, the comparisons that can be drawn between interviewer and interviewee are somewhat interesting - I think anyway. Davwinder Sheena has worked in the Asia Pacific region for many years, and is a well-recognised character in that part of the world. This was my goal when I started out as the Editor of APAC a couple of years ago. I wanted to create a face for the magazine in that territory. (Something I will be applying to the whole world from now on, as I have taken over as sole Editor). As a writer, language is always something that has fascinated me, and language - foreign to be exact - has played an important role in Davwinder’s career. So, as we sat opposite in the somewhat quiet press room at Prolight + Sound in Frankfurt, I expected the industry veteran to deliver a valuable insight - that in the early stage of my own career - I would really appreciate.
Davwinder Sheena was born Punjabi in Singapore after both of his grandfathers were part of the British contingent that moved to Asia in 1937. His parents were also born in Singapore, making Davwinder the third Singaporean generation. Although he has spent significant parts of his life in other countries such as China and Australia, since having a family, Davwinder has moved back to Singapore - the country he has always described as home - and plans to remain there for the
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foreseeable future. One of his earliest memories goes back to when he was just a small child himself, as he explained: “Music as long as I can remember as a kid was always a part of me growing up. My Dad had a huge record collection and there was always music in the house. My earliest memory was when I was about three or four years old and the presents I used to get were always somehow music related, little mouth organs or tambourines.” He was influenced by a number of different music genres whilst growing up, from new age to heavy rock, world music to dance music, but the genre that kept him sane was jazz. “In those days you had really good musicians like Earl Klugh and Larry Carlton. We’ve been through so many different genres, but I think that’s the one that’s really been the constant in my life.” Although he claims not to be a musician, Davwinder has always had a passion for music, and started out like many other teens that are interested in the subject, by dabbling in the DJ world. As a student studying audio in Australia, Davwinder got heavily involved in the reggae music scene. A well-known promoter of the time, General Justice organised events, and it was here that Davwinder got his first opportunity to DJ to a live audience playing a genre of music called bhangra muffin. With the money he made from DJing and busking with a didgeridoo - which to this day he still owns and plays at home for his children - Davwinder bought disco lights, belt driven turntables and second hand DJ mixers, which enabled him to organise his very own club nights. “During college in Australia I did a lot of weekend parties, I would DJ a lot. DJing was really where I fitted. I was never really a good musician so being a DJ was my avenue. “In the days of the late ‘80s the whole bhangra music scene was very active. I would organise parties, make tickets, sell them to my friends, pass flyers around college to get a crowd and make enough money for renting the PA for the next show.” Davwinder spent seven years in Australia, and it is there where he considers his development from child to adult really began. He chose Australia because of its educational infrastructure, something that was amiss in Singapore at the time. Upon returning to Singapore as an adult in search of a career, Davwinder was keen to open as many door as possible. Music was, and still is, a small market in
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