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| Leon Hu |
June 2004
China Tour
Gaundi , Shanghai
True colour club , Shenzhen
Club Absolute house , Hangzhou
Tang club , Guangzhou
When I get back from a foreign country I often get a thousand inquisitive questions of what the club scene was like, especially in a Country like China. We are quite naive in the western World and often have the misconception that many other countries don't live in the modern world as we do. Well they do, but in their own way. I'm in a unique position where I visit countries such as China two or three times a year, its fascinating living and learning other countries cultures. Some things they do seem old fashioned to us but when you understand the people and the surroundings you understand why and often wish that our own country had hung on to some native traditions.
Forget those images of the communist China of past, China is the most futuristic place I've visited. Driving through downtown Shanghai makes you feel like you're on a space age Hollywood set. The skyscrapers are breathtaking. Not the usual ‘block' buildings but many futuristic shapes and sizes. All this mixed with the old traditional original buildings, quite a contrast but a reality check of where you are. Shanghai even has the fastest train in the World, I was like a big kid when we reached the 430 Km top speed!! China is a massive country and much of it is inhabited with traditional villages with rice fields, as we have the traditional towns in the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. Don't get me wrong, I'm concentrating on the sites!
So what's the clubs like? I've been going back and fourth to China for the past five years and I've seen a healthy change for their love of dance music. Like many countries the power of the internet has opened their minds to the many styles of music that is out there. You can tell that the ‘commercial' market was massive by the design of the clubs. Many have tables right in front of the DJ booth on the dance floor? The club would be an all-purpose building, incorporating a restaurant, VIP rooms and karaoke rooms! It would be a whole evening's entertainment. My first ever gig (in 1999) was quite strange, I was playing to a room full of people sitting at tables on the dancefloor, I didn't quite know what to do?? I know my friend Mr Oakenfold went through a similar things because we both had a deep chat about it. What do you play to them??!! Things have completely changed. My tour last month was awesome. Gone are the tables, well from the dancefloor. They're still hanging on to the table tradition. The club owners ‘sell' the tables to punters for the evening. A guest will buy the table along with drinks for the whole evening. Apparently quite a table war erupts when a big event is on. People want those tables!! It's an honour to be invited to sit at a table with guests. It's a very social occasion. When you think about it many people simply enjoy sitting down doing the social thing chewing peoples ears off, while their mates are ‘having it' on the dance floor. I got into the table thing, how many times do you see me on the dancefloor!! Speaking of ‘having it'. The Chinese in Gaundi club, Shanghai where the most receptive crowd that I've played to for a long time. I was supposed to be playing a three-hour set but that went to nearly five hours because I was enjoying myself so much. They where so opened minded, and simply enjoyed good music. Any special musical moments and the crowd would explode in a vocal frenzy. People where dancing everywhere…in any space that they could find! The clubs haven't quite got to the ‘super size' that we're used to in the UK, but I kind of preferred this small intimate environment. I finished playing around 5am and the place was still full and rocking, with another two DJ's still to play. I asked the owner when does the club finish, he shrugged his shoulders and said whenever!! Don't we wish we had clubs like this at home!! I felt like a rock star when the promoter took me back to my hotel in his Hummer H2, nice touch for a car lover like me!!
True Colour club in Shenzhen was a great experience too. A mixture of old clubbing ways with modern. We got to the club and had a meal in our VIP room! This was a venue like I explained earlier, with a restaurant etc. Not having the pleasure of doing this before it was quite a relaxing experience getting to the club, having a meal and slowly easing yourself in to the club environment. I can see why they do this. It makes it feel like a special night out. As opposed to walking into a club straight in to a ‘full-on' party. The table thing had completely gone here. A big stage with a massive dancefloor and a hoooofing sound system. Wow!!
Every city I played was at a different stage at it's clubbing learning stage. Shaghai obviously being at the forefront. But all had a simple thing in common, they loved the music. You really felt that you where offering them something new and exciting that they had never experienced. It made me play those records that I truly loved, I had this passion to share it with them and the response was unbelievable. Quite the opposite the western countries where you play a well known track to lift the crowd. They didn't know the well known tracks! They fuelled energy from good music. It made me control the crowd in a different having to use different styles of music to control and lift the crowd. It took me back to my good old days of my residency at the Zap club in Brighton. It was a pleasure to play like that again.
A fascinating place to visit. I love China and will be back there very soon!
Many thanks for the kind comments about my travel tips last month. My message board has lit up with comical messages!! You all seen to love the mini bar trick!! Yes…and you all having a good laugh thinking about me on a plane with my neck pillow, eye patch and ear plugs. Don't knock it until you try it!!!
Look forward to seeing you all in a club soon.
FROM £º http://www.john00fleming.com |
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