Damian D'Costa
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Biografía
- Born & bred in the Middle East, Damian D’Costa is 1 of the few Entrepreneur/DJs in the region who has worked all his life towards his ultimate goals of DJing internationally and opening up his own clubs & bars.30 years on & not holding back, Damian’s career goes way back to the 80’s where he started off as a full time DJ and party organizer. He has progressed through the years witnessing the birth of the entertainment & leisure scene in Bahrain. During university, the early 90s, saw Damian hold a 4 year residency in a major club in Limassol, Cyprus & on returning to his hometown Bahrain he decided to use his marketing degrees to promote the nightlife in the region and soon began to organize his very own parties and major events which include some of the island’s best beach, fashion & Underground parties including Xposure 2004, Parasoul, the famous Full moon party, two official Fashion TV parties plus many other massive events at presitgious venues such as The Four Seasons Hotel, Art Rotana, Ritz Carlton & The Gulf Hotel to name a few. As a DJ, Damian has held residencies at some of the island's most famous clubs such as The Underground (1991), The Grid (1992), Downtown (1994), Henry’s & Tramps (1996), Savage Garden (2000), JJs, BJs and Likwid (2002). He hosted his own radio show 5 days a week on the national radio station, Radio Bahrain 96.5fm for 4 years where he promoted most genres of music educating the masses bringing the international club culture to the shores of the Arabian Gulf though the airwaves. In 2004 and 2006, Damian swooped 1st place at the world-famous Heineken thirst studio competition representing Bahrain for the regional finals coming a close second place both times. Through the years of his DJ residencies, he has played alongside numerous International DJs & has landed DJ gigs in major clubs & events around the world including Slovenia, Poland, Dubai, Ibiza’s El- Divino, Space, Bora Bora, Delano, Majorca’s Pacha & London’s ‘The Gallery’ at the Ministry of Sound. In 2007 Damian landed on the opportunity to design, develop and manage his very own venue, Cocoon Lounge which gave birth to a brand-new concept to Bahrain. Cocoon Lounge had a successful 5 year run which proudly brought a fashionable lifestyle integrating dining, a sushi bar & drinks followed by sophisticated partying in a relaxed cozy atmosphere hosting top international DJs and live artists whilst boasting cutting edge service. In 2009 this led to the development and management partnership of the famous up-market, MUJU restaurant & lounge at the Dragon Hotel which was the first successful F&B project on Amwaj islands. During his involvement with the marketing and business development of MUJU, he organized and hosted several of the world’s best brands including the world-famous Café Del Mar, Café Mambo, Pacha, Space-Ibiza and Cavalli Club to name a few. These massive events were managed through his events company which he developed, Eventions. Both Cocoon and MUJU have been the evolution of the region’s nightlife that have been internationally recognized. Mid 2013 Damian decided to get more into the underground after-hours scene & invested himself in opening and managing one of the islands only after-hours house clubs, ‘Blaq Velvet Underground’ which attracted only the serious House Music lovers and became one of the island’s most talked about party venues which proudly exposed such upfront music to the island. In 2014 Damian was also partly responsible for the development of the famous Sky bar which started the open-air rooftop trend in Bahrain. Coming from a family of musicians and him being one himself, one of Damian’s ultimate dreams was to open the very first live Jazz venues on the island. This idea proved a real challenge and risk at the time, but the opportunity arose in late 2015 where he teamed up with local investors whom helped to bring his dream concept to life. The project took 1 year to design, build and develop and in late 2016, CODA JAZZ LOUNGE opened its doors to the public bringing a concept straight from cities such as New York and London to the shores of Bahrain. This exciting mature concept was welcomed with open arms by the island’s crème de la crème market where quality international live music integrated with bistro dining followed by sophisticated partying under one roof was introduced to Bahrain. Coda Jazz Lounge has been recognized throughout the Middle-East as one of the regions most interesting and entertaining resident venues to attend which has received numerous awards over the past 3 years. In 2019, Damian took over complete ownership of Coda jazz Lounge and operates it to date. In 2019, Damian started up his very own company - GO2 events and consultancy, a company and agency based in Bahrain which he wishes to develop to share his professional experience, knowledge and know-how in order to take the entertainment and leisure scene to the next level.