Rekha started Basement Bhangra in the mid 1990s DJ-ing mostly at SOBs in the Hudson Square neighbourhood of Manhattan. I used to go to these parties often and it felt like it was an extension of my community of friends. The energy was vibrant and I felt most comfortable taking photos and dancing, sometimes.
The parties would be in various locations with different DJs playing- some on boats on the pier and others in venues, mostly in lower Manhattan. The parties on the boats and in the informal locations had a different kind of energy. The crowd was younger, there was much more physicality and the bouncers looked hyperaware, almost expecting a fight to break out and often they did.
Rekha mostly DJ’d at SOB’s and sometimes at Summer Stage in Central Park. For me, this was a place for me to go to, to connect with friends, to feel a sense of community and belonging.