RS: And that's the theory behind the music on your record label
Rasa, bringing the healing and the love of the music to the people?
Donna D'Cruz: Honestly there's the three Ss - spirituality,
sensuality, and style. There's the music and the packaging and we are
already doing candles. We're going to be bringing food and there's
lots of stuff going on to do with healing and what-not. I really want
to bring a very different sort of message to people that you can look
completely different to everyone, I don't care what your sexuality is,
I don't care who you are and what you've come, but here you are asking
some questions about yourself and that you're asking about how can I
help this world be a better place or how can serve people as opposed
to continually thinking about what's in it for me. That, to me, means
that you're on some sort of path to a decent understanding of yourself
and often times we will come to that path through music, through food,
through our friends, and through dialogue. This is very much the
lifestyle for Rasa. I'm very ambitious about it because I think it
has a place in peoples' hearts already because everyone's welcome and
there's space for everyone.
RS: Talking about being for everyone, the first two CDs I've
heard - the Mellow CD which is international and down tempo, and the
Exotica which is a little more I guess club-oriented, shows that
diversity that you're talking about.
Donna D'Cruz: Yes, exactly. Sometimes you feel like you want to
just check things out and be quiet or contemplative, but you also want
to be doing whatever it is you're doing. Whether you're cooking or
you're hanging out or reading or making love or you're having a bath,
whatever it is that you're doing, I think that life has a soundtrack
to it and it's important to sort of have silence and at the same time
it's also important to have punctuation points in your life that can
be sustained with music. That's what the Mellow sort of compilation
does with the beautiful track by Donna DeLory, who was the backup
singer for Madonna, singing He Ma Durga which is an ancient Indian
Sanskrit song. Durga is the goddess of destruction but she's also the
goddess of creation. I put that on there with Joaquin Cortes with his
flamenco ensemble and then someone else from Turkey. The Exotica is
very different to that, more like a celebration of life. It's got a
sense of humor and quirkiness to it, but it's also something you could
put on purposefully and get crazy with it, dance your bum off if you
want.
RS: How do you find the music for your CDs and the songs you love to play?
Donna D'Cruz: I travel a lot which and my first stop, wherever I go,
is the local music scene. Whether it's a record shop or it's someone
that's connecting me with a local producer which is what happened in
Marrakech, for instance, when I got that track. Or I just listen in
cafés, lounges, and restaurants and ask people about music. That's my
first point of entry and the best way that I find music. I find it by
having an open heart as well having an open set of ears, that's the
easiest way. You don't really find it in obvious places, not the
stuff that I like. I'm a huge music consumer - I mean I can't get
enough of it and I'm especially a vinyl junkie.
RS: Talking about special things that are uniquely you, I keep
seeing these really cute sparkly headphones in all your pictures,
what's the story behind those?
Donna D'Cruz: Well as I was saying before, when I go to play I
really think of it as a service for myself and for the people I'm
going to play for. So I came up with this idea about bringing glamour
back in to the art of DJing and the art of sharing music. I designed
these headsets and my friends at Swarovski saw them and said well we
want to do these with you. Its been been fantastic and so we're
actually going to be selling them. The first three colors we're going
to do are going to be in black, red and white - especially everything
will be great for the holidays and Valentine's Day and that sort of
thing. It's to make you feel glamorous and that you realize music is
such a beautiful gift and it's such an honor to be able to share it.
I have them to match every outfit because I'm a big Queen at heart, so
I have to have every outfit matching.
RS: Love that.
Donna D'Cruz: We all have a bit of a queen in us, so we just have to
get it out more. I take her out.
RS: What would you like to say to all the fans, the music lovers
out there?
Donna D'Cruz: Indulge yourself, love yourself and dance like there's
no tomorrow.
