 * Season two is upon us. With two cities added - Mexico City and Paris, and new rules the Championship can only grow further. This year will also see more from the music side of things. Exclusive mixes, previews of the Emotion Club and collabs with the official EJ make for exciting times. *  * As with every year, there is an event the night before to mark the opening of the race. This year, it was again in the Pangu Residence with a opulent Chinese-themed cocktail reception. With no Chinese dress to wear, I set out to find a headpiece that would make a statement. With less than 24hours to find one ... success came in the form of some angels and the W Hotel concierge. It was not an easy feat to DJ with a gold Pheonix atop one's head. * My home for the race day is the Emotion Club. A VIP enclosure for those who want that extra special attention and care during the race. And they get to listen to my beats all day! The after party this yera was held in the basement of chic hotel Opposite House. It's sharp architecture reminded me of the Prada store in Omotesando, Toyko. 
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Landed safely in Beijing. To one-digit degree weather ... brrr. Having a day off is rare during any FE race so I took the opportunity with the PR girls to go and do what I didn't have time to do last year ... see the Great Wall of China.  * It was just under a two hour drive from the centre of Beijing. As we left the grey smog of the city behind, the colours of autumn were slowly showing emerging from the edges of the highway. Yellows, reds and oranges flickered on the branches of tall, slim trees. * Finally getting to the Wall, we learn we have just under an hour before the whole show shuts down. Great. Guess there''' be no trecking today. * Without offending the cultural importance of the Wall ... the toboggan slide down was probably the most highly anticipated feature of the expedition that everyone was looking most forward too. For sure, if another trip to Beijing happens I'd like to take a day and treck from one end to the other. But for now, that steep, fast glide down the mountain between the harvesting trees and views of rolling hills made that two hour journey back well worth the effort.
 The E-motion Club, where I spent most of the day, was high above the track with a stunning view of the port and the royal headquarters high above. The Prince himself made a visit, as did his watchful security guard. At least this time I didn't have a wine in hand. This was a momentous occasion for FE, as we were on the stomping ground of F1. The industry heavyweights didn't think we could make it this far ... but at race number seven, here we are still going strong.    
Vogue. The bible of fashion. The benchmark for style. To be invited to a party hosted by Vogue, you know you're in the circle of the elite. To be playing for a party hosted by Vogue - well, it's an honour. Vogue's bi-annual fashion week party held at the iconic Borchardt restaurant was the setting for yesterday's party. I played along with one half of the Felder + Felder twins - Dani.   After a sound check and quick bite at the nearby Bocca di Bacco (George Clooney's favourite haunt we later find out), it was show time. Dressed in matching FELDER + FELDER prints, our heels were strapped on and ready to rock the DJ booth. One thing I have to credit to the Germans ... no two.
It was hard to concentrate on the mixing. Of course, it was highly probable half of them were gay. I have a tendency to rate gay men.The night went on to the early hours of the morning, champagne flowed and Prada heels were swung off.  Sample track list : " No Eyes (MYNGA remix) " - Claptone " Tainted Love (DANK remix) - Soft Cell "Feel You" - Tapetenweschel "Time to get physical (Botan remix)" - Nice7 "Talkin bout" - Mees Dierdop With thanks to FELDER + FELDER for the dress. Headphones by Urbanears. All round fun by the team at Borchardt and Vogue Germany.
 Landed in sunny hot Buenos Aires! Race number 4 of the FIA Formula E is on Saturday, but before that I've got some promo to do. There's nothing like spreading the word with music. One of the sponsors of driver Luca de Grassi organised a dinner and short set for me to play at VITA, one of the hottest new bars in Palermo Soho. This area is exploding with hip and trendy restaurants and bars, where people spill out onto the cobble stone streets under the amber streetlights. VITA Buenos Aires has a rooftop bar with DJ booth and small tables scattered around. Since I'm in South America I thought it appropriate to play some Latin infused beats, tribal house mixed with the new deep house tracks. I have to admit that walking around Buenos Aires, even their corner stores play decent and recent house tracks. Vita track list : "Do you feel the same" (Oliver Dollar remix) - Hercules & Love Affair "Prayer in C" (Robin Schulz remix) - Lilly Wood & The Prick & Robin Schulz "Trumpets Victory" - David August "Box Clever" - Huxley "Magic" - Lars Moston, Teenage Mutants  Thanks to all those who came down. If you are coming to the Formula E race then catch me all day at the Emotion Club!  after-party noun a party held after another event, especially a concert or another party. * * * Yup, it was that time again. The after party of the race! Held in the stunning Luna Sky Bar overlooking Kuala Lumpur, the rain made things a little slow at the start but soon everyone was in the pool and rocking. I didn't get to see much of Kuala Lumpur thanks to the fever but the view from up the top was certainly a tour guide in one. Champagne flowed, tequila was shot and a domino of exhausted yet excited Formula E workers fell into the pool. Unfortunately, the indecisive rain meant I couldn't DJ in the E-booth that was brought out. But nevertheless we carried on with the festivities. Sample track list: "Blame" - Calvin Harris "My head is a jungle (MK remix)" - Wanklemut "Everything (Mark Fanciulli remix)" - Rampa "Need you" - Duke Dumont "Heartbreaker (Diskjokke remix)" - Metronomy Special thanks to my girls at FELDER FELDER for glamming me up again for the event.Check their threads here : FELDER FELDER
 * * * After a short but sweet stop over in Hong Kong, it was time to head to Putraya, Malaysia for Race #2 of the FIA Formula E Championship, of which I am resident DJ. Despite a free upgrade to Business <insert happy dance>, I managed to catch a cold aboard the meat fridge - sorry, plane. So my first 24 hours in Malaysia were less than glamorous. Bed ridden, clogged up sinuses and up to my ears in the duvet, my only consolation was that I finally had that sexy husky voice every female wishes she had. Ahh but alas, with no one to show it to. With a 5:30am call time on Saturday's race day, I felt like I was back in my modelling days. Only with no make-up artist to fuss over me. The Emotion Club opened to the guests at 7:30am, so I was in for a good eight hours of music making. The Putraya track WAS quite overwhelming. The main lane was in line with the Presidential Palace, a towering majestic building that looked like something from Aladdin. The race was just as thrilling at the Beijing race. With crashes and over takings of skill, the crowd cheered on as De Grassi of Audi - who started in 18th place, went on to craftily work his way up to a second place finish during the 31 laps. AFter the race there was a small after party in the Emotion Club, but soon everyone dwindled away to rest up for the big event tonight at Kuala Lumpur's Luna Sky Bar.
Emotion Club sample track list: "Slow Down ( Pixelated Remix )" - Poolside "What's That" - Juliet Sikora, Chemical Surf "Oooh" - Superflu "Slip Away" - Bambook feat. Cari Golden "Help me to remember" - Sugar Hill  On the weekend I traveled to Frankfurt for Sven Vath's 50th birthday. I first met Sven properly about four years ago when he was playing at the Future Festival in Sydney, Australia. I had briefly met the Cocoon family during the Kave parties in Ibiza before that, but here I was Sven's back-up dancer. Literally. I had been in the crowd with one of my best friends, dancing like we were back in high school. Electronic music still didn't demand a large stage at Australian music festivals back then, so Sam and I had almost a whole dance floor to craze around on. We were both plucked up and put on stage where we continued to dance for the remainder of the set. As the world continued to prove smaller, when I moved to London the following year I was sharing the same apartment with Sarah Qaiser - head dancer at Cocoon, who is now sister and partner in crime. Later on, living in Ibiza Mondays were spent in Amnesia for Sven's Cocoon residency, then I would go on to work for Cocoon and thus a relationship with not just Sven but the whole Cocoon group would make them family. So there was no question that the trip to Mannehim would not happen. It was also an opportunity to write a feature for Pulse Radio, detailing the night. Check it out below >> http://pulseradio.net/articles/2014/10/time-warp-papa-sven-turns-50-in-review 
  230 miles, six hours, three trains, two coffees and an angry inspection lady (who eventually kicked me off the train, adding an extra hour to my travel time) and I was at the gates of the Mint Festival with an All Access Pass and my Artist Band in hand. I was there to interview the DJs - some of the greatest in today's electronic music scene. Not a bad gig. In true English fashion, it was bloody freezing with drizzle creating a light fog. In true English fashion, most people were dressed like it was an Australian summers day. A circus themed field sprawled across Lincolnshire Showground with options to please any music junkie, on every notch of the spectrum. From disco to dub-step, drum’n’bass and techno – everyone was covered. A stellar line up on each stage proved it difficult to choose where to head to first. Personally the stand out sets that I had seen were Skream, Richy Ahmed and MK. I’d never been hugely interested in MK but his energy and the vibe he created on stage was epic. Skream left the stage with a banger of a "Sexual Healing" remix, to the extent that Hot Since 82 was a little ruffled as to how to take over the decks. With class he let the track play out and let Skream take his bow. It’s so refreshing when DJs treat each other amicably. Something the older generation can take note of. Egos and bad taste rivalry are so boring.  Richy Ahmed on the Paradise Stage The biggest disappointment for me was not getting an interview with Paul Van Dyk. Even though I am not into his music anymore, he is still quite the legend and has lasted the distance in an industry that can chew you up and destroy you within a few years. PVD had to rush off straight after his set – meaning literally off the stage and into a black car without even a moment to make eye contact. Boo. Sander Van Door - among a few others, had quite the expensive taste. Three bottles of Dom Perignon sat in his rider box. And no, I wasn't offered a glass. Vintage tequilas, top of the range gins ... not a beer in sight. Despite the dramatic weather the festival was an all rounder - well organised, well planned and well ... bloody fun. My favourite interviews were with the always smiling Dyed Soundorom, Ryan Crosson of Visionquest and Skream. Down to earth, funny and know a thing or two about music.
 It's the day before the big race. After checking some CDs and finalising playlists, I set out for a quick tourist trip to Tiananmen Square and Summer Palace. Big bummer I can't make it to The Great Wall of China ... but hey, #firstworldproblem *** Observation #1 ... Unlike in Japan where every man, woman and child are wide-eyed giggling behind shy hands and asking for photos of you - the Chinese quite simply couldn't give a toss. I am quite clearly the tallest, blondest, most alien looking on the subway and no one even bats an eyelid. Talk about feeling invisible. Yet this quickly changes as I get to The Temple of Heaven. Tourists all pointing iPhones and gadgets this way and that, suddenly start asking for photos. Before I know it there is a queue - yes a queue, of little children and eager adults wanting a photo with moi at the steps of the Tian Tian - the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest. I'm feeling famous! ...that is, before I get back onto the subway. Ba-humbug. Observation #2 ... Maps of any kind are completely useless and only there to confuse tourists. After asking concierge what the best way to the subway was from the hotel, after standing for fifteen minutes trying to decipher his broken English and after walking away two steps feeling pretty victorious the Chinese man stops me, points to the map and says "map no good. All map no good" shrugs, then leaves me to my own devices. Luckily my sense of direction is pretty good. I manage to figure my way around town despite the ridiculous amount of barricades that try to throw me off my path. |
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