INTERVIEW

DJ B - Singapurs Housemarke

Aktuelles Album: Various - Defected In The House-Zouk Out Singapore ’10 (Defected/Warner)

DJ B

DJ B - Singapurs Housemarke

Aktuelles Album: Various - Defected In The House-Zouk Out Singapore ’10 (Defected/Warner)

Eine weitere Folge der immense erfolgreichen “Defected In The House”-Reihe führt uns ins exotische Singapur. DJ B ist dort seit 2000 der Resident DJ des Ortsansässigen Clubs Zouk, was schon mal den Albumtitel der Doppel-CD aufschlüsselt.

Dieser konzentriert sich in seinen traditionellen und mittlerweile legendären Freitag-Abenden auf Deep House ebenso wie auf Tech House und Minimal. Berührungsängste mit angrenzenden Genres sind Fehlanzeige.

So finden sich auf dem vorliegenden Doppel-Album Titel von Dennis Ferrer, DJ Chus, X-Press 2, Joris Voorn, Sedo K, Michel Cleis, und vielen anderen. Kompiliert und gemixte selbstverständlich zum einen von Simon Dunmore (Defected) und eben jenem DJ B, einer der ganz großen DJ Impresarios der asiatischen Welt.

Bei so einem exotischen Thema konnten wir einfach nicht widerstehen. Deshalb: ein weiteres SOUL TRAIN-Interview in Englisch, für das wir uns bei Toni Tambourine bedanken…

Toni Tambourine (TT): “Who is DJ B, what do you do and tell us a little about yourself.”

DJ B: “I am a resident DJ in Zouk for 8 years anchoring WeLoveHouse-nights. Besides fronting my own nights, I am also a producer/remixer who has already released six singles and three remixes on coveted labels such as Soulfuric and Reversoulmusic, Map Dance and SSOH. I have also been the opening DJ for many of the international DJs playing here at Zouk from PVD to Louie Vega and from Ricardo Villalobos to John Digweed, just to name a few.”

TT: “Zouk is a pioneering club in Singapore. Tell me a little about its history…”

DJ B: “Zouk officially opened its doors in March 1991, with a motto of “one world, one music, one tribe, one dance.” From the start Zouk’s bold and pioneering music policy won Singapore’s village party respect at home and aboard. Alfredo was the first resident here in 91, he helped set the music direction. More and more people track Zouk down to see what its like. There’s the regular Wednesday night Mambo Jambo, with a crazy selection of music from the past to the present. A wine bar that plays electric sounds and not forgetting the MTV fare in the video bar. Many of the leading international DJs have come to grace the decks and open up the mind of Singapore’s clubbers, from Nicky Holloway, Graeme Park, Paul Oakenfold, Jeremy Healy and Mc Amos, Danny Rampling, CJ Mackintosh, Phil Perry, Sasha etc. In 1994, a new sister club, Velvet Underground, was born, featuring a cosy, softer, intimate, relaxed and a little quieter, artistic, highly visual and colourful vibe. Many original works of art can be found there, includes a centrepiece by Keith Haring - “healing hand”. Since then the club just kept evolving.”

TT: “Would you agree that Zouk has led/leads the way in Singapore’s club and dance culture?”

DJ B: “No doubt about it, the owner (of Zouk), Lincoln, was the first guy to open a house club in Singapore. Prior to Zouk, the party scene in Singapore was really just about nightclubs that played pop music and live bands, and he was the first guy who really had the guts to open a house club. It didn’t really take off at the beginning and it was really only after 3 or 4 years that Lincoln’s bet started to pay off, in a big way.”

TT: “Did Lincoln look to Europe for that house sound? What was his inspiration?”

DJ B: “Lincoln was a regular at legendary festivals like Summer of Love and Woodstock, as well as travelled around the world to party in über-cool clubs like Studio 54, Paradise Garage and Hacienda in his younger days. It was during one of his yearly jaunts to party island, Ibiza, where he caught DJ Alfredo, the godfather of Balearic house, a new blend of dance music that was very different from the usual pop tunes played commercially back then. This new sound intrigued Lincoln's savvy ears and he was hooked to this form of underground dance music and desired to bring it to the masses here in Singapore.”

TT: “Let’s talk about Singapore. Tell us about some of the things in the city that you, as a DJ, particularly enjoy.”

DJ B: “I think, for me, it has to be the food! We are known as the ‘Food Paradise’, so the food is number one for me. Singapore isn’t the biggest of cities and there isn’t a lot to do, but if you come over here you can go out for really good food. It’s what we’re most proud of! Eating is a national pastime in Singapore. Furthermore, with the variety of places from hawker stalls to restaurants and with tastes from all different culture, Singapore. Malay, Chinese, Indonesian, Peranakan, Indian, Thai, Japanese, Korean cuisine, you will get your taste bug seduce without a doubt.”

TT: “Let’s talk about the ‘Zouk Out’ Festival. What can you tell us about it?”

DJ B: “I think it’s the biggest in Asia and it’s a single day-12 hour dance festival where we feature top notch international DJ’s every year. We get record attendances every year - the crowds just keep on coming! Last year we had a record of 27,000 people at the festival! There’s a bit of everything for everyone at the festival. We have international trance DJ’s, techno DJ’s, House DJ’s and we even have an RnB and Retro tent. So everyone can find a little bit of something for them down at Zoukout.”

TT: “Tell us about this years mix. Are there any of your own productions or any exclusives on it?”

DJ B: “Oh yes definitely, there’s my own production on the record called “Incheon”, which I’ve included. One track I particularly like is the remix of “Who Keeps Changing Your Mind”. The original is a huge classic but I really think Daniel Bovie & Roy Rox have done a really good job with it. It sounds really updated and I really like the mix, so I’m really happy to include it on this year’s mix. I’ve also mixed in a Charles Webster Remix of “La Mezcla” and not forgetting one of the biggest tech house track at the moment by Super Flu - “Shine”, which has been a huge cross over. I’m pretty proud to say that this compilation is the first to have been licensed to use “Shine.” So clubbers will hear it first here in my mix!”

TT: “What’s the flavour of the mix?”

DJ B: “It’s quite vocal and infuses quite a bit of “Soul” at the beginning, and then it gets a lot funkier with some classic tracks mixed in for good measure as well. I included X-Press 2’s “London Xpress”, which was a huge record in the nineties, and it still sounds amazing even till now. It’s just one of the many exciting tracks that I’ve included in the mix.”

TT: “Do you have a message to all the European clubbers about Zouk and why they should come one time?”

DJ B: “If you ever have the chance to come to Asia, pop by over to Zouk to check out our sound systems, which probably can rank amongst the very best globally. It was custom-built by Gary Stewart Audio from New York. What is amazing about it is the effort and attention to ensuring that what clubbers hear is that “Old School” analogue sound.”

Interview © Toni Tambourine, mit freundlicher Genehmigung

Intro © Michael Arens

Mehr Infos zu DJ B und dem Zouk-Club in Singapur gibt es hier:

www.defected.com

www.zoukclub.com

www.myspace.com/zoukdjB

DJ B

DJ B

DJ B

Aktuelles Album:

Various -

Defected In The House-

Zouk Out Singapore ’10

(Defected/Warner)

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