 Today I went to the preview of Mulberry's new mens collection that also featured the live painting and decorating of Mulberry's take on the Faberge egg.
During the month of April, large Faberge eggs will be painted by designers and 'hidden' in a range of locations around the city. People are encouraged to download the app and find all the eggs, to raise money for the Elephant Family - a conservationist group that helps to save the endangered Asian elephant and its habitat. There I met one of NY's hottest event DJs - Brendan Fallis. One thing I've already noticed about New York is that there are a lot more "brand event" DJs in comparison to London. Actually, here the DJs themselves are personalities whereas in London they'll get a personality to show up at an event, stick a pre recorded CD in, twist a few knobs and hold the headphones pensively as if they are proving the E=mc2 theory ... I think NY will be an interesting music scene to examine in the next two months. Onto said music things, on my Shazam tag list (yes guilty) ... "Happy (Mountal Remix)" - Pharrell Otherwise, the track list ranged from boppy tunes from the 90s peppered with cool house remixes of MGMT and Empire of the Sun.
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 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:
 Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club is one of those hidden beauties in the heart of often trashy Soho in London. A beautiful escape from the bright lights and drunken zombies. For a few quid you can park yourself in front of some inspiring music, till the late hours of the morning. Jazz is poetry. It is one of the most hybrid genres of music, with influences from all corners of the globe. One of my favourite Jazz composers is Ketil Bjornstad. Melancholic productions that bring up feelings of nostalgia, reflection and appreciation of the beauty of life. I discovered him after watching a Polish film - Samotność w sieci, for which he composed the entire soundtrack.
Of course, jazz music has influenced house music. Melodies that intertwine with bass beats, high hats, subtle trumpets and highlights the beauty when two genres come together. Here are some tracks to think about: "Atmosphere" - Kerri Chandler " Jazz For You" - Chase Buch "In The Music" - Deep Swing "Jealous" - Martin Rothbarth  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  Dark, moody, chic. Blakes bar in London oozes class and untold stories. Today I'll be spinning some tunes in one of my favourite places in London. This place just makes you feel like a million bucks. A little track list of what's to come: Blakes // 33 Roland Gardens, London SW7 3PF
Last night was my second gig of my month long residency at Tazmania Ballroom in Hong Kong. It’s a great place where people meet for a drink before continuing their night, or stay to play ping pong and listen to music. Tazmania Ballroom opened in 2010 and is much like a glamorous speakeasy bar. Designed by Tom Dixon, it oozes class and sophistication.  A mix of foreigners and Hong Kong trendy locals mingle over bottles of champagne and competitive rounds of ping-pong. On Wednesdays, the ping-pong tables are replaced with pool tables that come down from the ceiling. how very James Bond-esque. If you’re not in the know or well connected, slipping past the doormen may be a challenge. I played a more funky, rnb inspired set last night. I’m liking tracks with hard bass lines and edgy lyrics these days, they are great party starters and also good beats to listen to even when just having a drink at the bar. And a little shameless blowing own trumpet moment – I received a cute little note … Tremendous. What a word! 
 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.  Morning flights are killers. BUT – I prefer them to mid-day flights. Then your day is totally wasted. I finish my last gig for the month in Downtown Cipriani and dip into The Cuckoo Club to say hi to some friends before hitting the sack. I jump on the Tube and whizz straight to Terminal 5. My destination today : Copenhagen. I’m going to play for what will be a very special wedding, set in an estate complete with it’s own historic castle just outside of the city. I assume some sort of Royal association ... Access to the BA Lounges are really a life saver. After NOT queuing and NOT being short that one pence for my coffee, finding a quiet seat without a screaming kid in sight, I get stuck into finding two versions of ‘Hava Nagila’ – the traditional version and a house version that I could mix it with to start my set.
Hava Nagila for the non-Jews: <noun> / celebratory dance where the bride and groom are put on chairs, typical in most Jewish weddings. Weddings are tough gigs. I think they're harder than clubs ... You have an eclectic group of people – different ages, different experiences, different tastes. And depending on the amount of alcohol consumed – different moods. Oh and another important thing – requests. If they’re gonna happen anywhere, it’s right here. So put you’re DJ pride and prejudice back in the case and suck it up. You’re here for the people, not to preach. Of course the general feeling at any wedding is – LOVE IS IN THE AIR! Some tracks I’m keen to re-live :  Below the grand staircase, past the glittering Main Room, through a small corridor that leads to the kitchen take a right before you hit the service area. Find yourself in a dark entrance, a small cloak room before you. Once your name has been screened and it’s assessed that you do belong here (and haven’t just tried to follow the white rabbit) you’re led into a small, intimate space of emerald green. The Green Room. One of my first DJ gigs in London was in this room. Notorious for deep house sets that go on into the morning, the Green Room is in a secret space in one of London’s premier clubs Maddox. It takes a lot more than a table reservation to get in. The selective guest list is by invitation only by either the DJ or friends of those tight with the club owners. I’m returning to the Green Room tonight after almost a year of absence. I’ve had a bit of a download session this morning and waiting to hear these tracks through a good sound system:
But before that, some fun at the Green Room. It’s an envious little playground of good music, people and smooth sexy beats. 
 I woke up to a stunning blue sky with a view of the sea, from my room’s balcony. I’m not a huge breakfast fan but I’m going to admit – feed me salty white cheese with a smother of rose petal jam on fresh bread and I’ll be eating breakfast every day! My driver came to pick me up and take me to Xuma. After a little laze in the sun, I was introduced to the club’s very own personal trainer Baris Cunguroglu. As you’d expect from personal trainers – fit, confident and a complete know it all. I was scheduled for a session with him at 1pm. Apparently he’d been watching me and concluded ‘ you tend to walk with your knees inwards, you have zero arm strength and your ass is too big’.
I was going to say something like – some men find big asses hot, but we’re not in Brazil. Far from it actually. We’re in Turkey, where asses are flat. So with honesty on the table, we started the work out. Within fifteen minutes, I swore to myself I was never eating again. My legs burned at the second set of pulsing squats. I had to admit though, with almost 3 weeks since my last exercise session, I deserved all the burning and pain. A memorable reminder of how important it is to keep your body in shape. As my legs squatted for the fifteenth time I cursed the cheese and the jam … (Of course, I was back at the breakfast buffet the next morning. ) |
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