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MP3 Monday: Ding Dong 5

We pay homage to five years of imported house music with tracks from Valentino Kanzyani, James Murphy, Chez Damier and more.
Last updated: 2015-11-09


MP3 Monday is a weekly SmartShanghai column, serving up mp3s from bands living and making music in China (or coming to China, or thinking about coming to China, or whatever). Copyright holders: if you would like your song removed, please email us here, and we'll honor your request promptly.

Holy moly what a weekend we had in Shanghai! Whether you banged it out to Paul Collins's Beat, checked out the new AM444 live set, danced the night away with Pictureplane, or rocked out with the girl musicians and DJs at Ladyfest, no one can deny the music scene is back in full effect. Even if you are a complete tool and went to MYST to see Dirty Vegas play that "Days Go By" song, it just goes to show there is something for everyone from March until around June, when the Shanghai’s music scene slows down again. This week is no different, on top of all the JUE shows there are some extra gigs out there like the death metal band Suicide Silence on Wednseday and post rock hard hitters Caspian at QSW on Saturday.

Instead of giving you tasty death metal or post-rock licks, though, we are going to jump in the DeLorean and take a trip down the Shanghai house music history road. Premier house importer party crew Ding Dong celebrates its five-year anniversary this Saturday at none other than Cirque Le Soir. You know, it’s that club that has midgets in baby masks, 100rmb vodka sodas and everyone in town has to go at least one time (except for me).

Ding Dong Disco first made a name for itself at Club MAO, which is now called Hollywood. From what I gather the original Club Mao was the same horrible crowd except with better music as opposed to the Pitbull remixes that ravage their sound system now. DDD has had ups and downs over the past five years, like a failed club KTV that was taken over by Amber and made successful in less than a month (Ouch! That’s gotta hurt). However no one can deny their contribution by bringing over some of the best names is house music, and today DJ Razor regales us with five tracks from his favorite Ding Dong Disco events. One thing is certain; every mao of that admission fee is going DJ Razor’s monthly trips of hedonism to Bangkok or Bali. Yeah, think about that when shelling out 150rmb to get into Cirque Le Soir this Saturday.



Before we get into Razor’s top 5 past Dongers let’s check out a track from the main event this Saturday, Valentino Kanzyani. This guy has been rocking up the Slovenian techno scene since the 90's and was a resident at the infamous Ambasada Gavioli club. Getting his producer chops early on, he released material under the moniker Recycled Loops in ’99. After that he started the vinyl-based label in the mid 2000’s called Jesus Loved You and Valentino still remains a huge vinyl enthusiast. Saturday is just the start of his world tour that after Asia heads over to the United States then back to Europe, which will take him from Gothenburg, Sweden to Constanta, Romania. Check out the godfather of Slovenian techno with this MP3 Chord Release before seeing him with Shanghai’s tallest man this Saturday.

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Let’s get down to business with DJ Razor’s top five Ding Dong Disco artists. First up is Kalabrese, who played O’Malley’s back in 2011. Ahh! Shanghai Irish club pub O’Malleys, oh how you are missed. This Swiss beat maker and producer plays both sides of the indie vs electronic fence. On top of his dance tracks you’ll find soulful vocal based productions.

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Next up is the main man himself Chez Damier, who played the now-defunct KTV club last year. Born in Chicago but brought up on the mean techno streets of Detroit, Chez is one of the most influential producers you may have never heard of. In the game since the late 80’s, his body of work crosses over 20 labels from KMS to OM records. Although Damier’s sound is closer to the New York garage scene which got him signed to French label Distance. Here is the 1992 track "Can You Feel It" from a man who played alongside greats like Frankie Knuckles and Derrick May.

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One of the most amazing bookings to come into Shanghai, and Razor’s third choice, is Germany’s Brandt Brauer Frick Ensemble, who played here in 2012. These guys are all classically trained musicians who make techno music without technology. Performing a mostly live set, the samples they use are all recorded from the ensemble in their studio as field recordings. I was lucky enough to check out their Shanghai show and was blown away on how well they put all the instrumentals together. They play both techno clubs and more natural venues like Montruex Jazz festival or in Central Park in New York. Here is the song "BOP".

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We're killing two birds with this next track, "Love the Night Away". KAOS brought this track to Lola in 2012. TIEDYE remixed it and brought it back in 2013. KAOS has released records on K7 not to mention Compost, Rong, Eskimo, DFA and Italians Do It Better. The Berlin-based deep house producer aims to cast a wider net on the musical scene. TIEDYE are a duo comprising Edvin and Anton, who played Yunnan restaurant Lost Heaven last year and remixed this KAOS track with love. TIEDYE has also release on Italians Do It Better and Gomma.

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And hey, what do you know? Razor’s final pick of past five years is DFA Records founder James Murphy. He also played the now-defunct O’Malley’s pub club. For some reason, I actually opened up at this show and I remember the audience was a little confused that he wasn’t playing dance punk bangers. Instead, he played a slow progressing thoughtful set that eventually warmed up the crowd. Murphy, who contributes primarily as a producer, worked on some of 2013’s biggest albums like Reflektor from Arcade Fire and Mosquito from The Yeah Yeah Yeah’s. Here is a James Murphy remix of David Bowie’s "Love is Lost".

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Well there ya go, kids. Everything you need to know about Ding Dong Disco. See you over the next 5 years at every questionable club around town.

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This column is written by DJ Sacco, who runs Uptown Records, Shanghai's dedicated vinyl shop. Ironically, they don't sell Mp3s or dabble in anything digital, instead they have 7" and 12", EPs and LPs from rock to electronic, rare pressings, DJ equipment and band merchandise. Find them in an old bomb shelter at 115 Pingwu Lu.

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