Djing since 2009, Pooja B started producing music under the alias 'ikigai', which in Japanese means "the thing that you live for". Her reason for being is to make people dance.
Pooja B (she/her) is an Indian artist who is now based in Berlin. Her sound was heavily influenced by the music she heard here when she first visited the city back in 2016. Her idea of techno is a skittish exploration of time and space in this dystopian world. While futuristic, loopy, industrial sounds for dark clubs are her signature style, she can skillfully adapt to play music for outdoor spaces which still have a sprinkling of her special flavor.
Last year, she curated the 'We The People' Covid Relief Fundraiser Compilation which received a lot of support and acclaim from all over the world. This was a special effort to gather artists of Indian heritage to come together to raise funds for covid relief work in India while they live far away from loved ones.
Now DJing for over 14 years, she has played several festivals and clubs in Europe (Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Spain), Asia (Bali, China, India, Japan, Sri Lanka), South America (Chile), and the Middle East (Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, Dubai). Her most recent noteworthy appearances were at About Blank Sisyphos, Renate, Suicide Club, Mensch Meier in Berlin & for Bronx Sauna, a queer rave in Stockholm.
She co-founded The EQ Way collective in India and curated 'The EQ Way' radio show on Flux Music (Berlin), which provided a platform for female-identifying & queer artists to showcase their music to a wider audience. She hosts a bi-weekly radio show called "ikigai" on India’s primary community radio, Boxout.fm which is a journey diving into realms of dark industrial techno.
She has been a resident at Analog Room a weekly underground party with a cult following in Dubai, where she was based because of her flight-attendant job. She also held residencies at Warped & Electric Days prior to that, also in Dubai.
Pooja B released her music under the alias “ikigai”. Ikigai is a Japanese concept that means "a reason for being". Her reason for being is to make people dance :) In a short time, she has had releases on Sonata Music, Underdub Records, Fabrik Music, SMR Underground, Fehlr Musik, 22.2, and has had 3 Bandcamp self-releases. She also takes a firm stand against racism, sexism & environmental issues, which she expresses via her music.
https://ikigai-aka-poojab.bandcamp.com/track/freek-the-phobes
https://anastasiakristensen.bandcamp.com/track/ikigai-pooja-b-spiral-escapism
https://fabrikmusic.bandcamp.com/track/lost-algorithm-ikigai-pooja-b-uninterrupted-fabrik020
https://regenerate303.bandcamp.com/track/killer-pineapple
https://51degreesnorthrecordings.bandcamp.com/track/loss-aversion
https://www.beatport.com/release/ikigai/2540641
Berlin, Germany
