DJ T. tour blog: Week 16

DJ T. tour blog: Week 16

31 October, 2009 | 1.33PM

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

Get Physical’s DJ T. gives us a brief history lesson on Mexico in his tour blog this week.

He also reports back from Guadalajara and Juarez with videos and thoughts, and discusses some of the current murky politics surrounding Juarez’ mafia-run drugs trade, a subject he raised in last week’s dispatch.

Plus he also asks any aspiring producers that read his blog to submit their tracks for Round 2 of the Get Physical Producer Challenge - full details after the jump.

Week 16

Ever since Costa Rica, I have been stumbling across more and more traces of my own past – and I’m really enjoying it. Mexico – and some of its countrymen – have played more than a bit part in my life.

Almost 12 years ago, in 1997, I first touched down in this vibrant country and made a beeline for its prettiest gem, the Yucatan peninsula, which protrudes from Mexico’s southeastern land mass.

65 million years ago, the region was hit by a meteorite, which triggered climactic (and climatic) changes across the planet and even contributed to the extinction of dinosaurs, or so scientists assume.

Between around 300 and 1000 AD, the Yucatan region (now split between Mexico, Guatemala and Belize) was also the centre of Mayan culture. To this day, the entire peninsula is dotted with countless well-preserved archaeological sites like Tulum, Uxmal, Edzna or Chichen Itza.

At the end of the Riviera Maya – the new marketing moniker for this particular stretch of the Caribbean coast – the unsuspecting pleasure-seeker hits Cancun, a prime example of mass tourism gone horribly wrong and originally instigated by the Mexican government as a counterpole to Acapulco.

Cancun was practically built overnight to stimulate tourism in the country’s south east. Even further south, about an hour by car, lays Playa del Carmen, the country’s fastest growing city, followed by Tulum (another hour’s drive), a rare gem that stoutly defends its paradisiacal status and attracts a more contemplative crowd in search of spirituality.

A mere 25 years ago, Playa del Carmen was still a tiny backwater populated by a few hundred people. Nowadays, their numbers have multiplied to over 100,000.

When I first came to visit, the place was still a sleepy fishing village with a few budding tourist outlets. Today, it seems only too eager to follow Cancun’s example – with one major difference.

Unlike its established cousin, Playa del Carmen does not attract swarms of obese Americans, lined-up on the beach like slow-roasting sardines, but seems to have become something of a Latin American Ibiza, including a respectable electronic music scene.

Years ago, four buddies from Frankfurt had set out to export German club culture to PdC. Back then, during the winters of ’97 and ’98, I had the pleasure of playing some unforgettable Christmas and New Year’s parties in the mild tropical climate.

As a DJ, you never forget that special first time you a treat budding scene to a sound they have never heard before, a new genre that seems incredibly exciting – just like your first time in the sack.

Unfortunately, my adventurous friends had not reckoned with the inevitable hassles dictated by local conditions, most of all the pervasive corruption that touches every organisational detail.

They stuck it out for almost 18 months before reaching the end of their tether and slinking back to Germany, disillusioned. Well, three of them did; the fourth persevered and settled down with wife and kids a few hundred miles further south.

It’s a shame, really – if they had started a few years later, the guys could have made it and milked their Espiral club for all it’s worth, but sometimes life puts you in the right place – at the wrong time.

Incidentally, it was their Mexican companero from those halcyon days, Xavier Fux, who booked me for last week’s gig in Mexico City.

So, two days ago, I arrived in Playa del Carmen, completely worn out from last weekend’s hat-trick of gigs. I had two days off before tonight’s set, followed by three further performances in Montreal, Chicago and New York – that’s touring taken to the extreme.

I have huge respect for pop stars who play six concerts a week in different cities, for weeks or months on end … I don’t think I would last the stretch, no matter how fun or exciting it sounds.

But let’s return to the recent past. Last Thursday, I arrived at the first stop of my Mexican mini-marathon: the country’s second largest city, Guadalajara.

Here, in the centre of Mexico, around 150 km from the Pacific coast, five million people have made their home. With Bar Americas, the city also hosts one of the Mexico’s most famous clubs, well-known beyond the country’s borders.

For some reason, Thursday has become the club’s trademark night, often boasting the crème de la crème of international DJ culture. In hindsight, this was one of the best and wildest nights of my tour so far – I even had to re-burn a pile of CDs that got lost in the fray, scratched behind the DJ booth or damaged by high-proof alcohol spills.

Well, you gotta sacrifice at the high altar of party culture, right? Oh, and thank you, Romeo, for all your patient CD polishing during this madness …

Stuck behind the decks, you can always tell a crowd’s musical socialisation, and these Tapatios were definitely up-to-date; I could play anything that would work in Europe.

On Friday, it was time for a spot in the capital and my meeting with Xavier Fux.

Xavier had invited me to play the opening night of his brand new Fever club, but – who would have guessed? – the obscure machinations of the Mexican authorities had thrown a spanner into the works.

Don’t ask me for details, but despite receiving all the correct paperwork, these people (who are used to palming that little bit extra) stood their ground. No fiesta, Señor. So, the party was rescheduled at very short notice, which really put a dampener on attendance numbers.

Nevertheless, those 150 clubbers who made it to Neckthar turned the night into one cool party. I was sorry to leave relatively early, just in time to catch my next flight – no sleep till Ciudad Juarez.

Now all of you who read my last post are probably wondering how I fared in this notorious border town. I guess the fact that you’re reading these lines is proof of my continued existence – hurray to that!

And I didn’t need that bullet-proof vest, after all. On the contrary, there are a few things I would like to revise from last week’s speculative missive.

Although 40 people were murdered on the day before my arrival – an incredible number to my sheltered ears – you are probably just as likely to witness similar examples of open Mafia violence in a US metropolis. Most of the hostilities stay within the gang scene – so, at least on the surface, Juarez is a Mexican city like any other.

Another theory mentioned in my last blog entry – and one that triggered controversial discussions on and offline – was however confirmed.

I got talking to a couple of locals at my hotel who were pretty savvy on the subject. They corroborated that the military had indeed joined forces with one of the cartels to drive the other one out of town.

In Juarez, this was common knowledge, but naturally, people took care not to say it aloud. Apparently, a large part of the country is divided among different local Mafia clans and the ‘licences’ for these zones are dispensed directly by the military.

Within these areas, almost nothing happens without approval by the second force within the state. And anyone stupid enough to get involved in the Mafiosi’s most intimate affairs, e.g. by selling drugs on a street corner without permission, soon turns up dead in a ditch on the outskirts.

But that’s enough of the ugly truth – let’s move on to the beautiful part. HardPop had invited me to join their third anniversary celebrations and, let me tell you, those guys know how to party!

When I had played here three years ago, they were still building a reputation and crowd, so it was a fairly so-so night. This time around, the place was completely transformed.

I will never forget the scene (captured for you and posterity by my trusty camera) when the promoter asked me to turn down the music… and a glowing birthday cake weaved its way up to the DJ desk!

As master of ceremonies for the night, I had to blow out the candles and take the first delicious bite while the crowd serenaded their beloved club with a special birthday song. So, good-bye Mexico, it’s been fun – see you next year!

Get Physical Producer Challenge

Don’t forget about round two of the Get Physical Producer Challenge - you’ve got until Wednesday November 4th (next week!) to hand your unreleased tracks in for possible inclusion on a Get Physical release at the end of the year!

Myself, and my label partners M.A.N.D.Y. and Booka Shade will evaluate all submissions and pick a winner at the end of this month who’ll get a cool gift pack with all new Get Physical releases and a $50 Beatport download voucher. After the final round at the end of the year, we will pit these five contenders against each other and choose our favourite. This winning track will make it onto our upcoming ‘Full Body Workout’ compilation on Get Physical.

Email download links to your tracks (links only please, not MP3s) to competition@physical-music.com (and add ‘Get Physical Competition‘ to the subject box to be on the safe side).

Get to work!

Your DJ T.

DJ T. The Inner Jukebox Worldtour Top 10

DJ T. - The Inner Jukebox Worldtour 2009

October
30.10.09 - Smart Bar, Chicago (USA)
31.10.09 - Sullivan Room, New York (USA)

November
03.11.09 - Woody’s, Philadelphia (USA)
06.11.09 - See Sound Lounge, Seattle (USA)
07.11.09 - Avalon, Los Angeles (USA)
10.11.09 - Tapas, Newport Beach (USA)
12.11.09 - Habitat, Calgary (CA)
13.11.09 - Migthy, San Francisco (USA)
14.11.09 - Lotus Sound Lounge, Vancouver (CA)
20.11.09 - Rise, Boston (USA)
25.11.09 - Electric Pickle, Miami (USA)
27.11.09 - Gallery, Washington (USA)
28.11.09 - Asylum Afterhours, Honululu (USA)

December/January
04.12.09 - Zouk, Singapore (SG)
05.12.09 - Stereosonic@F4, Melbourne (AU)
06.12.09 - Sneaker Peeps, Brisbane (AU)
11.12.09 - Ink, Auckland (NZ)
12.12.09 - Ladida, Melbourne (AU)
18.12.09 - Pang, Canberra (AU)
19.12.09 - Chinese Laundry, Sydney (AU)
25.12.09 - Club Heaven, Seoul (SK)
26.12.09 - Warehouse, Tokyo (JP)

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