This week, Born To Funk returns to the Copyright Recordings imprint for a second outing after the Traxsource chart-topping ‘Stonetown EP’. Inspired by his one of his frequent DJ tour, La Scoica EP is another hypnotic, tribally-influenced release, exhibiting Born to Funk’s unquestionable prowess in the studio.
In this tour diary he describes some of the many countries and venues he visited during his recent Asia tour, and gives us an insight into what life on the road is like for a DJ/producer.
Woobar, Bali (Indonesia)
My nine gig journey across Asia (with a semi-dream like hop to Vienna in between) starts with a flight from hometown Amsterdam via Hong Kong to Bali. Thankfully the upstanding people at Woobar arranged for a VIP pass through Indonesian customs (absolutely recommended!) so I arrive at the beautiful W Hotel fairly fresh. Wow, what a stunning place, but soon I’m off to Woobar where the crowd quickly fills the space.
All hands are in the air from the first track to the last, and of course I get carried away and make the classic mistake…partying on the first night of the tour. Alongside Fenia (the head of entertainment at Woobar) and resident DJ Mark, we hit some after hours clubs in nearby Seminyak till about 7am…just a couple of hours to shower and catch my flight then!
Drop (Hong Kong)
I arrive in Hong Kong exhausted from the night before and fall asleep immediately in my hotel room. When I wake up I’m greeted by a gentleman dressed as Dracula (my gig at Drop is to celebrate their Halloween night’s “Fangtasia” event). Things get a bit more confusing when I arrive at the venue as I find out that staff members are dressed as scary versions of each other, making it hard to remember who is who.
Musical director Joel is warming up with some very good material which immediately indicates that the crowd is up for some proper house music. The place is more than packed and the atmosphere is excellent and although I'm booked for two hours, I end up playing until 6:00 am. Lights come on and people are still screaming for more. Amazing night to say the least. If you’re in Hong Kong and want unforgettable time: come to Drop, you will not regret it.
U4, Vienna (Austria)
Next stop…Vienna. Route wise it made sense to make a quick pit stop in Amsterdam where I had exactly four hours to go home, change clothes, eat, and even nap for 20 minutes. Then back to the airport for the flight to Vienna. Pick up is smooth and I arrive at the lovely Meridian Hotel. I meet with Henry from 3A and we're later joined by good friend and fellow DJ Sergio Flores for a Wiener schnitzel dinner.
We jump into a cab that takes us to U4 (one of the best sound systems I’ve ever heard!), where they are celebrating their 22nd anniversary. Once again the place is packed to the max! The crowd is really up for it and in true Vienna style we go deep this time. Drag queens hyping up the place adds to the funky underground atmosphere. I feel I can play anything here and together with the party crowd, some very remote regions on the USB sticks are explored. Afterwards we make a visit to the nearby Sass Club and then it's time to head back to the airport.
Club ID, Nagoya (Japan)
Back to my original hub in Amsterdam, I head to Japan the next day. My third time here and it keeps getting better every time. My good friend and resident DJ Toida of Club ID and I head off to a lovely dinner at his place. Japanese food is great, but home cooked Japanese food is even better!!! It was great to be back at Club ID and even more so to see many friends again. Tomo, Haruyuki, Shu-ji, Yusuke and more familiar faces from the ID staff are all there. Andy and Toida provide an excellent warm-up and when I finally hit the decks it's just pure madness.
It's very hard to explain but there's a complete different energy level here. ID has some of the best gogo dancers too, which only adds more vibe to the ecstatic atmosphere. It's such a well educated audience here, they know their stuff and certainly know how to move to it. It has become a tradition that after the gig we always end up at underground hotspot Mago, and this time we're lucky to find Kyoto Jazz Massive playing! I get the chance to stay here 2 more days and do some sightseeing and shopping. I love getting lost in this crazy city.
Kyss, Manila (Philippines)
Next up is a flight to Hong Kong, this time with a connecting flight to Manila. It's my first time here and I'm excited to find out about their Spanish influenced history and somewhat Americanized society. Also that it is the only Asian Catholic country. I check in at the Marriot and as a basketball fan I'm very pleased to see premium NBA TV among their standard channel package!
I meet up with Kyss promoters Czarra and Karla and owner Sunil at the venue where DJ Teaze is warming up the crowd while we sit down for a hilarious drink and eating fest. I don't think I've ever seen so many bottles and food stacked on one VIP table. There was a fashion show at the club earlier that night, a good atmosphere and lots of young hip clubbers on the dance floor already. I must admit this crowd took a little while to get into the less commercial side of house, but in the end all went really well! Great night!
Opus, Manila (Philippines)
The second gig in Manila is at Opus, a chic venue located just steps from the famous venue Republiq. I'm invited for a pre-party dinner at Opus with promoters Marie and JC from 'Bella' and a group of very nice friends. The place is beautiful, modern and designed really well. After a great warm up set by Marie, I jump in and again find myself not wanting to stop after the 2 hour set. This is quite an amazing night given it's 'just' a Wednesday, and I've seen nothing but big smiles. Lots of shots were downed in the DJ booth with the many real house lovers that find their way to Opus on Wednesdays. We go for one last drink next door at Republiq and the party with the Bella crew goes on and on. Would love to come back here anytime!
Trigram Tokyo (Japan)
For the last 2 gigs of the tour it's back to Japan! Smooth flight with JAL and I land in Tokyo late afternoon where I meet up with Toru from Trigram. We take the train from Narita to the hotel in downtown Tokyo where DJ Shuma picks me up for an amazing dinner. It's Trigrams 5 year anniversary and there's so many crazy dancers and hosts in wild outfits they almost outnumber the 'regular' guests! As usual in Japan, the crowd goes nuts from the first track. After the set I try to stay and drink with the crew but 10 flights and 6 gigs in 12 days begin to take its toll. Off to bed for some much needed rest for the finale of my tour!
Air, Tokyo (Japan)
I wake up the next afternoon and Shuma and Toru take me on an excellent sightseeing tour. Highlights include going to the top of the 'Tokyo Tower' where you really get a very good sense of how enormous the city is. Later that evening as the rain starts to pour, we drive to Air. There I meet with Copyright maestros Sam and Gav for dinner together with Air promoter, Aaron. This time it's my turn to do a warm up, but the vibe on the dance floor is already pretty intense. I test some new bits forthcoming on Copyright Records and the crowd reaction is definitely a very promising sign!
By the time Sam and Gav enter the booth the place explodes and they take the roof down completely during a 3 hour mesmerizing set. It was an amazing moment when they dropped my new track La Scoica at peak time as we're all high fiving each other backstage. When the club finally closes it's time for breakfast with Copyright and the Air crew. I stayed one more day in Tokyo which I spent at Yoyogi Park and Shibuya crossing, luckily the sun was back out! I wish I could’ve stayed longer…what a breathtakingly surreal city this is.
