Come on ride the train, in silence ! Well not in complete silence ... silent discothequeing !

About 40 - 50 of us met at the Broadway entrance of the J-train subway for a silent disco with Seth Troxler.
No-one knew what to expect, but like good little soldiers we all gathered at 8:45pm and rode the 9 o'clock to Brooklyn.

 We all got off at Hewes Street, crossed the platform and waited for the J-train back to Manhattan. Huddled at the end of the platform, as the subway approached anticipation rose. Green fluorescent dots shone bright through the harsh orange platform lights, as everyone switched on their headphones. 

Fondue, fire places and red wine. That about sums up the perfect weekend in the snow. Maybe a slide or two on a sleigh. Well, that was the standard till I stumbled upon - and played, in a private club in one of the most beautiful chalet's in Verbier, Switzerland.

This weekend I was a guest of Chalet L. Raphael. Easily one of the largest and  .. who else has an underground swimming pool AND club underneath their snowy driveways.

The party lasted till every CD in my case was out and strewn across the decks. A little breather to break up the long set was happily welcomed as I got to play B2B with long time Parisian friend Benjamin Kazan, part owner of the infamous Chez Raspoutine club in Paris.


Some tracks dropped:

• "00.5" - Carlo Gambino

• "Finder" - Ninetoes

• "Fall For You ( Sandy River's Classic Mix) " - Kings of Tomorrow
  
  • "Kiss ( Rene Amesz)" - Prince
    
    So as you can see .. quite the eclectic mix
    
    
    
    

Truffled burgers, rose and deep house ... ah did someone say a well curated brunch party or what?

Today marks the first of many brunch parties to be held by NAC, a new restaurant in Mayfair. Owned by a good friend of mine, I'm excited to be apart of this new concept. The whole team is super fun and the crowd loves music .. always a win win.

Here's a little tracklist of what's to come

"Everything ( Mark Fanciulli remix )" - Rampa
"The Guitar Man" - Weiss
"United" - Claptone
"I wanna feel" - Secondcity

Come down for a tipple and a dance!
NAC // 41 North Audley Street, London

24 hours in Hong Kong and I already feel like a local. I’m still pinching myself that I am finally here. With no time to waste, I was out on the streets. I already found an organic store, conveniently two doors down from my apartment, a cute wine bar and I had my first taste of the legendary club Dragon-i.

I meet James, the musical director and booker for both Dragon-i and Tazmania Ballroom (both clubs are owned by the same owner) for dinner. James if flamboyant, fun and straight out there fantastic. We had dinner at Dragon-i’s restaurant that later turns into the main dance floor. It’s filled with models – basically cause they are treated like royalty here. It’s the usual situation where your comp card is the gateway to a surplus of food and alcohol.

The night was heavy. It was a public holiday in Hong Kong the next day so those that stayed in town, were right here on Wyndham Street. By 11pm the club was full and Remy, the resident DJ stepped into the booth. This guy has some technical talent – I haven’t heard such an eclectic mix of house, rnb and a mash up of rock since my youthful discotheque days.

Everyone was just a little too hospitable and nice – I got home at 4:30am. It did seem to cure my jet lag though.

Today I walked around the area and had lunch with a friend overlooking the Hong Kong bay. He then booked me in for a reflexology session in his new spa – this is exactly what a DJ needs ! Those legs to be pampered and zenned out.

Ten Feet Tall is the name of the little piece of heaven I predict I’ll be frequenting as many times as I go clubbing here … It’s so good it scored a blog post on my world guide, right here.

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of returning to Turkey for not one, but two gigs. The first was in Bodrum, a holiday resort city in the south of Turkey. A bit like St.Tropez but more wild and rugged, less developed.

I was a guest of Xuma Beach Club – a more bohemian and laid back beach club compared to the other flash and tres chic such as Maca Kizi or Bianca Beach Club.

Flying in a day earlier to enjoy the sunshine and simply hang out was, ever so kindly - my hosts idea. With rain and very un-summer temperatures forecast for London, there was no way I was sticking around.


From the moment I stepped off the plane it was Turkish hospitality to the T.

38*C at 2pm there was only one place I was headed for ... the beach.

I had a quick but fresh lunch with the owner, Kamil by the water. If you ever get to go, Xuma has everything that you would need for a day out in the sun. Plenty of sun beds by the water or under large shady trees, a restaurant serving up great seafood, a cafe, a masseuse and even a gym.

I then met the everyone who worked at the restaurant and sat at the beach bar to enjoy the local drink of the region and enjoy  sunset beats from the resident DJ. The cocktail, called Sandoz was a mixture of freshly squeezed mandarin juice, orange juice and vodka. Let’s just say, I didn’t stop at one.

As a DJ, I like to get the feel of the place before I play so that you can entertain the crowd to the best of your ability. I love to study the people; what are they drinking, what are they wearing, are they young or older?  – all these things tell you the vibe and what music they listen to. Of course, a DJ doesn’t always have this luxury and these details are usually provided to you by the promoter but it’s a bonus if you can do it yourself.

On the 10th of June, 2013, techno legend Sven Vaeth hosted a welcome dinner like no other.

To mark the beginning of the 14th season of  Cocoon at the super club Amnesia in Ibiza, the artist and friends dinner took place right on the dance floor. It was the first time ever such an event took place in Amnesia.

I was lucky enough to be invited, having worked for Cocoon Records and being a friend and supporter of the team before that.

Guests included the artists playing that night – Ricardo Villalobos, Dorian Paic, Julien Bracht. Guy Gerber was in the Main Room doing sound check. It will be interesting to see how the crowd reacts to the new Main Room. It received a renovation during winter with the DJ booth moved from high up above, down to the dance floor. This will change the whole dynamic, allowing greater DJ-audience interaction and give the illusion of a bigger space.

Cocoon as you should know, throws their weekly parties every Monday night till the 30th of September this year. Cocoon will also hold a residency in Tipic – a small club in Formentera on Thursday nights till the 12th of September.
I made a little video of the night ... it didn't go till the final hours, I was too busy dancing!