Nu-disco and funk: the feel-good revival on India's floors

Amid all the techno and afro house, a warmer, funkier sound has been quietly winning hearts on India's floors: nu-disco and its disco-house cousins. If you like your dance music groovy, melodic and pure good-time energy, this is your lane.

Nu-disco takes the funk, soul and disco of decades past — the basslines, the strings, the four-on-the-floor joy — and reworks it with modern production. It's upbeat without being aggressive, sophisticated without being cold, and just about the most instantly danceable music there is.

Indian crowds love melody and a feel-good vibe, and nu-disco delivers both in spades. It works everywhere — a sundowner, a rooftop, a pool party, an early club set — bridging the gap between accessible and credible. It's the sound of a smile on the dancefloor.

Look for it at sundowners and house-leaning nights, and in the sets of DJs who value groove over intensity. In a scene that sometimes takes itself very seriously, nu-disco is a joyful reminder that dance music is, first of all, supposed to be fun.