Hi Dave! I know you have recently changed your name. So you are sure there is no other DJ Dave Simeon?
This is something I am getting asked a lot now, so let me explain. My real name is Dave Armstrong and I lived with that for 20 years. Then around last September, another Dave Armstrong came into the radar with his dance single. I kept my name for a while but occasionally it would get confusing and I thought the best thing to do was change it. We talked for a long time over what the change could be but in the back of my head was that Simeon – my middle name – was something my parents were very proud of, although I never talked about it. I thought it would be a nice touch just to thank them for everything they had done for me.
I guess, then, you are a ‘family boy’.
Looking back I remember saving up my pocket money and doing odd jobs for weeks so I could afford to rent disco lights and speakers. Then my mum drove me to the party where I nervously stood and first played. I remember planning everything I was going to play meticulously and then forgot one of my record bags so ended up playing some of my mum’s record collection mixed with some of my b-sides to pad out the night. A Tom Jones 7” followed by a dodgy trance record makes for quite an interesting set!
Your mum drove you to a party? Cool! Probably that’s why you could get your first radio break at 16, a very young age!
I really fell into radio by mistake. I was always passionate about it and always wanted to know how it all worked but never thought I could be the one behind the mike. A longtime friend who was also a DJ got me a foot in the door as a runner/tea boy/odd jobber for jobs nobody else wanted to do. I then made friends with the breakfast show presenter who was too lazy to get out of bed in the morning, so he used to get me to play the first taped hour of his show. This taught me the basics and then, when one day someone phoned in sick, I got my first gig. I have stayed involved with radio ever since and now produce the Fierce Angel Radio Show that broadcasts to 15 countries every week. Being involved in a show that size and the response we get from it is a great feeling and makes all those cups of tea and coffee I had to make as a runner worthwhile.
To you, what makes a good party?
I learnt the answer to this question in a very strange way. When I travelled to Santo Domingo with Fierce Angel I got to the club we were playing at and from the outside it looked like a pokey little supermarket. It was quite small and dark and I remember wondering about travelling thousands of miles just for that. That, however, turned out to be a huge learning experience for me. From the first record, the clubbers clapped, danced and cheered. They got into the Fierce tunes and I learnt that night it’s not the size, shape, look or anything physical about the club that makes a party, it’s the people – and as long as they are there to have a good time and the DJ plays the right records, it is guaranteed to be an awesome night.
And working with Mark Doyle, the founder of Hed Kandi? He is kinda like a legend!
Mark has been one of the biggest influences on my life so far. With regards to what he has done in the past with Hed Kandi he deserves credit but I am more impressed by his current success and hard work. He has an amazing way of motivating and raising the bar performance-wise on any project you are working on. As regards to working with him, he is a perfectionist and one of the most committed people I have ever met. Things are done right or they are done again. The music advert for the new Angels Fall 2 album involved probably 24 hours in total over the space of three weeks of constant editing just for a 30-second TV advert. How someone finds the time to fly from Canada to England and then on to Australia in the space of a week playing gigs and then also runs the brand, puts together the albums and partys just makes me wonder sometimes if there is more than one Mark. Maybe he has a twin or a clone (chuckles).
The coming HK gig will be the first stop of the Asian tour. Will the Fierce Angel Showgirls be coming along as well?
I’m gutted the showgirls will not be with me on this trip. Nothing to do with me not being trusted to travel with six beautiful ladies but we have our opening party in Ibiza at Es Vive at the same time as the Asian tour. Still, I’m sure we can find room for them in the suitcase next time!
DJ Dave Simeon from Fierce Angel will spin at Drop on June 19 with supporting DJs Joel Lai and Janva. Entry is free for Drop members – for non-members after 11:30pm it costs $100 (includes one drink).
So you are starting a new club night Pimpin Ain’t Easy this month. Why bother doing it? I mean, there are plenty of club nights here already!
Yes, there are a lot of club nights in Hong Kong already – but no variety. It’s all about either Top 40 hip-hop/R&B or house music. Except for very few exceptions, it is very repetitive and way behind. We want to create a platform for open-minded, music-loving clubbers willing to take the blinkers off and we want to give them the chance to go crazy to universal styles they won’t hear in other Hong Kong clubs.
What makes you guys stand out then?
We don’t mess with genre restrictions. Anything goes, as long as it rocks. We want to use our musical knowledge and globetrotting DJ experience to show Hong Kong a fresh alternative to the typical club nights going down here.
Does the party have anything to do with pimping?
It is a metaphor. It takes a lot of time and dedication to make an easy living. If you are a true pimp you’ll know where to go and how to work with what you’ve got and make something out of nothing. If you keep that pimp hand strong and lay the smack down when needed, you can live your dream. Hard work with considerable risks, but still a worthy profession.
Is being a subway singer another worthy profession? I heard you worked with one before.
That’s a good story. Last summer in Hong Kong, I was working on some hip-hop tracks and regularly complaining to my friends in the US that I could not find a good vocalist with whom to work. One day I was listening to one of my older tracks on headphones while walking through Central. Near by the escalator, an old lady was singing classical songs through a tiny speaker – I had seen her many times around town singing for money. As I walked by, I heard her vocals layer on top of my beats and something clicked. I kept on walking for about half a block before I convinced myself to go back and talk to her. We had trouble communicating, but somehow I was able to convince her to come back to my house and record.
You convinced an old lady to go to a stranger’s home?
Yes, I was surprised that she was willing to come with me. She didn't speak any English, so I called my friend and he explained the situation to her over the phone. And somehow she was willing to meet up with us later and go back to my house to record. When she showed up, the funny thing was that she brought her tiny speaker with her -- she didn't understand that I would have a better microphone for her to sing into. Recorded into Protools, chopped shit up, and that was a wrap. Then she tried to connect both my friend and me with some young girls in her family!
What about the reworking of the Chinese poem Like the Rain Falls? Are you a fan of Chinese literature?
I’m not all that up on Chinese literature really, only Taoist basics like the I-Ching and the Tao Te Ching. My parents always had those books around the house. It was a lucky coincidence – the vocalist brought the poem with her. She had a special connection to it and I think in the end it really showed in her voice. We only did a few takes and I couldn’t understand the lyrics without translation, but the outpouring of emotion – tragedy, loss, beauty – was unmistakable in her voice.
Co-hosting with three-time ITF world champion DJ Kid Fresh from Germany, DJ Enso presents the first Pimpin Ain’t Easy at CLIQ on June 20. Also behind the decks will be DJ Rafik, DMC/Technics World Champion DJ 2007. Doors open 10pm, entry is $150.
On the Beat‘nTrack
spinning round the clubs
June 13
Pure house at Beijing Club with Taipan Dan playing deep, funky and soulful house starts at 11pm. Entry is $300 at the door. Wellington Place, 2-8 Wellington Street, Central, 2526 8298.
Magnetic Soul presents Randall and Outrage with their jungle/drum’n’bass sound at Club Flamingo while DJs Cookie, Teem, Blood Dunza, Saiyan and Fat Demon will support. The party starts at 10pm and entry costs $200 (includes one drink). 2/F Cosmos Building, 8-11 Lan Kwai Fong, Central, 3798 0198
June 18
Salsa/mambo night at the recently re-opened Club Cixi takes off at 9pm. Free admission. G/F, On Hing Building, 1 On Hing Terrace, Lan Kwai Fong, 9010 8880.
June 20
Carly Shemoss plays his funky electro house at Beijing Club. The party starts at 11pm and entry is $300 at the door. Wellington Place, 2-8 Wellington Street, Central, 2526 8298.
June 21
DJ Deville of Shanghai’s Uprooted Sunshine Sound system and Stayrudee from Poland will be spinning at Heavy Present: Roots Heavy 03 at Twist Mind. Supporting DJs are Enso, Mr W, J, Le Lebertin, Stef:funn, Kastoacha and Blood Dunza. It all starts at 10pm with a entry cost of $100 before midnight and $120 after (includes one drink). 9/F, The Pemberton, 22-26 Bonham Strand, Central, 9867 1678.
DJ Smokin Jo from London plays her signature house/techno at Dragon i from 10pm. Entry is $300 at the door. UG/F, The Centrium, 60 Wyndham St, Central, 3110 1222.
New York’s underground house music sensation DJ Nicole Otero spins at Armani/Bar HK with resident DJ Miles Slater. The dress code is black, white – and tempting. At 10:30pm, the doors open with entry $150 in advance or $200 at the portal. 2/F Chater House, 11 Chater Road, Central.
June 26
Ministry of Sound presents Liverpool’s house DJ Lewis Boardman with support from Arun R and May at 10pm. It will set men back $220 but it’s free for ladies. 2-8 Wellington Street, Central, 2526 8298. |
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