Friday, January 30, 2009

Hanoi... the day after




The cool thing about DJ tours like the one in Hanoi this week, is that you get the chance to savour the sights, the sounds and the taste of the city you're in. For us, we really enjoyed the weather even though the dryness is causing us to itch in places I don't want to talk about. :p

Unfortunately for us, Vietnam also celebrates Chinese New Year. Shops and businesses are closed for FIVE days from the first day of the Lunar New Year. The streets are still busy, with hordes of people and a brigade of motorcycles. Thankfully, most of the cafes and eateries are opened and that gave us the opportunity to spoil ourselves silly by stuffing our faces with Pho Bo (beef noodles), springrolls and Viet coffee.



And there's just something nostalgic about having a hot cup of tea/coffee or soup in the cold... until I start sneezing non-stop. Then it's off to more exploration of this really quaint city. It's just a pity that we kind of came here at the wrong time when there's only a limited things to check out. Luckily for our "coffee dealer", we managed to find a shop to buy 400,000 VND worth of "goods".




The only thing that I really hate about Hanoi? The irritating traffic noise pollution. All that beeping and honking can really get to you, especially if you're having a really bad day. Food wise, I'm having craving for their fried springrolls right now as I type this entry.

I do look forward to the next opportunity go back to Hanoi as I really believe that their club scene has a lot more potential to grow. Their perception of Trance is completely the opposite of what Singapore clubbers want, which I feel is a good thing; especially so if one can move away from the staple "big names" and "predictable" sound every now and then. A segment of the set will be up at the Progressions Podcast soon.


Till we meet again, Hanoi... cảm ơn lắm!

posted by Adminstrator @ 4:22 PM 0 comments

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Next up...


Sorry, limited guestlist is full.

However, it's opened to the public after 12 midnight.

No cover charge.


"boogie woogie"


posted by Adminstrator @ 11:13 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

The tour stories...


This is actually the second tour in my career that I'm DJing with P@t overseas. The first being many donkey years ago in Bangkok. It happens to be the second time Progressions is being exported out. So to say the least, we were looking forward to it upon the confirmation of the gig.

We arrived on the day of the gig to be received by a Viet local (Hai), who happens to be close friends with the owner of the club (or something of that nature). The weather was a welcoming change from the humidity in Singapore. It's the tail-end of winter with the temperature at around 15 degrees. It brought back memories for us of our days traveling to Hong Kong and Europe when we were in the record music industry.

After a quick meal... at the roadside, which we had reservations about because the last thing we need is to get our stomachs upset during the gig. Then again, when in Rome... and it's not nice to turn down people's hospitality.

Thereafter, we drove to check into a hotel that looked like a converted shop house.

Our hotel Trung Nam Hai II.
14 Chan Cam Street, Hoan Kiem District in Hanoi.

Despite it's initial rustic outlook, it was actually quite quaint and comfortable. After all, a hotel that states in it's handbook that "couples not officially married are kindly requested to rent separate room" should be respectably decent. And that's not forgetting their extra service of MAKET UP THE ROOM and free internet access!


First order of the day in any foreign country is always to grab a map and explore our surroundings by foot. We were just eager to enjoy the lovely cold...


Within walking distance... this landmark building.

And this... hmmph!

And the lake, smack right in the center of the city!


Which brings me to remind you that Hanoi is about organized chaos. Traffic here is manic. Not everyone obeys traffic lights (which seems to be a rarity here) or follow the almost invisible road lines. Everyone horns. It's a requirement to pass your driver's license. You have to horn non-stop the moment your vehicle is on the move.

And as a pedestrian, it takes quite a bit of skill to cross the roads because no one will stop for you. Patrick demonstrates the art of jay-walking in a city where traffic rules are completely void.



Walking in the cold, makes one hungry really fast so we proceeded to have a snack... or two and this is what we got...

Very addictive vegetable spring rolls!



Night arrives and it was time for a 5-hour Progressions at the one-month-old Loop. A lot of DJs take things for granted but until you see the rest of the world outside your little tunnel, you'll realise that what you THINK you know is actually meaningless. When it comes to playing for the local crowd in Singapore, for us it's quite a routine as we know how to deliver to their expections. But in a foreign land, where cultures are vastly different, it takes a lot of understanding and adapting in order to cater.


Unlike Singapore, Hanoi's scene is fairly new. They're not as exposed as we are in terms of every aspect within the club business. From the way the club is set-up to the way people dance... everything is completely different from what we're used to. I found it an enriching experience nonetheless and I'm sure the next time round, we'll be even more geared towards delivering a hands-down winner, especially so after firmly putting our foot in their door. Most DJs will let the adoration from the punters go to their head. Complaceny and confidence is something that will kill you in this industry. Take it from me. I've seen too many come and go. The ability to humble one's self despite being looked up to, preceeds everything else. We gave them the respect and they returned in kind. And with the mutual respects earned, we'll be looking forward to coming back to Hanoi.

We would also like to thank the gracious people from Hennessy for sponsoring this debut. Not forgetting our contacts Ron and Thomas for putting this through!


Most importantly, we do our job professionally and ethically; which comes with the fees we command. That's why I don't subscribe to the "free-jays" mentality of trying to make it in the industry. Some things are meant to be, some things aren't. Forcing it will not result in anything. There are so many elements involved and your DJing technicality only accounts for 30% of making it in the business. There's persona, public relations, marketing, compromise on artistic integrity, development, research and going with the market forces. For us, it's the fruits of almost 20 years in the making. The road is not an easy one, and not everyone is destined to walk it. Respect the job for what it is and don't cheap-sell it.



DAY TWO : MORE EXPLORATION!

To be continued...

posted by Adminstrator @ 4:06 PM 0 comments

cảm ơn lắm (thank you very much) to all the Vietnamese friends we've met.

We just concluded a 5-hour Progressions at a new one-month old club. Videos and pix will be up here as well as at the Progressions blogsite and our Facebook Group, when we get back to Singapore. Of course, stories aplenty is in stored. I promise a good read as a guide for folks that might be making their way up to Vietnam.

Despite the vast difference in club culture (their's being in the infancy stage), we felt that it was a great learning experience and we now know how to make the next one much better. It goes to show, that despite the years at it, there's always something new to learn. We pulled through with some on-the-fly adjustments to the sound and I personally think we did fly our banner well. I thank my long-term business partner and "brother-in-crime" (P@t) for the amount of professionalism and dedication he has... despite enduring constipation (hahaha... sorry bro, I can't help it!).

I'm off the bed now to crash big time. A hip-level DJ booth really does screw up your backbone.

Tomorrow, we've off for some R&R and R&D. Vietnam's club scene will be huge in years to come and now that we've got our foot in the door, we plan to export the Progressions brand the way we did in Singapore... we upmost consistency and delivery. I know that some great rewards are there (in years to come) for those that can help develop their scene.

posted by Adminstrator @ 5:03 AM 0 comments

Monday, January 26, 2009

We've leaving on a jetplane...



The promotional mix CD (Progressions presents Destination Hanoi) will be online at Progressions Podcast by the time we arrive in Hanoi tomorrow (27th January 2009). Till we see some of you on the 31st (Saturday) at Majestic Bar, have a great holiday break!

And a social / environmental message to all of you...



Get even and bite back this year!
Eradicate them. Eat their fins!
An eye for an eye!



p/s I'm looking for DJs that are willing to play FOR FREE, maybe get a bottle of beer as a token or something. It's for a charity event. MY CHARITY. You play, I keep the takings. Seems fair, considering the way some of you twats are right now.

My mentor says, "if you've been at it for years, taking part in competitions and etc, but still cannot command a decent fee or a following, give it up and stop wasting everyone's time."

Great advice, if you ask me.

posted by Adminstrator @ 2:47 PM 0 comments

Serve And Fuck-Off

One fantastic news that I've gotten recently since the turn of 2009 while I was calling the army to inform them of my overseas trip, is... "you're no longer required to notify as you've completed your required circle."

Fuck yeah! And since I'm finally out of it FOR GOOD, I can now finally reveal what my vocation was...



... yes, I was an astronaut.

Hahahaha!

We had a motto during our active service days.

"If you see me running, try to catch up!"

posted by Adminstrator @ 4:19 AM 0 comments

Strangers We've Become


I don’t even know you
Not sure that I want to anymore
But maybe there’s something that could change my mind

We loved and we hated
Mistreated and prayed upon ourselves
But now that we’re wise we realize it might be time to rewind but

Where would we go from here
Where would we go

In, out, in, out, we fell so hard, so young
Look at the strangers we’ve become
No doubt, without the love we need, we’re done
Look at the strangers we’ve become

posted by Adminstrator @ 3:31 AM 0 comments

Why I hate family gatherings and CNY...



Reunion dinners, Chinese New Year visitations... it's always the same old questions every year for the past god-only-knows-how-many-years. That's why I dread and don't bother with the customs and practises of the festive season.

"What you working as now?"
"Wah, can survive meh?"
"Married?"
"Huh? Really? Then now settle the issue already?"
"Then got girlfriend?"

Intrusive and bothersome questions. Which I think is really pointless in the first place. Such visits should start with "Hi, long time to see" and end right after with "make yourself at home". Don't bother me there after. I'm fine sitting there staring at the TV which is incidentally showing crap that you would associate with Chinese New Year... shitty Mandarin variety shows.

Thank God I'm fucking off this year. Don't really see what the big fucking deal it is anyway. It's just another day in a city of uber-pointlessness!

posted by Adminstrator @ 12:14 AM 1 comments

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Here's an idea...

Every bloody year during Christmas, New Year and Lunar New Year, we get people who have nothing better else to do but to send you forwarded festive phone text wishes; and in the process, jam up the telecommunication systems. Seriously, is it all fucking necessary? Like anyone really cares to receive such pointless crap? It was kind of interesting when it started many years ago but it's come to a point that it's equally as irritating as spam / junk mail (and phone text song request at gigs).

Tell you what, instead of sending me Chinese New Year greetings this week, why not just send me 20 cents instead? It's more meaningful than the gibberish nonsense that you may be tempted to mass blast. Afterall, 20 cents is approximately the cost of sending out an SMS. So come on, be original. Send me money! I'll appreciate it (and you) even more. I can delete your SMS without reading (thereby rendering the entire process pointless)... but I won't throw away money.



OX Year is upon us

Hu-fucking-ray!

posted by Adminstrator @ 2:52 PM 0 comments

Saturday, January 24, 2009

More freejays!



Just how desperate are some has-beens (or never-beens) DJs? At one end, we have a bunch offering their services for a bottle of beer. And at another, another bunch of fuckwads offering "free trial period without obligation". Seriously, if you had to cheapsale yourself like that, don't blame if the rest of us spit on you and use you as a shit rug. Afterall, you don't have self pride to begin with. And maybe you should seriously consider a career change. i.e. patrol kiosk attendant.

Words from my mentor : If you're not making dollars, you're not making any sense!


Crap aside, I wish one and all... gong xi FART chai :p



posted by Adminstrator @ 3:47 PM 0 comments

Things I'd not try even if you kill me!


Braised caterpillar

A friends says to me, "So you going to Vietnam? Cool! You should try some exotic food while you're there. Once in a lifetime, man! Some of them will make you strong sexually, you know!"

What a load of fucking hogwash! If such crap actually helps you in the fucking department, then why isn't Viagra obsolete yet? You might as well eat a tree trunk, since it's firm, thick and sturdy. I don't see that happening, do you?



Firstly, I'm not adventurous with food. Never was, never will be. Not even if my life depended on it. The furthest I'd go is to "eat snake". Literally (it taste like chicken meat). Oh, and also "eat pussy". You go figure that one out. Either then that, I'll stick to white meat... fish or chicken and the occasional beef. No pork (NO PORK!)



Secondly, I don't care if it's your bloody staple diet. As long as it give me the creeps, you're not putting them on my plate unless you want to clear up the mess of puke that I'll gladly leave behind.So no BBQ dogs, fried Tarantulas, roasted rats, stir-fried centipedes or crunchy Black Scorpions...



Personally, I think people that think such things have medicinal purposes are fucking simple-minded dickheads. Spiders will ACTUALLY give you an uncontrollable pubic hair growth and scorpions will make your dick small and pointy! And consuming dog meat will render your ability to fuck in ONE POSITION only... doggie-style. You can forget about the Kamasutra and that would be pretty boring...



So think again before you put anything into that mouth of your's...



Eat some more... cock drop off then you know!

posted by Adminstrator @ 1:35 AM 0 comments

Friday, January 23, 2009

Available FREE for the next 30 days...


Yukun pres. The Majestic - Mystified

(Original Mix) 1|2
(Progressions Mix) 1|2
(The Deepend Remix) 1|2
(The Sundowner Mix) 1|2

Written, remixed and produced by Yukun, Johan Eide and Dmitry Bessonov.
Published by Intercontinental Publishing Corp.
(C) 2009 Headstone Music / Paul Weiss LLC

posted by Adminstrator @ 9:19 PM 0 comments

I once was lost but now...



Just when I thought it was getting draggy... Season 5 just got me interested again with it's space / time continuum twist. So hurry the hell up and tell us what the bloody island really is now! :p

posted by Adminstrator @ 6:03 PM 0 comments

Countdown has begun...



posted by Adminstrator @ 2:46 AM 2 comments

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Don't pray pray, ok?



I was bored so I tuned on the TV and the localized version of Don't Forget The Lyrics was on. Firstly, Gurmit Singh is no Wayne Brady. I don't know if the producers are lazy or what but I'm sure there's a huge pool of talents out there to choose from who can certainly pronounce English properly instead of Gurmit's gargled speech. If we're seriously lack of talent, what about importing foreign ones. Afterall, it's no rocket science when it comes to creating an imbalance in the labour force.

Gurmit aside, I couldn't survive FIVE minutes.



Why? There on stage, an-out-of-shape mother-of-four, completely destroying ABBA's "Take A Chance" on national TV. If she was my mother, I swear I'd have put a bullet to her head to save the entire family from embarrassment. For fuck sake, are the producers TONE DEAF too?

Fuck free-to-air channels. Fuck local TV. Thank God for Rapidshare and HDTV share groups. If you know what I mean.



posted by Adminstrator @ 8:10 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

You got, we also got!

America's first BLACK President...




Singapore's first BLACK President...



OOPS! WRONG PHOTO!

posted by Adminstrator @ 10:31 PM 0 comments