On the Beat‘nTrack
spinning round the clubs

Thursday, August 31
NYC DJ Blaze in the club, with Lazy Ming and DJ Thomas C in the lounge at Volar tonight. 9pm – late, tickets $200 with drink. Bsmt, 38 – 44 D’Aguilar St, LKF, 2810 1510.

Studio 54 time again – bell-bottoms, big hair and bubbles on this funky train back to the ‘70s. Free entry and shooters for dudes in funky dress. Drop, Bsmt, 39 – 43 Hollywood Rd, 2543 8856.

Win a trip to a hot travel spot at Tribeca’s Hot Summer Nights. 10pm with free entry and drinks for ladies; $120 for guys with a standard drink and raffle ticket. Lucky live draw at 1am. 4/F Convention Plaza, Wanchai, 2824 0523.

Friday, September 1
Mixmaster champ Qbert headlines Summer City Oasis at Edge, where two tickets to Japan are up for grabs for ladies bearing the best flesh in the bikini competition. Sizzling action guaranteed. $240. G/F, The Centrium, 60 Wyndham St, Central, 2523 6690.

Saturday 2
Mako, Kas, Check 1, DJ Wash and more, spinning Bloody Heavy d’n’b for the Magnetic Soul bash. Tonight at Quarter, 3/F Soho Sq, 21 Lyndhurst Tce, 3102 2066, $100 with drink.
Thursday 7
Ibiza Party Paradise courtesy of DJ Joel Lai and Janva at Drop. Bringing you the best Ibiza sounds and that floaty holiday feeling. Free entry includes one complimentary Chiva cocktail. Bsmt, 39 – 43 Hollywood Rd, 2543 8856.

Friday 13
In celebration of the Mexican Independence, put your Charro suit on, dance to the mariachi band and party Mexican style. Games, give aways and a lucky draw add to the fun. Tribeca, 4/F Convention Plaza #1 Harbour Road, Entrance Fee: HK$80,
Tel: 2203 0407.

Friday 15
Volar presents special guest Chris Fortier this Friday. Bsmt, 38 – 44 D’Aguilar St, LKF. Call 2810 1510.

Chivas presents A Taste of Ibiza, with top-notch dance and international DJs, including FAMA, EO2, Stephanie Cheng, Elle Koon, Vangie Tang, Ibiza’s The Jinks, and world-class DJ Joyce Mercedes.

Saturday 23
3AM present Phil K Asian Tour with support from David Lam, Darka and Frankie Lam. Call 6554 7777 for details. Venue to be confirmed.

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Club Magazine Beat‘nTrack
If you feel like it has been a hard day and all you want to do is go crazy, head to DivaRed. Owner Clare positively encourages craziness – it reminds her of the best nights in her bar, where separate groups make friends dancing, drinking and acting mad. Giving an impish grin, she admits she’ll keep the bar open for those in the right mood – even if that means 4am on a Tuesday. DivaRed used to be the Blue bar, and the only thing changed fixture wise, is the colour. Why red? “It’s my favourite colour,” says Clare, “and Diva is my nickname.” So, now seats are covered in scarlet blushes, lamps give off warm rosy glows, and the place is as comforting as a crackling fireplace in winter. Come after work and Sade’s soothing tones are likely to be playing, but later the pace changes to throbbing hip-hop or dance. There is no accounting though, for Clare throwing on a video of the diva she loves best – Madonna. Soak up the atmosphere with a signature cocktail, the lethal Viva la Diva, with lychee licquer, strawberries, red wine and rum, is a potent brew, or the fluffy Breakfast at Tiffany, with mango, melon, and Bailey’s, is just dreamy. Clare says they get a lot of regulars at Diva, and everyone is welcome, whenever they show up.

Diva Red, 21 Sharp St East, CWB, 2187 3993
Opens 6pm, or 8pm Sundays.

The Angel Interview:
DJ Mikey Hong Kong DMC Champion

DJ Mikey (Michael Li) is 21 and in the Color Productions DJ crew, made up of DJ Tommy, DJ Galaxy, DJ Lazy Ming, DJ Tin Ho, and DJ Ngai. He has been spinning hip-hop for two years at clubs in HK and London. But his primary interest lies in DJ battles, which is why Club Angel is all of a tither this week - it turns out DJ Mikey is a dab hand with the turntables.

Congrats! You just scored yourself a trip to London to compete in the World DMC Championships. How does it feel?
It feels good! I’ve wanted this ever since I started scratching.
How long did you spend partying that night?
Haha… I don’t remember to be honest. I stayed in C Club for a few drinks. Then I went to this bar in Causeway Bay called Mine. It’s quite a chilled bar that plays hip-hop. I always go there.
How did you feel on the day?
For the eliminations in the afternoon, I was shaking and screwed up a little bit. But in the finals, it felt good and I just
How long did you spend preparing before the night?
I had two scratch routines and two beat juggle routines. To put all that together took me about eight months.
That’s dedication. What made you start DJing?
I always wanted to be a DJ because I was crazy about hip-hop. My first encounter with turntables was in a DJ school in London. I did a weekend course at a place called Subbass DJ academy. I bought my first budget turntables the next day.
What is your all-time best DJ experience?
Apart from this year’s DMC, my favourite experience was the first time I DJ’d. It was in a boat party – I made all sorts of mistakes and played the songs that I liked. It was a blast!
So that is an English accent, I detect? Are you from London?
Haha, I don’t think I have an English accent, but yes my parents sent me to boarding school in England since I was 11.
Over 8,000 people are expected to attend the two-day event – are those numbers intimidating?
Yes, it will be my biggest show by far, and indeed I am sh*tting myself.
Well, take some toilet tissue. Who are you looking forward to meeting most?
The superstar DJs – the past champions, especially Iemerge. I missed him when he was in HK a month or two ago.
Who is the major competition, and why?
I heard DJ Rafik from Germany might be participating this year. He came 2nd in the ‘04 World Final. He can kick my ass any day.
What else does winning mean to you?
Apart from self-satisfaction, I see it as repaying those who have supported me throughout this whole DJ thing. Those would be my mum, dad, sister, and friends who helped me a lot with this routine.
Anything else you care to mention?
I’ll be back next year. Oh, and I have a MySpace thing, which I just started: www.myspace.com/deejaymikey
Good luck DJ Mikey. Hong Kong Club Angels everywhere will be waving magic wands for you.
Club Angel XX