|
Secret Island Party 16/10/2015 ~ by Nick the Bookman
This story's for Robert: 30/7/1987 - 5/3/2012.
And how was your weekend my devoted fans and readers? Mine was pretty much a mega-bender, starting about 0300 Thursday morning (15/10/2015) and finishing about midnight Sunday (18/10/2015) and that's roughly, er...I've run out of digits... 93 hours or so. Let me explain...
It was the 3rd Secret Island Party held at Dai Lo Wong on Lantau. A good sneak warm up for both the Lamma Fun Day in mid-November and Clockenflap 2015 later that same month. All of which I'll endeavour to compress into pithy prose for your delectation and amusement. But that's later down the road.
Robert was my nephew. He was born prematurely and with some internal complications (not getting too technical here). Spent his first nine years in HK and then the family moved to Andorra in 1996.
Never saw him again, although we had a lovely chat on the phone Xmas Day 2005 or 2006. He developed a brain tumour which first took his sight, one eye at a time, and then killed him. Sarah, his mum, came back to HK last month for the 40th anniversary of her Island School Class of '75 reunion. And she brought his ashes with her for me to scatter (eventually) and honour his memory. Long story short. Robert was my very special guest of honour at SIP2015.
Everyone at SIP that I told this story to and showed them Robert, basically got moist and teary eyed and said it was a brilliant gesture and exactly the right thing to do. So, it was my chance to add to the afterlife adventures of this fine young man. His time on earth was not without travails and torments but he lived his life as well as he could and he died as gamely and without fuss as he was able to. He had Class!
So what is SIP (Part 3)? To quote from the brochure it's "...a private little heaven where you're able to free your mind and spirit from the shackles of everyday monotony to play in our secret island world". Over 100 live acts and performances in five different areas.
Arts and crafts activities tailored to the kids. Good food and booze, Silent Disco on the beach crammed with tents. Yoga sessions. Live drums. Live bands. Live DJ's. All brought to you by Hushup Events who "...are at the forefront of Creative Event hosting. As they say "we don't do run of the mill and definitely don't do boring" Well. I'll buy that for a buck!
I really must thank Tamara and Jim (and beautiful baby Gemma) for inviting me to come along with my limited set of DJ skills to do my bit. I guess my DJ sets up at Open Space were a good enough marker to get an invite to the party. Amy's told me she loves my mixing (or choices of tunes). I'm apparently Rose's favourite DJ for what I play.
But I'm sure Jim is higher up the scale in her appreciation. I've said it before and as it's true, deserves repeating. Jim and DJ Nipper are world class performers. Nipper and I have done some 50 CD mixes up at his place over the years. He's very patient and indulgent with me. Jim gives me a place to play "my shit". They are great people and friends and I'm proud to have them be part of my life.
So, three days of hedonism are waiting for me. Get the ferry to town. Get the ferry to town. (You've done that bit already. Get on with it!) Get the ferry to Cheung Chau. Get a sampan to the secret site. Revel in the Rabelaisiana! Here are some fragments of memories from the past few days...
Big hi here's to "Buzz" and his seven month old son Red-Li. His Mom is unable to be here and "Buzz" is doing a helluva of a job of being both parents. Helped by his older son Nathan who manages to blag nearly all of my cigarettes. I don't smoke them, but there's always someone panting for a "gasper", so be prepared and make friends. Love and affection back to Daniela Watanabe. She's a model with Harmonia Costumes and is wearing a stunning Amerindian war bonnet with feathers that nearly kiss the ground. She signed my book "Hi, Nick. I'm Daniella. Let's have fun." I'm pretty sure we did, but not necessarily together. As for Secret Island, she found it "nice to be in such a creative and inspiring environment".
There are four bands playing tonight at the Corona Sunset Stage. Oya are first. Graham, an old mate, is on guitar. The evergreen and irrepressible Koya spanks the bass plank with aplomb and style as befitting his legendary Old Man status among the Young Turks of the current local music scene. Malte is the powerhouse drummer.
Lamma residents will remember his incendiary performance with Sue Shearman (RIP and bless her) and New Tonic Press at LFD 2014. Mary Jane is the sweetly accomplished singer and guitarist and debutante dancer/back-up singer. Tiff is a mesmeric, svelte and slightly more garbed version of Stacia. One for the Hawkwind fans there! They kick out the jams at the end with great versions of "Spanish Caravan" and "When The Music's Over". Both by The Doors, of course.
MouseFX is up next. He played on Lamma at the recent Reggae Sunspliff (there I go again!) night on Power Station Beach. He's upped his game big time tonight. Heavy on the echo and reverb and CHAOS chaos it's a steel pulse groove. Locked and loaded and aimed at your genital Garden of Delights. When you've got them by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow... You know what I mean. Good work fella!
Thud are the third band of the night. They specialise in shoegaze dream rock. They're signed to Mike and Jane's label Songs For Children. I met Kim the singer and Andy the lead guitarist at a Finnish dream pop gig in Central a few nights earlier. Jaakko and Henri play synths and drums respectively. Kim guested on one of their songs. It was a beautiful collaboration. The boys stayed on Lamma for a couple of days. That story isn't written yet, but will be forthcoming. The full band is Kim on synths and vox. Andy on lead guitar and FX shit. Sky on co-lead guitar and sometime rhythm guitar.
And da brudders Cheuk Wan on booming bass and Cheuk Wai on the thunder drums. They played eight songs. Half from their debut EP. They are up and coming so check them out.
Final band of the night is The Anello who twist indie, electronica with trumpets and hip hop into a seething sonic stew. I think the guys have both played Clockenflap before so their class is not in doubt. As I'm leaving The Corona Stage, I bump into Sacha and Pilar. You wrote some blushfully beautiful things about me in my book.
Which I'm not going to share with you pervy readers! That's a joke of course, but I'm still not sharing. I am looking forward to getting the photo of the three of us. You lovely lasses were the first to go ahead and Make My Day(Night). Keep in touch, please!!
Missed all the DJ action at the Once Upon A Boom stage for Friday night due to early closing. I'm supposed to play an hour between 10.30 and 11.30 am Saturday, but that's after a long stroll to Tent City on the beach and a night spent reading about the Life and Times of General George A. Custer. What an arrogant twat he was. Rose too fast through the ranks and his talent was second best to his ascent. Had a bit of trouble getting past the excitable security as I didn't have my artist's armband. Just didn't get to it in time. Ah well! Don't sweat the small stuff. It'll work out for the best.
Spent a fine morning on the beach with Dom, who is a partner of Rachel the organiser/co-ordinator of this fine festival. Also big hi to Tim who I hadn't seen in ages. Oh yeah, the same to Ishi who made up our foursome. You made the morning walk back enjoyable, guys.
Somewhere about this time I (mis)heard a possible quote of the day.
Or maybe I didn't, but just imagined it. Lack of sleep causes strange hysterias. Anyway, it was something like "Your nose looks empty. Does it need a top up of coke?" I guess you had to be there.
Another big manly hug/embrace of bonding to Pete who is playing Easy Morning Tunes at the Boom Room. It's a splendid set that goes down smoother than a velvet Irish coffee, but I'm fucked if I can remember any of the tunes. Well, I was fucked before trying to remember any of the tunes so I guess you've all got two fucks for the price of one in this sentence. Pete does his two and a half hour set. We've exchanged gifts and I'm ready for my Big Moment...
Let's make that three fucks in two sentences. I haven't got the least inkling of a jot of an iota of how to use these fabulous Pioneer CDJ decks. I'm used to the Old Classic Technics CD decks which by a splendid coincidence are the DJ Tool of Choice for both Jim and Nipper. I've done all my mixes on Nipper's Technics Wheels of Steel.
Jim has the same model up at Open Space. I'm comfortable with these decks. Not a lot to learn. For me, I know how to make time run sdrawkcab. I can fastforwardtopartsofsongsIneed. It's quick and easy to eject and replace new CD's. I really don't need what seems like 72 extra buttons of irrelevant (to me) options which got me so confused I left huge gaps of silence in the first three minutes of my gig.
So let's go to Plan B. Here's a little one I made earlier.
NixMix #14 (from about 2001). I manage to get it playing and the audience gets a totally unexpected blast of "Apocalypse Now" (helicopters and Wagner and all. Blended into "Kaddish" by Towering Inferno, who Eno once described as the most frightening band that he'd ever heard. Blended into Gulf War Two by Moshic, an Israeli darktrance expert. And then War Of The Worlds with Orson Wells and 15 minutes of the remixed dance version of Jeff Wayne's W.O.T.W. Then some "Star Storm" by UFO mashed into "Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun" by Pink Floyd. Some gorgeous anony-lady told me she like what I was playing. I am now and forever her number one fan. Thanks darling.
Anyway, it wasn't the best gig I've done. At least in live mixing terms, but technically it was my mix. Must do better next time. If I get a return chance. Casey who is following me with an electronic/ambient/breaks/house mix gets to play a little longer and I now have room to roam and meet groovy fellow travellers. After stashing my bag with approximately 95 CDs behind the stage where it will remain unplundered for the rest of the Festival.
Saturday is spent doing The Trudge from Boom to Sunset. After catching Casey do a nice lay off to bring MLCH into action with a bubbly progtribal roam around the decks. Casey seems to have a definite Moroder vibe at this point. The Giorgio Force-io is strong in this one, young master Luke. MLCH's set devolves later when he moves into tribal funk territory which is not quite my bag, MLCH (is it pronounced "Mulch"?) hands off to Crimes Against Pop who I remember from a Clockenflap past. He's dapper with a cane and bow tie. She's a dancing loon with butterfly wings. It's all very pleasant, but I'm approaching the Sunset stage of my life now. So that's where I spend the rest of the day.
Jas Josland and her two Asian sidekicks put on a great show.
She's all pretty in pink. Wig included. Her boys are Tatsuya on drums and Alex D Bass on, well bass, obviously. Power pop with punky fuzz laden undertones and she's eye candy as a bonus. Oink! Oink! Am I a sexist pig or what? (For the record, none of me think so. All of me are as one with this) Jas is a sweetie to chat to after her set is over. Her songs include "Blue Eyes", "Ditched" "Zombie" and "Hot Sun Holiday". I want to see her play again. And I do, but that's for later.
When I go to talk to Jas, she reminds me we have in fact met. At the Indie punk gig at the Lamma Bar and Grill on 13/6/2015. I missed her set, but we chatted. Songs like "Blue Eyes", "Tell You" and "Hot Summer Holiday" featured in her one girl set then and with her trio today.
There must have been something in the water I drank.
Everything is getting gloriously dayglo and I'm feeling no pain at all. This is turning into Hashbury '68 with added street music. I don't think I'm alone in experiencing this psychedelic flashback to twelve years ago. Which was about the last time I experienced glorious dayglo. And now that I've worked out what's up doc? I know the Cosmic Answer. It's me. What's that quote again. Oh yeah, "There is turmoil under the heavens and the situation is excellent". Which it remains for the next 15 hours. Fragmented hours at that. Seconds sliced in space shards. Everyone is talking 18 varieties of echospeak. My beard has turned into a major babe magnet. Getting more fondling than a bag full of Angora cats. And I appear to have met Jesus who believes I am his son. I'll play along. No need to burst anyone's delusion and trip. This is how to run a Festival! Can I have another glass of water?....
(This is an Authorial Interjection right now. Don't believe all the druggy stuff was done by me alone. When I write, it's a mixture of mostly fact, some reportage/reviewing and selective exaggeration mixed with interesting vocabulary. These druggy interludes are basically a distillation of what I saw and heard from other people over the three days. I'll cop to doing acid back at the turn of the Millennium, but not really since then. C'mon. If I was as fucked up as I make myself out to be, I'd never be able to write this epic. I know hash and grass was being smoked. I know some ecstacy was doing the rounds and also acid. Possibly some coke as well. Maybe harder drugs, but that's not my bag. I did have some smoke to share with like minded friends as well as a wonderful "E", but that's the limit. Along with drinks, of course. I was in complete comfac of my mandulties all weekend.
And so what? Drugs have been a mainstay of the human race for at least ten thousand years. It's a pleasure that is never going to go away. Prohlbition in its varied styles never works. But how to discuss drug use in a rational way? It's the 20-ton blue whale in the wading pool. My gut feeling is that all drugs should be legalized and put back on the doctors for prescription. Should cut out the criminal element. But we can't stop people doing them. So the best thing is to have order and rationality. There must be places where you can get your pill tested to make sure it is ecstasy. Not some bastard lab rat droppings of heroin/ketamine/brick and chalk and possible shit and sweat as well. No sense in deliberately ruining your feeder market. A Leah Betts situation can and does occur, but at least know what you're taking and that the conditions for using are optimally safe. No pressure. No censure. No guilt trips. Everyone wants to have fun. And get home afterwards. If the powers that be are going to be rank hypocrites over this, then make the same rules for everyone. Run the HK Sevens each year with no alcohol at all. See how much money that brings in! Right, rant over. Back to the Party.)
Somewhere in all this fun I manage to see Dark Himaya who are as breathtakingly brilliant as they always are. Especially the ladies slot with Ivy and Aileen giving it some extraordinary vocal welly. The boys are off busking for a beer or something, but gallantly respond to Aileen's plaintive call "Can we have our boys back. We need you" (to finish the set). Songs all available on their debut release. Of which a dozen copies are lying near me and I have DH's gracious permission to give them to whoever wants them. So I do. And all these people called whoever do want them.
It was also nice to see Ewa's husband, Dave, enjoying the gig when he wasn't busy handing out flyers for the forthcoming Lamma Fun Day on 7/11/2015. On Power Station Beach. It'll finish in time for off-Islanders to get the last ferry back to Central. Or stay at the Beach all night listening and watching Jim's awesome grooves and moves. All are welcome.
Defiant Scum raise the fucking roof with their abrasive balls in yer face approach to song structure and melody. Basically, it's a maelstrom of drums, guitars, bass and Mozz on scintillating form as the tortured singer. Roaming the front of the stage, whispering his delicate love ballads to all and sundry, No not really. The audience seems to be splitting like amoebas and doing the Hotfoot Stomp like tortured souls on Hell's huge griddle plate. I wanted to play "Pirates of Cheung Chau" by them and segue into "Frigging In The Rigging" as part of my set. But it was not meant to be.
It's an hour from now and I've managed to see some of 9 Maps.
Also veterans of Clockenflaps of Yore. They seem to have lost Gabe as a drummer, but the ladies (Sharon stage left and Olivia stage right) are still there. Aided by another lass on extra synths. The songs are as seductive and sweet as I remember from before. And with added ukulele in one case. And here's another flashback made flesh. A guy dressed in nifty black plastic rags and his hair tied up on half of his head comes over and say's "Remember Me?" The duality of life because I do but I don't. I do because he says I do and I don't because he hasn't said from where. Two words. Dan Deacon. Second Show.
OK, four words. Sean was the dude who jumped in and saved me when Dan got me to start the dancing for his set. I was a bit confused then too! You can read the story on Jim's Open Space Facebook page. Clockenflap 2015, that was one for the ages! Thanks, Sean for coming along. Then and Now.
The mighty Dr Eggs follow 9 Maps. Jas is his new lead guitarist. Dressed in black/white checkerboard patterns and with an equally inspired and garbed bassist. Meanwhile, the Good Doctor reminds me of Howling Pelle Lindqvist from The Hives and damn near matches him in vocal dexterity and speed of delivery. New band formation, but probably quite a lot of the same songs as played at LFD 2014. Always a pleasure to watch as the band careen through the set at 150 miles and decibels per hour.
Incidentally, to show how the Moebius Mirror refracts and reflects, Yan Yan, (who was Jas's predecessor In Dr. Eggs in 2014), also played at the Lamma Bar and Grill on 13/6/2015 with her band After After Party. It's a shame she wasn't here for this fine festival.
A lacunae has occurred, but I don't know how and why. All of a sudden Jungle Jim is on stage doing one hell of a jungle/drum and bass set. He is an awesome DJ, you know. Yeah, of course you do. At least if you come up to Open Space, that is. And he also does a wonderful handoff to Mr. Lloyd who mixes and matches his d n b just as well as Jim does. It's two hours of relentless speeddrill hammerbeats and squonky sqwirls and I can't really read my chicken scratches anymore.
Trust Me This Was Good. And that's all you need to know.
Another blurred passage of spacetime and it's about 0400 and The Groove Thief has hit the decks. Anderson (for it is he) kinda lives outside this story in a way. He's an acknowledged master of dub and reggae. Knows his onions from his leeks and carrots (which I believe come from Camberwell) Puts together excellent DJ CD compilations. And he didn't stint or short the crowd. Kept them awake a little longer with huge speaker blasts of big fuck off noise now and then. A masterclass show.
I've also caught the end of Push which is Frankie Lam and some other dude. Frankie has been a mainstay of the local scene since 1998.
Our paths have crossed many times at HITEC and other clubs, but this is the first time we speak. He says, he's seen me going back and forth from Boom to Sunset all night and grabbing a chair and enjoying the gigs. He's a lovely man to chat to. Brought Timo Maas to HK twice.
I said I'd seen Timo twice (those were the gigs) and managed to get Timo to Lamma for a visit. I gave Frankie my mixcloud/nickthebook site where Jim has put about 8 or so of my best mixes. Frankie promised to listen to them. And with an open mind. He also took a photo of Robert, me and him. A classy man and a cool DJ still. Even among the young pretenders to his crown.
Saturday's done. Trickle and trip my way back to the beach with Jim, Caspian and Graham (who's done his bit at Silent Disco).
Just enough time to sit down. Take a deep breath. Stand up and wobble back to the Festival Site because the am DJ's are starting about an hour after the last ones finish the night before. There's a bit of discussion about an accident on the beach earlier. Some dude has enthusiastically over-enjoyed himself and is spark out. Might have broken his head. He's eventually carted off by the police/ambulance to hospital and hasn't died, as far as I know. Might have to think up some creative excuses for not getting to work or home or whatever.
OK. Back at Boom. Steve, who is a fellow voyager at Open Space, kicks off the morning with a beautifully put together set of "balearic slo-mo disco". The pacing is incremental. The sounds are divine and just keep getting better. He lays off Ryoma in fine style who also nudges the tempo up teeny bit by tiny byte with a layered mix of ambient/chillout/experimental. Nothing to scare the kiddies or even cause tremor rings in your morning coffee. I'm thinking of T. Rex in Jurassic Park and the vibrating water as an analogy at this point. The guys are two-for-two. 100% on the enjoyment scale. About 3% on the Mohr's Scale of toughness. The beats would barely ripple the outer lining of a cream puff. But there's a whole day ahead to get manic.
That's my cue to say "Nipper Is Coming".
Jayme (who is Jimmie really in real life) is next. Some disco, soul funk and eclectica is ripped from his electronic bag of tricks.
Ooh! Almost forgot. Hi, Aries. Lovely to see you again. She's Jimmie's other half and a frequent visitor to Open Space with him. Always a pleasure to enjoy your company. Please send those photos over of Robert and the rest of us. Thank you. DJ Extra Large, DJ Mojito and SCF Saint and Rebearth all flash their palettes of smoky sounds and cool chords and get some front row action moving. Guys, I've failed to write more about you because I'm now about 85ish hours Down The Rabbit Hole. The words just aren't coming out in my book in any language that actually exists. Take this thought for the deed. You were ALL part of a grand gestalt moment. Wouldn't work without your input.You all have equal merit. And all of me would like to see each of you perform again anywhere and anywhen. You are great company and the music menu is meaty pleasant. The buildup in momentum over these four sets is marginally slower than Continental Drift or a slow rushing ice avalanche. But it works.
By the way. Nipper is now on the premises. Excitement is palpable. At least among us Lamma posseteers who know of his fine work. The rest of the audience have no fucking idea what is about to hit them. Nipper is down in the program as doing an Old Skool House and Hip Hop set. Yeah, well...
He makes about 6 interesting choices at the start of his 3+ hour set. Testing the "water", so to speak. People look baffled and there's a lightning quick segue into something else. And something else. And something... Basically the people want hits and by golly, that's what they get. In about 30 minutes there's a vibrating body of people cutting rags, shagging their feet, dancing, grinning, romping, bomping, leaping up and down. Total madness of crowds scenario, He's mashed up the hits via very rapid changes in tone and pace. Using two vinyl LPs with nothing on them. Mated to the computer so when he scratches with the records, it's replicated on the laptop. There's some outrageously dexterous knob manipulation going on here.
That's in between being lovingly pestered by a beautiful lady called Michelle with a full-on left arm tattoo sleeve. She's got more tats than him. He's not averse to her enjoyment and flirts. Turns out they've known each other for about 15 years and have just re-connected. Good for both of them, I say. Up front pogo-ing and sway grooving with all the punters are Ryoma, Extra Large and Jungle Jim.
All getting off on this stunning masterclass. Almost, if you like, paying homage to The Master. He's started with dark stuff the crowd doesn't know, but they are coming over. As the audience grows he's into more radio friendly stuff and boom! There's critical mass and a near human explosion of joy. I remember telling the crowd they were "fucking privileged" to be hearing this set. This is Legendary Shit. Triple XXX Grade One Masterclass of Dreams magic. He's basically put EVERY other DJ who played this weekend into a hole and shut it behind them. And all of it with a huge Nipper smile on his happy face.
Caspar says he loved the way he "took the piss" out of all the stuff he has to play at Solar. I said I was glad to see him work out his anger issues over all the crap he has to play at Solar. Frankly, I doubt if there was a better DJ performance anywhere on the planet that day that could touch what he did. I'm serious about that, but was joshing about his anger issues. Which he knew.
Subcoat, the DJ up to follow him, has bottled it. He has to go and find his USB stick. He's meant to do a grime/UK garage set and he's going to have to be better than Nipper just to be as good as Nipper. Make no mistake, folks. Nipper was the headliner from the moment his name appeared in the flyers. Which his friends in England saw on YouTube. Didn't matter a fart in a thunderstorm when he took the stage. He did a stunning intro break into "Teen Spirit". Teasing the crowd over and over and then... faders to mass stun and the song kicked in. He cut the volume three times during the song as a cue to Subcoat to get his arse in gear and get on stage and join the fun. Because he and I had a boat to catch back to Lamma with Jim and family and many others. The boat left 35 minutes before he finished his set.
And Jesus. (Yes my son). Hope you realised what a seminal moment in DJ history you were witnessing. (I did my son). Jesus has the real life moniker of Peter A Greenaway. Like the film director. Great to hang with you too, dude. Keep in touch. Actually, it’s later and I realize his name is Peter Greenley. Must go back to remedial skool and lern to rede proper agenn. Not to mention rite as wel.!
Nipper also set up six opportunities for Subcoat (and Paul) who was playing alongside him to jump in any time. It worked eventually.
Those moments basically kicked my trip back to the forefront of my brain. It was exquisite and exhilarating to be there then. And Pete, it was a real pleasure to share your company over the weekend. You played beautifully and did your best to make sure I could start my set in four seconds time having amassed all the info about what to do. Not your fault I fucked up. But if you listen to the mixtapes, I think you'll like what I'm doing. Looking forward to resuming contact sometime. Hopefully you can get over for LFD on 7/11/2015.
So, Nipper and I and Melanie and her galpal (not that way you dirty...) and a few others got the sampan to Cheung Chau. The ferry to HK and the 2130 ferry back to Lamma. A final big hi to Holly who came back with us. She got her early bird ticket to this SIP at the cheapest rate. Between then and SIP onset, she moved to Kuala Lumpur, but still came back to soar with the pigs and wallow with the eagles in the morning. You were a blast to chat to. Hope we'll meet again. Holly was also kind enough to pen these immortal words in my book. Over to you, sweetheart. “Sunday is always the best day. I love when everything just dissolves into chaos and music. Another great SIP.”
Right. End credits. Thanks to everyone who put the show together. Please invite me back again. Well done the Lamma Posse. We didn't lose a soul. Everyone got home. And that's good enough ending for me. Coming up is LFD and Clockenflap. 'Til the next time, folks.
_________________ Click here for Lamma-zine stories and recent Lamma Spotlights of the Week:
Photo, Video, Person, Wildlife, Bird, Artwork.
|
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
