Balusamy Pillay and the music world |24 August 2021

Balusamy Pillay, the DJ who rocked the dance floors of nightclubs and hotels in the 1980s to 1990s

Shopkeeper Balusamy Pillay of Machabée, Glacis, is best known for rocking the dance floors of nightclubs and hotels all over the island of Mahé as a disc jockey (DJ) in the 1980s to 1990s.

The DJ is well-known by many not only for his skill, but his sheer passion for music, evident through his extensive collection of music in various formats ranging from cassettes, vinyls, CDs and the convenient fit-in-your pocket USB.

Seychelles NATION shares with you the symphony of events that led a younger Balu into the world of music, a world he has never left.

Childhood years

Balu, who hails from a family of six ‒ four brothers and two sisters ‒ was born in Seychelles on June 8, 1961, to Indian parents. He has lived for the majority of his life in the small-island paradise.

During his early childhood years, along with his brothers and parents, they moved to India with both parents. He soon found his way back, as their father returned to operate the shop business they had left behind. Sadly, just three months after their return, their father, the only relative the boys had known in Seychelles, succumbed to illness and passed away.

Despite the death of their father, Balu and his brothers remained in Seychelles where he attended Anse Etoile primary school, and later the Dominic Savio secondary school. He travelled once again to India, before returning and settling for good.

Upon his return however, he was made to work alongside his brother in a small grocery shop at Beau Vallon instead of attending school. Little did he know, it would be in that very shop that his passion for music would blossom, and which would mark the start of an exciting chapter in his life.

Facing the music

As he worked, Balu became friends with another boy who also worked in the shop, and whose brother had access to import music vinyls through his job at the Post Office. He recalls that he would borrow the mainly reggae vinyls, and would play them on the small three-in-one he had, a portable music player which was popular at the time. 

“He would bring about records and it was mostly reggae, and I would listen to music at night. I was falling in love with the music, until, in the end that music eventually became a fundamental part of me,” said DJ Balu.

As he became more and more influenced by the local and music culture, Balu’s brother became displeased, and ended up throwing the youngster out onto the streets.

“I was able to secure a small place to rent in St Louis, and my rent was R300. I had bought a small Akai cassette recorder, so what I did was real time recording, which means doing it manually, sitting and playing back on a device, pausing after each track, for 45 minutes for each cassette. Back then, empty cassettes retailed for R10 at Sony, and I used to buy them in boxes of 10. I was selling each at R25, leaving R15 as profit,” Balu explained to Seychelles NATION.

“With the cassette deck I had, I found that everyone soon loved all the cassettes I was making, with taxi drivers buying from me. I was selling them to survive. At some point, I was recording the cassettes and giving it to third persons to sell at different places. For instance, I would make 20 and give them to a guy who works at the hospital, he would sell them and collect the money by the end of the month. In such instances, he would also take a R5 share on each, so that means I made R10 on each. Most nights I wouldn’t sleep, as you had to stay up in real time to make those. But it was fun in a sense, and I didn’t really see it as a job,” added Balu.

Flowing with the melody

He remembers that music was vibrant in Seychelles during the early 1980s, and very much a part of every home. Party life was also very much a thing back then, with regular music-based events scattered around the whole island.

Of course, this was to Balu’s advantage, connecting him with like-minded individuals with the same fond appreciation for music as himself.

“When I was selling cassettes, I barely had any equipment. At the time, I was paying rent and having to account for my other necessities. I knew a guy, a carpenter, whose cousin was working with Air Seychelles and he would purchase music equipment for people. One day, I picked my carpenter friend and convinced him that we should team up and DJ at parties. Somehow, we were scouted to play a party at Eureka, and I had no idea, or know-how what I was even doing then but I was getting carried away into the music,” recounted Balu.

“But I managed to play the party, and the turnout was good and people really enjoyed it.  It was a confidence boost and from then we started playing everywhere, including Lapay Galer at Mont Fleuri which was a popular venue then. There must have been at least 15 to 20 DJs back then,” he added.

From the first event, Balu was in his element. He soon scored monthly end-of-month gigs in different district administration and community centres, and grew in popularity from fairly early on. From community centres and parties, he landed a contract with Barrel Nightclub and Bar, where he entertained crowds on Thursdays and Sundays, while the owner maintained Fridays and Saturdays for himself.

Despite being assigned the two nights which are notably harder to pull in the crowds, he managed to attract a large crowd on most nights. From Barrel Nightclub and Bar, Balu scored plays at Coral Strand, Auberge Club, as well as a contract with Reef Hotel.

“At one point I had gigs every night, and was only sleeping on Mondays. Tuesdays I would be at Reef Hotel, Wednesdays at Equator, Thursdays at Barrel, and on Fridays, at a discotheque which had opened in Beau Vallon then, called Tropicana nightclub. When Tropicana opened, I had to get someone to replace me for certain nights, as I had other contracts. I was offered R300 for each night and R50 increment each month if I pulled in the crowd. As soon as I entered the place, by 10.30pm the whole place would be full, packed to the point that the walls would be sweating, and I would not even be able to make my way through the crowd, to say, go to the bathroom,” said Balu.

Through his passion and the doors which opened to him over the years, Balu even landed a job at Veuve Studio, after being offered the position by a high-ranking government official who appreciated his services during a youth event. He was employed with the studio for a monthly salary of R2500 where he learned the ropes of music recording and production, and recorded the likes of Emmanuel Marie, and the many more who were active on the scene back then.

Moving towards the 1990s, Balu took an altogether different direction in his life. After landing a one-year contract with the Vista do Mar hotel, Glacis to provide soft dinner music, the melomaniac fell for the receptionist, eventually deciding on settling into a family-friendly lifestyle.

“Music is a part of me. Music keeps me going and I always get carried away in that blissful feeling,” he added.

By Laura Pillay