Disco Death with DJ DSK: June 25th
I just finished this, now I can finally go to sleep. zzz...
Two Photos from Zebra Music Festival
Jovian's afternoon set. The music was great and just out the frame people are chilling on the grass. I saw the photographer and posed spontaneously
I was having a blast at this point, although it looks like I'm DJ'ing in total darkness. They didn't have turntables so I had to scratch on CDJ's which is what I was doing here. Overall it was a great outdoor festival show at sunset.
My Set at 2010 Zebra Music Festival
This year I ended up attending all three days of Zebra Music Festival in Chengdu. Although the list of grievances was nearly endless, as a patron and performer, it was overall a better time than last year. In summary, it was three days of walking between three stages of live music among tens of thousands of Chengdu locals. And as a bonus, on the first day (which was the day I played) the white sky you see below was blue and dotted with airy clouds. It didn't rain once.
Unlike last year, the first day was the most crowded, and fortunately a big crowd assembled just in time for my DJ set at 8:30 on the Xiong Mao (electronic music) stage. The crowd for my show was receptive this year as well, although due to scheduling it was much larger this year. The performance was a blast and I really enjoyed the unique festival atmosphere. Unlikely every other DJ on the Xiong Mao stage (with the exception of Jovian, it seemed) I didn't play a normal club set. Why? Because an outdoor festival is not a club. Here's the playlist from my set that evening:
Just Charlie Zebra Music Festival 2010 Setlist:
1. M.I.A. - Paper Planes
2. 45 King - Spread Love
3. Cypress Hill - Stoned is the Way of the Walk
4. Born Jamericans - Send One Your Love
5. Busta Rhymes (Feat. ODB) - Where's Your Money
6. Cutty Ranks - Who Se Me Dun
7. Dr. Dre - Back in the Episode
8. A Tribe Called Quest - I C U (Doin It)
9. A Tribe Called Quest - The Hop
10. Boston Baked Beans - 112
11. Apache Drum Loop Scratch Interlude
12. Daft Punk - Da Funk
13. Billie Jean / Kill Bill Bootleg - White
14. Check It Out / Axel F Bootleg - White
15. Uffie - MCs Can Kiss
16. Nas & Damien Marley - As We Enter
17. Crystal Waters - Gypsy Woman (La La Dee La Da Da)
18. DJ Blaqstarr - Shake It To the Ground (Jokers of the Scene Remix)
19. Rockwell - Somebody's Watching Me
20. Tim Deluxe - Buggin' Out (DiscoTech Edit)
21. The Kingsmen - Louie, Louie (JaPetto Remix)
22. The Beatles - Money (Fuck You Pay Me Remix)
23. Benga & Coki - Night (Hyper Bass Remix)
24. Breakage - Riverside (Let's Go Remix)
25. Calvin Harris - You Used to Hold Me (Nero Remix)
26. Steppenwolf - Born to Be Wild (Chew Fu Remix)
27. Fischerspooner - Emerge
28. Lil' Wayne - A Milli (Thunderous Olympian Juke Down)
29. DJ C & Zulu - Body Work (Body Juke Remix)
30. Lil' Jon - Snap Yo Fingers (Harrison Schaaf Remix)
31. Lil' Wayne - Lollipop (Kingdom Remix)
32. Bone Crusher - Never Scared
33. Tom Petty - You Don't Know How It Feels
34. Barrington Levy - Prison Oval Rock
35. Blue Six - Sweeter Love (Jay's Full Vocal Mix)
36. Flairs - Truckers Delight (Alex Gopher Remix)
37. Bassnectar - Cozza Frenzy
38. MGMT - Kids
39. White Girl Lust - Tail Light Bump (DreDay Remix)
40. Back Ted N Ted - Hookie (Data Remix)
41. Double Negative - Uranium (Neztic Remix)
42. Curtis Mayfield - Move on Up (DJ Ayres Remix)
43. Nas & Black Sabbath - Shoot the War Pigs (Remix)
44. Roudoudou - Peace & Tranquility to Earth
45. Toots & The Maytals - Funky Kingston (feat. Bootsie Collins & The Roots)
46. Zhane - Hey Mr. DJ
47. Beastie Boys - 33% God (Instrumental)
48. Bee Gees - Stayin' Alive
49. Fatboy Slim - Praise You
Chongqing & Kunming Disco Death
Last night Jovian and I returned from out weekend trip to Chongqing where we hosted the first Disco Death outside of Chengdu.
We saw some old friends and had a great time while performing some much-needed recon in what is the most logical point of expansion for the DD brand. Also, it's a great place to party and travel between Chengdu and Chongqing is quick and convenient.
Transportation
We originally intended on taking the bullet train to and from Chongqing, but found out on Thursday afternoon that tickets were sold out for Friday. We bought return tickets for Saturday (100 yuan each) and went to Wugui Qiao bus station where we opted for a private car instead of the public bus. The cost was 120 yuan for each of us and we were delivered directly to Caiyuanba bus station in 解放碑 an hour before we were set to perform.
Cici Park
After a bit of searching we located the venue, called Cici Park. It's run by three old friends who I've known (and worked with) for years. But I find that after a year and a half or so, the three of them have all changed a lot. Having just returned from a spiritual journey to Nepal, the three have transformed into rainbow color shoelace-wearing hippies. Nice guys and I was happy to see them, but it's interesting that seemingly out of nowhere they've gotten really into psychedelia. The venue itself is a cross between Xiong Mao and Jah Bar but lacks the crowd of either of those venues. Still, it's positioned in the center of Jiefang Bei (Chongqing's most prosperous district) and is situated next to a beautiful park which showcases the most stunning view of Chongqing that I've ever seen. It really does bear a strong similarity to Hong Kong.
I'm already working on making the transition to a better venue in Chongqing. My hope is I can secure that show for May and begin to build a relationship with that club, which I think better suits what we're doing.
Kunming
Next Friday we fly to Kunming, to light the Disco Death flame in that city. Fortunately we've already made arrangements with what I think is the best venue in that city. With any luck, we'll have successfully spread Disco Death into other regions of West China.
Disco Death in Chongqing Tonight
Tonight is the first night that Disco Death leaves Chengdu to adventure around the region. They grow up so fast!
Disco Death 03 with DJ Siesta
I'm really excited about this.
Years after playing one of her drum & bass parties in Shanghai, Jane, DJ Siesta is coming to Chengdu to play at mine. We haven't had a drum & bass headliner before and I believe there's a bit of buzz about that fact alone. I'm not sure if everyone realizes that she's a female or not - even though the flyer does include the line "China's Drum & Bass Queen". She's unquestionably had a huge role in the emergence of drum & bass in Hong Kong and Mainland China.
And of course, I'm always excited about bringing new DJ's to Chengdu and enjoying the feeling of seeing someone new. After years of relative musical isolation in Chengdu, that's one of the things you really miss.
Enough chatter, here's the flyer:
I'm considering doing a ticket giveaway contest like last week. I haven't decided on the details though, yet.
February Disco Death + Sketches
Disco Death last Friday went great, everyone had a blast. We're already planning big things for March - stay tuned.
In the meantime here are some brand-spankin'-new Disco Death sketches:
February Disco Death is Tonight
This month's Disco Death is tonight at Xiong Mao in Chengdu. Check it out if you're in town - and if not, we might record the sets and put them online. I'm picking up Enso from the airport in a few hours!
Birthday
Today's my birthday!
Recently I've been working hard on a new website which will launch very soon. I'll post the details here when it's ready!