Mumbai witnessed part of this rise of the new wave of the globally recognised Indian artist over two days at the Blue Frog, as over 20 bands and deejays performed live to patronising music lovers. But the size of the artist pie is much larger. Earlier this year, DJ Nasha, or Bass Society, became the first Indian deejay to perform at the Burning Man festival in Nevada, USA - an entire desert is transformed into a megapolis where artists showcase their talent in various ‘tents’ - to excitable crowds, curious to understand the genre of music as well as its promoter.

“People regularly walk up to the console enquiring if I’m available to play in their town or city. They also ask about the electronic scene back in India,” he says. Nasha is part of a pool of artists, who host Sub Swara nights in New York, dishing out Dub Step sounds (currently one of the fastest growing underground scenes there) to audiences that are as varied as their sound. “We’re happy that our support base is not limited to the South Asian community, though it started with them. We’ve progressively attracted a wider audience. It’s inclusive and free of cliques,” says Dhruva, who established Sub Swara.

Dhruva’s counterpart on the West coast, Maneesh, set up the Surya Dub nights in San Francisco, much to chagrin of desis (“they looked confused”) as well as regulars (“what is this music?”). “I took disparate styles of music, like reggae and electronica, that apparently don’t mix, and harmonised not only the genres but the community of listeners too,” he says.

Universally, the artists’ willingness to stick their necks out and risk failure has brought recognition and accolades. Surya Dub was voted the best club night of the year in San Francisco by the San Francisco Guardian, Sub Swara’s production skills were recognised with the best mix of year in New York and Indian Electronica received media support from the BBC, no less. “A whole new group of artists are using Indian stuff in a completely different way. For instance, Aesh in France does electro jazz tunes, sung in English but with Indian scales. Another artist in the States does Hip Hop and R&B similarly. It’s a more sophisticated version of the dirty Bollywood remixes we churn out in Mumbai,” says Sarin.