Topiary: An Interview with Warwick’s Emerging DJ

Dhruv Surya, a second year Maths student, otherwise known as Topiary, is an emerging Warwick University DJ who spoke to The Tab to share his story on becoming a successful DJ, accumulating over 13,000 views on his SoundCloud channel.

Topiary is usually related to tree hacktivists but this Topiary is more like a musical activist.

So why the name Topiary?

“There was a film called Primer and it was all about time travelling stuff. When I discovered the director was making another film called A Topiary, I was immediately excited about it. When I visited the website to see some clips from the film, the website was full of spooky, mysterious stuff and I was amazed by it. Unfortunately the film was never produced so I name myself in memory of the film. 

How long have you been a DJ for?

“I’ve been making music since AS level, and I’ve been a DJ since A Level. It all started when I went to Reading festival and saw SBTRKT and Unkle Sounds and thought ‘I want to do this’.”

Topiary, or Dhruv to me and you, has over 13,000 views on his SoundCloud channel.

Who are your inspirations?

“Back in the day when I started out, I wanted to be Skrillex. But times change. As I have developed as an artist I look up to Dismantle, Breakage and now I’m producing House and Techno, my inspirations are Boddika, Dusky and Akkord.”

What are your highlights thus far from your DJ career?

“In the summer of 2012, I played alongside Delta Heavy. The dubstep group has their own UKF channel and it was a real privilege to work alongside them. The reaction from the crowd, which totalled just about 300, was incredible and gave me such a satisfaction.”

What does the future hold for Topiary?

“I don’t honestly know, but hopefully to build up my SoundCloud channel and make some more tracks in my spare time, doing the thing I love. I have a new track out now on my SoundCloud channel and in fact, being a big fan of The Tab and Smack Tuesdays, I created a ‘Warwick Tab House ‘n’ Techno mix’ for all you guys. Enjoy.”

Here is Topiary’s exclusive mix for the tab, perfect for those nights when you’re replaying that same song because you can’t think of another one or you’re too drunk to search for a new song on Youtube. Why not play it before going to Smack tonight?