Monday, March 31, 2008

Horoscope reading from Bangkok Post...


Who is more foolish, the fool or the fool who follows the fool? You may spare someone's feelings be gleefully going along with an imprudent idea, but could become embrolied in a complicated situation.

Me says... "Hmmmm! Time to ponder real hard!"

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Mucho Gracias!

THANK YOU EVERYONE AND THE STAFF OF EM STUDIO FOR A MEMORABLE EVENT. FOR THOSE THAT HAVE BEEN WITH ME SINCE DAY ONE... OR MIDWAY, WHATEVER, YOU KNOW IT'S NEVER THE LAST... AS LONG AS I'M ALIVE AND I HAVE THE DEDICATED CLUBBERS LIKE YOU PEOPLE, THE PARTY GOES ON TILL KINGDOM COME. FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART... MY DEEPEST GRATITUDE TO ALL OF YOU FOR GIVING ME THE REASON TO DO WHAT I DO... AND FOR GIVING ME THE BELIEF!

TILL WE MEET AGAIN... GOD BLESS EACH AND EVERYONE OF YOU!

TO RAZAQ... MY THANKS TO YOU FOR PUSHING MY BELIEFS...

TO ADRIAN YEO, VINCE ANG AND THE REST OF THE EM STUDIO STAFF... THANK YOU FOR ALL THE HARD WORK!!!

WE HAVE NOTHING ELSE TO PROVE. PERIOD.

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Anthem for the absolute clueless!

Question : What's dumber than buying a BMW and using it only for fetching groceries from the neighbourhood supermarket?

Answer : I can't say, I'll be sued.


Tilt head to left for song title...

They don't know what is what... they just...

There comes a time when ignorance is no longer bliss and it just gets so blatantly senseless with each passing day... to the point that you can no longer wish to bother anymore. I've reached that stage that I don't understand how hard it is to stick your head out of the box and look what's outside the perimeters. If pride prevents you from actually consulting the very people that may have an inclination to make things work... than sorry, I don't have blind faith. I like following the blind. So forgive me, I've started to make "all possible plans" now. Thank you!

Have a good weekend with the air of uncertainty and fishing without any proper gear. I'm flying off again Sunday morning.

Old skool does not necessary mean the formula of success. We all know the story of the stubborn mule. The 80's are OVER... 'nuff said!



Yukun is pondering now...

To "whom" it may concern...

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Filo & Peri



FUCK! Progressive Trance's sharpest-dressed duo are FINALLY coming to Singapore. I wanted so badly to book them back when I was working with Liquid Room but due to their incredibly impossible studio and tour schedule... I even tried almost a year later when I was with the short-lived Onyx @ One Fullerton.

A courtesy email from their long-time manager informs me that they're now Ministry-bound on the 12th April... FUCK... need to take leave from work!

"Just a little bit closer now..."

***************



Gay Vader

Hide & Seek

"Hope you find it in everything, everything that you see."
- Howard Jones

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Getting really SingaBORED!


Travelling somewhere
Could be anywhere
There's a coldness in the air
But i don't care
We drift deeper
Life goes on
We drift deeper
Into the sound

I realize that I actually miss travelling and playing gigs in foreign soil. I miss that flurry buzz of excitement and anticipation. I miss the hospitality treatment. I miss having to apply floor-reading techniques. I miss having a challenge in life. I miss having a sense of achievement. And after giving it a lot of thought, I've decided to further explore the regional markets and hopefully in due time, I'll see less of SingaBore. There seems to be a more and more opportunities cropping up... ELSEWHERE. And it also seems that the most receptive audience is ANYWHERE except in this sedated Lion City. So many of my peers who have gone and played overseas can attest to this fact. Only here do we have punters REQUESTING and not giving the DJ the due respect of letting him / her do his thing. Here's a suggestion for those that like to request for tunes... listen to your own mp3 in the club and spare us (the DJs) the agony of not being able to flick you our middle fingers!


To further emphasis my point on how fucking boring and pointless things are... I got a few SMSes asking if I was attending the Official Miss Earth Singapore 2008 Search @ The Arena this Saturday. Hello, I rather go watch two tortoises fuck! Models, pageants, fashion world and all that hypocrisy are just goddamn pointless and superficial. Spare me, please!

I seriously need to get out of this place MORE OFTEN before it kills my passion totally... with it's regimentation, sticky red-tape, regulations and pointless disciplinary guidelines. Much as I have a dedicated core group of die-hard supporters here... it's not enough to keep the fire in me burning. I need to fly...

FOUR more days to go... Hua Hin here I come!

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Tuesday... same old... whatever!


Monday, March 24, 2008

Progressions Travelogue (Part 2)



Back to Progressions' debut in the capital of Indonesia... I discovered the hidden basement room of Embassy called Wunderbar. It's the afterhours baby of resident DJ Miko, renown in the country of as a tech-merchant (also a MAC / PC whiz-kid).




One thing all Singapore DJs should take note... Indon DJs are technically way ahead in terms of creativity. Very few of them do straight-up beat-to-beat mixing. Many of them know their way around audio production programmes and have their own "re-edits" and "bootleg remixes". The way life is over here, the people are bred to really think competitively out-of-the-box... unlike the rigid and regimental Singaporean way. So if any of you are ever playing in this country, make sure you've a bag of tricks. Otherwise, you'll just be rubbing your own name in the mud. Thankfully, I've got new tricks... :)



One thing about a country like this, the people respect the DJing art-form. Notably, I received NOT A SINGLE REQUEST throughout my 3-hour set. The audience here, unlike the ungracious punters in Sunny Singapura, are willing to let the DJ do his work even though he may be dishing out one whole hour of unfamiliar material. They are receptive and adventurous, to say the least. Sometimes visiting countries like such, make me really ashamed to be Singaporean... I get that feeling of wanting to take our own flag and...



OK, I ought to move on before I get accused of having no national pride. I don't, by the way. The club's pretty much focused and sincere in wanted to represent the Progressions brand. Besides the running radio advertisement campaign, flyer distribution, net marketing... there's entry for TWO with the physical flyer and also a free CD for every paying patron. Or course having Jack Daniels onboard as a sponsor as helps a lot!



For those that have been pestering me via countless phone text (SMS) to get a copy of the CD... I'm sorry, none left. Go to my podcast instead. The club manufactured limited promotional copies for their customers. Anyway, kudos to the club for making me feel right at home from the get-go. I think when it comes to hospitality services, Thailand and Indonesia ranks up there above Singapore. Seriously! Stop kidding ourselves... Lion City is not really that gracious!




The saying always goes... somehow, you can tell how well a club is managed just by looking at the DJ booth. A fly-by-night bar will have a shady little DJ set-up tuck into a forsaken corner with really dodgy equipments. On the other side of the bank, you look at Zouk and Ministry... their booths are like a sanctuary, boasting the latest make in the industry. Embassy is no different with their Pioneer rack-mounted DJM-1000 which hooks up perfectly with the Serato... digitally with no lagging! It's been a long time but the Pioneer EFX-1000 still kicks arse all over :)





So how did the night go? Well, they got a flavour of what many in Singapore have already tasted and continue to crave for. Progressions as a whole have been crafted and re-styled based on a huge amount of research and many thought-processed elements. I wouldn't say that it has a full proof-formula... but it's all about adapting and knowing what the consumer wants. Only with that in mind, will you achieve this...



That's not ignoring the fact that the brand has been pretty much utilizing the web's power in order to reach others outside of Singapore. When I'm free, I'll go write a book on "How a brand becomes a lifestyle choice". Anyway, we ain't gurus... just applying a lot of common cow sense... wahahahahaha...



Three hours flew by without it actually feeling like it took that long. Maybe perhaps that SMOKING was allow in the club. Maybe I was also busy polishing up the vodka bottle? All in all, had a really good eye-opening experience... and I got to do my bit for vandalism... right next to Booka Shade :p




I'm seriously considering approaching Durex to make Progressions condoms... it's seems like a brilliant novelty idea! OK, I admit that I can't get over the fact that a club has it's own brand of rubber. It's genuinely a brilliant idea, due to the fact that people will actually talk about it... and that's the best marketing tactic that money can't buy directly.



Many thanx to Eric Lam for setting everything up, the club owners and staff for the hospitality, the DJs I met and most importantly... my Buni-cam-tographer for the photos and etc.



And now it's back to lame reality this bloody week. Fuck! Seems like the past weekend was like surreal dream. On the brighter side of things, it's Bangkok this coming weekend! Hu-fucking-ray! Sorry, the current Singapore situation is just really boring the hell out of me and making me very disillusioned with the way things are! I need all these little "getaways" to keep me interested! There's got to be a reason why Singaporeans are the only idiots with their stupid handphone / tissue paper requests and etc. It's really sad place to be in at the moment.

Updates This Week


Tuborg presents DAZED OUT
"Back To School Special"

"
Classic Trance, anthems and today's floor favourites!"
feat. DJs Yukun + JonG
Saturday 29st March
Doors open 10pm till late

eM Studio's monthly trance excursion is back again to end the month of March with a specially-themed night. DJs JonG and Yukun return to whip out a trance-tastic soundscape of old-skool classics, all-time fave anthems and a healthy serving of today's floor favourites.

You know the score... so get ready for yet another memorable night out!

And if you have your old school uniform tucked away somewhere in your closet, time to dig it up! The first 50 people in school uniform (Poly and private school one not counted, hor!) at the door will redeem a water bottle of Smirnoff Ribena... *hic*

This event is [First come, first served]. Limited capacity.

$15 first drink door charge

Drink promos :

* 1-for-1 on all housepouring spirits by the jugs from 10 - 12 midnite
* Tuborg bucket of 6 bottles @ $45
*
Grey Goose Vodka with 6 cans of RedBull @ $190 nett


For table reservations, please email Adrian

VERY LIMITED guestlist, please email your (full) name + friends to Yukun
no later than 29th Feb (Friday).



WEBSITES : Dazed Out Facebook Group / Event Page / eM Studio


For your regular Trance fix... check out :



********************

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Progressions Travelogue (Part 1)



If you think you know, ALWAYS think again. Chances are that you don't really know EVERYTHING until you've seen the rest of the world. No matter how EXPERIENCED you may think you are, or how QUALIFIED you may be, or how many accolades / awards you may have garnered... it all that means absolutely nothing when it comes to a different culture harbouring a different monster. That's one thing I've always kept in mind through the years of playing overseas DJ gigs. Complacency and the typical "frog-in-the-well syndrome" will be the only nail needed to seal the coffin in any situation. There's always a curve ball waiting for you. Thus, I'm NEVER confident when it comes to being an international guest...

But unlike Liverpool's desperate attempt in trying to contain Manchester United later, I'm have developed a knack for making comebacks... much like Chelsea. Getting out of point here!



And in all honesty, I was really looking forward to getting the fuck out of Singapore because the stagnancy and the lack of vibrancy was seriously beginning to be a real killjoy! Sad to say, that's evident also in the local "trance scene". The lack of open-mindedness and the "sense of adventure" is sorely lacking. There's seriously nothing to look forward in Singapore at the moment except to "go through the motions for the sake of getting paid". I seriously needed that breath of fresh air... before I suffocate in a stew of pointless idiocy.



This trip came as a savior in many ways for me, especially in the time when I'm beginning to get so fucking irritated with the ignorance of some of the local club goers! Not to point fingers at anyone in particular but there are some really fucking stupid ones around! I thank God for those clubs in Asia that recognizes and possesses the know-how capability of capitalizing on the Asian talent resource pool. And one such club being Jakarta's Embassy The Club...



And seriously? The club and promoter have my utmost respect for having the willingness to import in the Progressions brand and the eagerness to represent the brand in it's best possible light in terms of logistics, promotional tactics, marketing angle, brand characteristics in view of sound / light quality as well as visual impact.



It was a display of professionalism from the time we arrived at the Jakarta airport, to the technical set-up, to the meals, to the hospitality, to the door gifts, right up till the time we shook hands and went our separate ways. We couldn't ask for more. The club itself is pretty impressive... boasting several rooms with thought-processed layout and stunning but yet practical designs...





Heck... they even have their own condoms!
Talk about branding, eh?



After taking a brief guided tour of the entire complex, I somehow had a gut-feeling that it was going to be quite the perfect "setting" for a good night out. There's just so many elements in the club that should interest the average punter. To be honest, you have to walk the entire place 3 - 4 times over to fully catch every intriguing detail. The main room itself has 2 levels, inclusive of "hidden" corners and etc.








TO BE CONTINUED... I'M TIRED!


Thursday, March 20, 2008

No more rhyme...


Attention :
Morale of the "troops"
are at an ALL TIME LOW!

That is if anyone cares to know!


Happy "fugging" Easter!


Goodbye!!! And thank God I'm getting out!
Even if it's for a few days!

Another shitty day!

Not as if we don't know already, idiots are everywhere. But some of them are just downright fucking empty up there. Sadly, they don't know it because they're just too fucking retarded.

But what do you call the same bloody just-turned-19 brat that comes to a club and keep insisting in playing "some R&B shit" just because he has bad taste in music? After THREE separate occasions, any moron will kind of figure out that WE DON'T PLAY R&B AND CRUNK... especially that irritating "SOULJAH BOY" crap! To put it bluntly, if you don't know who I am, it's OK to be ignorant as to what music I'm known for. But this is the fucking THIRD time I'm explaining to this snooty cunt. Oh, and now you offer me $50 (last time was $20) to play R&B? Why don't you take the money and your arrogant attitude and shove it up your fucking anus? Do I look like the whore that bore you?

So what if the club is empty or what? Do I fucking look like HMV or some huge music retailer to you? Even a bloody jukebox has limited material. Which part of "I don't have" do you not fucking understand? And don't tell me what THE other clubs play. Here's a fucking suggestion... go wherever that plays YOUR type of music instead of coming here and showing off your limited cerebral capabilities.


Fact. I hate rude "rich" people and I especially hate this particular piece of ignorant human trash. You disrespected me first and spare me the crap about CUSTOMERS HAVE THE RIGHT. Who gave you the right to be such a smart-arse rude bastard?

And you dare say you've got a "friend DJ" that plays excellent music? Please, that monkey-in-suspenders (who can't DJ) is yesterday's garbage. If he's that good, pray-tell why is he BANNED at Ministry Of Sound (Singapore)?

Thank God Almighty that I'm fucking off this weekend out of the country, for a much anticipated gig. It's having to deal with cluelss cunts like you that make this job as a DJ such as fucking unpleasant one. And seriously, I pray to the heavens above that your mother buys you a brain for your 20th birthday. When all fails, perhaps a slap across the head might help.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Corona... please...

Eclectism?

Got a phone text today asking what does "eclectic" mean in DJ terms.

Well, to put it bluntly... it means having no clear musical direction. Anything goes. Mix and match without any conformity. Very haphazard. Or in the words of a like-minded ex-colleague... ANYHOW!!!




This post is dedicated to The Big Kahuna... all the best, dude. It was a pleasure working with you the past few months. See you out there... soon!

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Progressions is podcasting now...

Click on image for link.

More stupidity ahead!




WHY DO YOU KEEP SHOOTING...
... YOURSELVES IN THE FOOT?



Haven't been to the movies for donkey months. Managed to squeeze some time today to catch the above. Nice heart-warming flick very much in the vein of E.T. and Free Willy. The last scene where the creature leaps across the submarine fence was a blatant rip-off of the later. Nonetheless, besides having a really bad gastric relapse that practically fucked-up everything... the earlier part of the day was not as depressing as the end of it. No point harping on it... off to Tan Tock Seng Hospital for a scope examination. Don't feel too good at all!

Also accompanying my Dad for his heart check-up... he's not too good either :(

p/s I'm goddamn lazy to put up the weekly radio show updates and etc.