No Nightlife? No Problem: DJ pulls crowds beyond the clubs

TL;DR: DJ-in-a-beanie Hasyim Mushuri has never performed in a nightclub, but it hasn’t stopped him from making a side gig out of playing at schools and for events. 

DJs don’t perform only at clubs – Hasyim Mushuri, also known as DJ Zehlo, is proof of that. 

The 22-year-old DJ and music producer started DJing three years ago when he signed up for the Live Audio co-curricular activity at Nanyang Polytechnic, which provides audio support for events as well as DJ training. 

His first gig was for a Halloween event in school in 2022, and despite some nervous jitters beforehand, his anxiety disappeared once he saw the crowd dancing along to his music, said the current Year Three student in Infocomm & Security.

“As I stood before my DJ deck, I had a heart rate of 150,” he added. “It’s quite addictive to see the crowd enjoying the music that I listen to on a daily basis, but nothing compares to the speakers going boom, boom, boom.” 

The huge Martin Garrix fan says he idolises the celebrity, who produced the popular hit song Animals when he was just 18, and aspires to emulate his success. Hasyim started producing music on his laptop when he was 16, learning to replicate songs through YouTube. Three years later, he picked up the DJ deck.

“My parents were never a fan of the idea of their son DJing, especially when it is highly associated with the nightlife, which is understandable. They just want the best for me,” said Hasyim, who comes from a conservative background and has never been to a nightclub or music festival. 

Even so, he is not hindered from pursuing his dreams and has performed for large crowds numbering in the hundreds at polytechnics and in local venues like Gardens by the Bay and Hard Rock Cafe, where he once DJed for a private party, playing his longest gig of 1½ hours. 

“To me, DJing in itself is easy,” said Hasyim, noting that the DJ’s main task is to smoothly transition between songs. “The tricky part was finding a playlist of songs to play for 1½ hours.” He said he spent about two weeks preparing for the gig.

He added that resident DJs in clubs have the most experience in song selection, and know how to effortlessly read their crowd and transition.

So far, Hasyim has produced 23 singles, with his most popular song, Enough, garnering more than 240,000 listens on Spotify. 

“When my parents saw the numbers going up, they were impressed and were more open and supportive of my career,” said Hasyim, who comes from a musical family. His twin brother, Hisyam, plays the drums, while his father and two older brothers also play other instruments, including the guitar.

His trademark look came about when he started wearing a black beanie to his performances to keep his hair from becoming a mess while he was jumping about on stage. It was unintentional, but people now know him as the DJ-in-a-beanie. 

Hasyim said he spins house music, which is mainstream and appeals most to his audience. Putting his audience first, he emphasises the importance of crowd reading and interaction as a DJ and often improvises his performances based on the audience’s reaction.

He’s had awkward moments, such as when he played a Blackpink remix, thinking it sounded good, but an unexpected beat drop left the audience stunned and confused. He quickly switched songs before the vibe was lost.

Hasyim makes it a point to interact with and talk to his audience to make himself more memorable. He remembers leading the crowd once to wave their torches in the air as he played an emotional song.

“The entire place was lit up. At that very moment, I just thought to myself, ‘Wow, 16-year-old me would be very happy to see this,’” he said. 

He says though he does not see himself performing on the nightlife circuit, he still aspires to perform at big festivals like ZoukOut, Coachella or Tomorrowland at least once, just to cross it off his bucket list – and maybe share the big stage one day with Martin Garrix.