DJ T. tour blog: Week 12

DJ T. tour blog: Week 12

6 October, 2009 | 5.31AM

• Written by: Beatportal
• Filed under: Music News: dj t, dj t blog, get physical

Now 12 weeks into his relentless world tour, DJ T. considers immigrating to Portugal, plays at one of Berlin’s newest Sunday club parties, and reveals the first-round winners of his Get Physical Producer Challenge.

Click through to read his insightful commentary from the DJ world, and to listen to the three winning tracks.

Emigrate within Europe? If you put me on the spot – right here, right now – I’d probably opt for Portugal. Sure, there are countless of wonderful spots in Italy, Spain, France or Greece, but all of these countries come with certain, persistent niggles that would make me think twice about long-term relocation.

A pleasant climate and beautiful people aren’t everything, after all. Italy, for example, this ‘opera buffa’ among western nations, is built on way too much crime and corruption, not to forget the mounds of rubbish cluttering the streets of some cities.

Somehow, I simply don’t get how people can ask a 70-year-old, limelight-hungry leacher to run their already weakened country and simply look on while the country’s unspoken second power and shadow cabinet, the mafia, does as it pleases. Or take Spain. For a long time, Barcelona claimed my number one spot, but the incredible rudeness and rip-off artistry of many local service providers – you’re not the only ones, but I’m talking to you, taxi drivers! – spoils the experience for non-Spanish speaking foreigners like me.

In my limited experience and perception, Portugal still has the cleanest slate, but maybe I simply don’t know enough about its seedy underbelly yet. So, if you have personal gripes with this nation, please let me hang on to my illusions – at least for a little while longer.

To cut a long story short – ten days ago, on Friday, I returned to Lisbon, the undisputed champion of my current list of fave Euro capitals. After a long break, Portugal’s best-known club and one of the continent’s most stunning and glamorous dance emporia, the Lux, had invited me for a replay.

The complex – home to the club for more than a decade – offers a great view of the Tejo bay and towers above Lisbon’s harbour like an outpost of Portuguese hedonism, while the sunrise on its patio remains one of the highlights in party life.

On this last weekend in September, Lisbon surprised me with a spell of Indian summer, which, in these latitudes, translates to suitably sweltering temperatures. A solid 32 degrees Celsius had driven the locals out onto the streets; drinking, shouting and making merry in front of the bars and restaurants well into the early morning hours.

Rui Vargas, grandseigneur of the Portuguese DJ guild and my gracious host at Lux, had granted me extracurricular leave during the first hour of my scheduled set, so I could drift through the Old Town, some friends in tow, and later enjoy a leisurely drink with Rui on the patio while the dancefloor filled up slowly, but surely, until – all of a sudden – it was packed to the rafters by around 3.30 am.

Although I really enjoyed my time behind the decks and had the crowd ‘locked in the groove,’ Rui approached me afterwards to apologise for the supposedly lacklustre crowd – well, I didn’t share his impression!

Side note to Nuno: Thanks a for helping me with any DJ’s most hated task – retrieving misdirected baggage. Looking back, I guess I was lucky… my stuff arrived just in time for me to wash and repack it before South America. I still can’t fathom how some airlines take several days to locate a missing piece of luggage and have it show up in their system. In this case, a clear thumbs down for the Portuguese carrier TAP.

When I think back to Toulouse, the memories still bring a smile to my face. On arrival, two of the enthusiastic and sweetly solicitous DJs who make up the five-piece promoter collective that had booked me for the opening night of their new club at local spot Inox were proudly sporting t-shirts to promote the upcoming event called – the joy of simplicity! –‘Party’.

Here – in the southwestern-most corner of France – this matter-of-fact moniker really helped to brighten my mood. Their flawless explanation: ‘party’ was the perfect name because, well, everyone knew what it meant, right?

I couldn’t fault their logic: after all, if Berlin clubs can get away with ‘Weekend’ or ‘Picknick’, why not dial it down even further and go for ‘Party’? Pressed for time, we made a beeline for Toulouse’s beautiful central square, lined with a string of cafes and restaurants and at least as bustling as Lisbon’s Old Town.

Their chosen restaurant was fantastic. Its concept: granny-style cooking by – think ‘party called party’ – a bona fide grandmother. The starters alone took my taste buds to the brink of capitulation: warm canapés with black pudding and brie/cranberries, a selection of pates and warm marrow, spooned straight from the bone with a texture reminiscent of crème brulee.

After the main course of crispy chicken with fries, I was full to bursting. Even the tiniest sliver of mint could have tipped the scales and thrown me over the brink. A swiftly ordered digestif managed to avert the worst.

Fortified by this delicious meal, I went full force into my set. I was curious as to how much current house this electro and techno-loving southern French crowd would accept. And I was positively surprised: all in all, I managed to get away with same stuff that would work on large German dancefloors. Admittedly, there were some obviously happy faces when I reached for my hardest fare towards the end of the night.

Berlin, Sunday night. From all over the globe, hordes of DJs fly back into town. And what do they do? Instead of curling up on the sofa, to enjoy a few hours of well-deserved rest, they drop their bags right in the hall and take the waiting taxi to the next party or another DJ gig.

In Berlin, this Sunday party culture (which often extends well into Tuesday) has taken on a life of its own, unrivalled in the rest of the world. Berghain/Panoramabar, Bar25, Club der Visonäre, Wilde Renate: these are the places the locals seek out.

A new addition to this select circle is this summer’s latest discovery, the Funkpark and associated Rechenzentrum club. German speakers might have guessed it already: the location (which translates as data processing centre) used to be the computing hub of East Germany’s central radio complex.

Besides Bar25 and Club der Visionäre, Rechenzentrum is one of the city’s most beautiful summer locations and the only one boasting both an expansive outdoor area and an indoor club with decent sound. Surrounded by verdant woodlands, the entire area is covered in sand and, near the embankment, dotted with leisurely seating and places to lie down. A real beach extravaganza.

On the other hand, Rechenzentrum is a few kilometres further out than most of Berlin’s other Spree locations and this has stopped the archetypal (and lazy) inner city dweller from coming over for more than the odd flying visit.

Nevertheless, over the course of the summer, Rechenzentrum has carved its rightful niche in the Berlin party calendar, the line-ups kept improving and for the discerning party veteran, it offered a welcome alternative to the well-trodden club circuit. I had been booked to play the closing night of this enchanted location – indoors, of course, considering Berlin’s crazy temperature drop.

The club still exudes the original charm of a repurposed East German industrial structure, a once ubiquitous approach and appeal now relegated to a few remaining locations like Berghain and Tresor. In the foyer, some of the old, outsized computer hardware – mechanical giants – still protrudes into the room and those looking for communication might head for the space next to the dancefloor where a row of ancient, disconnected telephones still adorn the wall.

The entire floor is built on stilts and the combined sound-absorbing measures of this former radio hub have the pleasant side effect of engulfing clubbers in the warmest of sounds. At 1am, I took over from Till von Sein who had raised the bar with a wonderfully astute and emotional set.

Two-and-a-half hours later, I handed the reins to the night’s last act, Stephan Hill of Berlin label Vidlab – another artist I’d never heard before and yet another cool surprise. In terms of pure sexiness, the average, complacent Berlin star DJ could definitely learn a thing or two from this man!

And while we’re on the subject of Rechenzentrum, here’s a last-minute newsticker update: Apparently, the pleasure boat company Riedel (set to buy the location and remodel it into a landing stage for their boats by next year) has trouble getting the necessary credit. All hail the financial crisis?

Furthermore, they didn’t exactly make friends with their multi-pronged and decidedly shady attempts to crowd out the current promoters. According to the latest rumours, the Funkpark crew might have sealed a two-year contract extension. So maybe, all is well in Berlin after all …

Get Physical Producer Challenge

Dear contestants & Beatportalists

When we instigated the ‘Get Physical Producer Challenge’ we had no idea what to expect. I don’t want to sound disrespectful, but there was a twinge of doubt in the back of my mind – would we receive enough outstanding gems worthy of presentation and award on this platform?

Well, my fears proved unfounded – the tracks that made it into the final five were of such solid quality that I could play them during one of my sets. Overall, we were really surprised by the breadth of submissions trickling into our Get Physical inbox.

Some people must have thought ‘the more, the merrier’ and forwarded 20+ tracks – without even questioning if their music was a good fit for Get Physical or if it might make more sense to whittle their selection down to the best three.

So, just to be clear: I know how much passion and energy every single one of you pours into your music and I totally understand that you want to get your tracks out there and published as soon as possible.

On the other hand, aspiring producers really benefit from being able to judge their own music and skills with some measure of objectivity. Blind actionism and an overwhelming urge to get stuff released usually means that people overestimate their tracks and end up disappointed.

Any producer or DJ benefits from knowing where they stand, so it’s always good to get regular feedback – especially from honest friends and pros who won’t hold back with constructive criticism. The results can be pretty harsh – as I know from personal experience.

Only a year ago, I was in the studio with my label mates Booka Shade and M.A.N.D.Y. to play them the first version of my album. A few minutes in, I could see the frown lines materialising on their collective faces … and in the end, I knew I had just wasted half a year’s work. So, I gritted my teeth, bucked up and started from scratch – instead of releasing something half-baked. Looking back, it was hard, but totally worth it!

So, without further ado, here are the producers and tracks that made it into our final 3:

1. Our September champions are Attik with their track ‘Blind‘. They win the Beatport download voucher and also get to pick their ten favourite tracks from our three labels (Get Physical, Get Digital and Kindisch) for free download. Like the winners of all monthly contests, Attik will enter the final round of our producer challenge early next year.

2. In second place, we have Mark Holmes & Od Muzique with ‘Disco Pixies’. Their prize: five tracks of choice from our three labels (Get Physical, Get Digital and Kindisch) for free download.

3. Third, but equally impressive, is Upsetter with ‘Mata Hari‘. He, too, gets to choose five free downloads from our label roster (Get Physical, Get Digital and Kindisch).

That’s all for now, folks, and here’s hoping for another round of excellent entries in October! Keep filling our inbox with your best tracks – no slacking, please ;-) – and join us for round two of the Get Physical Producer Challenge!

Send your tracks to competition@physical-music.com (and add ‘Get Physical Competition‘ to the subject box to be on the safe side).

Your DJ T.

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