BC Magazine Interview

Just came across this funny short interview published last month in BC Magazine, so I thought I'd share. You can find the original here:

DJ INTERVIEW: Enso So you are starting a new club night Pimpin Ain’t Easy this month. Why bother doing it? I mean, there are plenty of club nights here already!

Yes, there are a lot of club nights in Hong Kong already – but no variety. It’s all about either Top 40 hip-hop/R&B or house music. Except for very few exceptions, it is very repetitive and way behind. We want to create a platform for open-minded, music-loving clubbers willing to take the blinkers off and we want to give them the chance to go crazy to universal styles they won’t hear in other Hong Kong clubs.

What makes you guys stand out then?

We don’t mess with genre restrictions. Anything goes, as long as it rocks. We want to use our musical knowledge and globetrotting DJ experience to show Hong Kong a fresh alternative to the typical club nights going down here.

Does the party have anything to do with pimping? It is a metaphor. It takes a lot of time and dedication to make an easy living. If you are a true pimp you’ll know where to go and how to work with what you’ve got and make something out of nothing. If you keep that pimp hand strong and lay the smack down when needed, you can live your dream. Hard work with considerable risks, but still a worthy profession.

Is being a subway singer another worthy profession? I heard you worked with one before.That’s a good story. Last summer in Hong Kong, I was working on some hip-hop tracks and regularly complaining to my friends in the US that I could not find a good vocalist with whom to work. One day I was listening to one of my older tracks on headphones while walking through Central. Near by the escalator, an old lady was singing classical songs through a tiny speaker – I had seen her many times around town singing for money. As I walked by, I heard her vocals layer on top of my beats and something clicked. I kept on walking for about half a block before I convinced myself to go back and talk to her. We had trouble communicating, but somehow I was able to convince her to come back to my house and record.

You convinced an old lady to go to a stranger’s home?Yes, I was surprised that she was willing to come with me. She didn't speak any English, so I called my friend and he explained the situation to her over the phone. And somehow she was willing to meet up with us later and go back to my house to record. When she showed up, the funny thing was that she brought her tiny speaker with her -- she didn't understand that I would have a better microphone for her to sing into. Recorded into Protools, chopped shit up, and that was a wrap. Then she tried to connect both my friend and me with some young girls in her family!

What about the reworking of the Chinese poem Like the Rain Falls? Are you a fan of Chinese literature?I’m not all that up on Chinese literature really, only Taoist basics like the I-Ching and the Tao Te Ching. My parents always had those books around the house. It was a lucky coincidence – the vocalist brought the poem with her. She had a special connection to it and I think in the end it really showed in her voice. We only did a few takes and I couldn’t understand the lyrics without translation, but the outpouring of emotion – tragedy, loss, beauty – was unmistakable in her voice.