Reason808

Dizzle the Dj, post: 40580, member: 1780 wrote: …the clubbing scene in HK..especially on Lan Kwai Fong to be a little disappointing. It was indeed busy every night I went, with people in the streets drinking. But, the music left much to be asked. .

Just saw this. I’d partially agree. Yeah, HK nightlife and culture in general leaves a lot to be desired. HK is still a banking town at heart, and I’m just seeing the expat side of it, which is pretty limited. I lived in NYC & LA so maybe I’ve got low expectations. Maybe the night I witnessed was an execption, but it didn’t seem to hard to find. The whole LKF scene seems like a drunken expat hot mess, so music takes 2nd priority. Reminded me of New Orleans’ French Quarter Strip.

However the ideal of a club scene with great indie music is a bit of a fantasy. When I lived in LA & NYC all the big clubs on the weekend had cheezy music and poser “bridge and tunnel” crowds. The cool underground stuff was on Wednesday night for 50 people. Mabye things have changed, but I doubt it. Underground dance music always happens at the margins.

What I found surprising was that people in conservative HK actually go out and dance all night. Many cities have liquor liscense curfews or a culture that doesn’t support staying out all night long. LA bars closed at 2am. HK is a 24 hr town.

I think it took a lot of work to get a good sense of flow. First it was between the music itself, just getting my beatmixing and phrasing down. But the hard part was realizing that mixing skills were only the beginning. The real work was facing a crowd and figuring out how to get them to flow along with me. That can be a tough transition from bedroom to public. I never fell into this trap, but many DJs get into an “US vs. Them” attitude with their audience.

Wow, looks like you did write that article! One person is arguing this point in the comments on my article last week.

But I wonder how much the hypothetical rave scene is really just a romantic illusion? I mean, how often do you find a room full of like-minded souls who share your impeccable taste? And consistently? Seems impossible.

Even when I was doing my underground DJ thing in NYC, I noticed that people responded to more to the micro “hits” of the genre, or songs that reminded them of the first underground raves they went to. In a weird way it was almost like punter’s demanding hits and oldies. At least the “punters” were more chill and I shared their music taste, but the structure was eerily identical.

I agree being a purist involves DJing sporadically or going long distances for little money. But to me that isn’t finding a scene, that’s somebody jumping from one circumstance to another. And getting pissed about it seems really futile, too. People love to think that if everybody in the world was like them, they’d be happy. Yes, if everybody loved artistic music my DJ life would be better. If everybody thought more scientifically, we’d have a more logical world. If everybody went to church on Sunday, they’re would be less sin out there. But that’s not the way the world is.

I would add that if the Sax player was acting like such a Diva, then his bad reputation is probably also known around town, and Bar owners will take that into consideration as well.

I DJ’ed at a coffeeshop and it was fun. The whole event was chill and so was the music. I really wasn’t expecting anybody to dance, but it was nice to get head nods, foot taps and smiles. I did it weekly and it was a good motivator, too.

What I really liked about it was the community aspect of DJing: I enjoyed sharing music with people and got into interesting conversations about music and life with people I wouldn’t have met otherwise. It was also fun to get known around the neighborhood as “the DJ.”

I use the following three methods:

1) I listen to a few select online radio stations via iTunes while I work and write down interesting tracks that jump out at me. My favorite stations: KCRW (more indie, but their EDM is very good) ETN.fm (House, but can get cheezy) & Ibiza Sonica (artsy like KCRW but only EDM)

2) I Shazam any interesting song on my iPHone when I’m out and about. You never have to miss a cool song again: whether you hear it at a clothing store or in a DJ mix with no track list. Although Shazam isn’t perfect, and has some quirks, it’s accuracy is amazing, and its free! I also use it when listening to mixes online at work.

3) I try to focus my searches on talent more than top 10 lists. When a DJ, Producer or Label starts getting your attention several times, go dig in their direction. For Me, Miguel Migs, DeadMau5, Röyksopp, Groove Armada consistently make interesting music. It’d probably take me a full week to search and filter all their the remixes and collaborations alone – and they’re big names in EDM. I have another 20-40 lesser known artists I pay extra attention to in my searches (like Joey Negro and Hot Toddy).

Between these three methods, I’m totally overwhelmed with music. That’s another problem, but it sounds like one the ChrisGames wants to have.

4) (Bonus) Whatever D-Jam says. He usually posts in threads I’m in – and then somebody always posts “I think D-Jam nailed it.” So, for just once, I’d like to get ahead of his mighty hammer!!

I’m wondering if you guys or anybody has run into another problem: People in another country have a completely different music history of Hit Songs. What was a classic track in your home country is completely unknown in your new one, and obscure tracks you’ve never heard of are loved. So you can’t count on playing that song “everybody remembers.”

I’m an American in Hong Kong. I almost never hear a funky soulful beat playing on the street. Unless I’m playing for expats, “classic” soul would just be seen as weird old time music. A British friend of my lived in Turkey, and they worshipped this one-hit wonder band he had almost forgotten about.

Anybody else run into this?