DJ Rekha

"Because I'm working with my culture, and it's being accessed or consumed by other cultures, then I have a strong responsibility to how that message is made," said DJ Rekha to The New York Times last year. No images of buxom Bollywood divas on her event flyers and no pop focus are two of the ways that's manifested in her work. It's paid off—her 10-year-strong Basement Bhangra party in SoHo was celebrated with the release of a long-awaited compilation last year. As trends come and go, her night has been at the same club (S.O.B.'s) and with the same cover charge the entire decade. Seattle's own Bhangra and Bollywood nights, with skilled DJs and a devoted clutch of attendees, are on their way to that same longevity, and tonight you can check out the DJ who is surely part of the inspiration. She's the country's best-known ambassador of the South Asian sound. RACHEL SHIMP
Fri., March 21, 9 p.m., 2008