[本文亦提供 中文 版本。]
A few years back, following releases with a sub-label of a major Chinese music company, I was invited for a club tour across the mainland. It was a project organized with the precision typical of professional creatives. Visas and logistics secured in a mere three weeks for a ten-day sprint of shows.
The Future and the Fog #
Landing in Shanghai was a somatic shock. Humid, hot and it felt instantly futuristic. My first hours were spent stranded and jetlagged, disconnected from blocked Western services. When I finally met my contacts there was no rest. We moved straight from a hotpot dinner to soundcheck. I played that first night on 36 hours of no sleep and i experienced a profound culture shock. Yet, inside the club, the frequency was familiar.
I’ve always preferred underground spaces. Rough, high BPM, dripping roofs and lighting so decent, the fog so dense, that no one can see you dance. Immersed in the local collective alongside artists from Mexico and Korea, I felt at home. In the darkness of a club the «Source Code» of the underground is universal.
Hangzhou: The Sculptor #
We traveled to Hangzhou, a city that exists as a meme of creative «Drug Towns». Beyond playing a show, I visited the artist behind my album artwork. His studio was a study in contrast. A wonky industrial workshop filled with massive sculptures hidden inside a rigid, gated high-end neighborhood. He built installations from parts ordered on Alibaba, transforming mass-produced noise into singular art.
Building the Safe Room #
During this tour, an international DJ shared advice that fundamentally changed my internal architecture. He taught me to build a «Perfect Room» in my mind.
In the creative process of preparing a dj set, some artists imagine a setting they prepare their set for. Instead of imagining a new, unpredictable crowd every show, I began to prepare every set for one specific low-key club in my hometown, a place run by friends where I felt safe to experiment. Since then, «playing» to that internal room allows my work to maintain a signature character, while exploring new extremes in every set.
Surveillance as Environment #
China teaches you that you cannot believe the narrative. You need the experience. But that experience includes the weight of surveillance. I saw the social credit screens at crosswalks in Xintiandi, registering faces in real-time. I heard stories of random hair-testing «vans» and the palpable paranoia that hits Western expats. Surveillance is an environmental pressure. It forces you to decide who you are when the state is always watching.
Despite this, I met amazing people. Open-minded, testing limits and striving for a free life. The country moves fast. I have never experienced a place where you can feel such a common spirit of future-oriented momentum. Whether it’s the business people in Shanghai or the creatives in Hangzhou, they all think big.
A New Universe #
This trip was short but intense. A realization that a whole new universe exists in the Asian hemisphere. While I couldn’t focus deeply on China’s ancient culture this time, my focus on subcultures and gigs made it clear: I want to explore this region in all its facets. I am feeling more connected every day.
Sonic Layer #
Visual Logs #
