Sixth Bass: The Syndicate's Birthday Blowout

As the century turned, Beijing knew little of drum & bass. The Syndicate, a band of rowdy miscreants who dared to venture where none had gone before, changed that. Ahead of the crew’s sixth birthday party at White Rabbit on March 13 (RMB 50, 9pm), members Blackie and Slide tell us how they’ll up the ante in 2010.

the Beijinger: It’s been quiet on The Syndicate front for a few months. What’s been going on?
DJ Blackie: It really was a case of, in the wake of various movements and goings on in the Beijing nightlife scene, us pursuing various other projects for a short while. It’s also given us time to take stock and wait for the opportunity to hit the ground running. We’re super excited about where things are at in terms of clubs this year.

tbj: So no tabloid tales of crew bust-ups, rehab hell, members going AWOL or growing beards and getting into meditation?
DJB: I’ve grown a beard simply to mock Slide’s inability to do so.
DJ Slide: I’ve been meditating in order to be able to rise above lame insults.

tbj: When did you first get into drum & bass?
DJB: I went to my first rave in the UK when I was 15 and have been obsessed with it ever since. I’m a big fan of any music that took time, effort and inspiration to produce.
DJS: I was roughly the same age too. I was living in Cambridge, UK, at the time, which has a disproportionately good drum & bass scene for its size. I play and listen to a lot of funk, afrobeat and dub. Bass-heavy dub is definitely a big influence on the kind of drum & bass I’m into at the moment.

tbj: How do you think the scene in Beijing has evolved since The Syndicate got started?
DJB: Oh it’s definitely evolved, but in a strange way. I often feel things in Beijing take two giant strides forward and then one shuffle back ...

tbj: How much credit do you take for the scene’s development?
DJB: I think at The Syndicate, we have been heavily influential in the growth of underground bass-heavy music and have often “gone against the grain” when there were easier options. That’s why it’s so satisfying to be where we are today – at six years old we are one of the longest running crews, if not the longest running crew, in the city.
DJS: When you consider that the first parties we did in 2004 involved pushing back the chairs and tables in Lush, and just over a year later we were playing drum & bass to a few thousand on the Great Wall, I think it’s fair to say that we kicked things off with a bang. Since then, we’ve been able to bring great international talent to Beijing, and I think that’s where the success lies.

tbj: If The Syndicate had never existed, what would Beijing’s drum & bass scene look like today?
DJB: That’s very hard to say. I’d say Syndicate DJs have been involved in almost every single party that D&B has featured over the last six years.

tbj: What about D&B scenes in other parts of China? Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong – is there anything to report outside of Beijing?
DJB: We had a crossover party last May with the Phreaktion crew in Shanghai, where me and Elemental played at The Shelter in exchange with a DJ Siesta and MC ChaCha performance at White Rabbit. As a crew we’ve made connections in all the cities you mention, and it’s nice to know there are others taking risks in the Middle Kingdom.
DJS: Absolutely. Blackie and I will be heading down to Guangzhou and Shenzhen for a full-on D&B all-nighter in May this year.

tbj: Are you guys scouting new talent? Any new crew members on the horizon?
DJB: We’re always looking out for new DJs and MCs. We actually have a new DJ in the wings, Skywalker, who will feature at future events.

tbj: Have you ever thought about a doing multi-person set with DJs spinning simultaneously, or would your styles differ too much?
DJB: Well, for the sixth birthday we plan to do just that. Me and DJ Slide will be doing a three-hour, four-deck, back-to-back throwdown, which will feature us both at the turntables simultaneously mixing, scratching and cutting. Slide is currently working on exclusive tracks that will be used, too. I’m really, really excited about it!

tbj: Do you also produce your own music, or just stick purely to DJing?
DJB: Slide has made some brilliant tracks and more are in the wings. As for me, I just play them …
DJS: Yep, Blackie is pretty lazy to be honest, but one of the reasons we’ve been away for six months is that we’ve wanted to come back changing the direction of D&B ourselves, rather than just playing other people’s tunes. To that end I’ve got three brand new tunes I’ll be dropping at the birthday.

tbj: In 2009, The Syndicate brought over Commix from the UK and Bungle from Brazil – both really great parties. Who are you looking to bring to Beijing in 2010?
DJB: We have big plans to bring out DJs of that caliber this year, but for now we’re focused on showcasing what we have here with some tight, top-notch local events.
DJS: We’ve got our ears open for anyone that’s pushing musical boundaries. Stay tuned.

tbj: For you, what’s been the best Syndicate party to date?
DJB: It’s hard to pick out one specific night. Goldie last year at Yugong Yishan was very memorable ...

tbj: If The Syndicate story were a book, which book would that be?
DJB: I guess as a crew we may be similar to The Art of War by Sun Tzu – a carefully planned assault on Beijing nightlife!
DJS: The Metamorphosis, by Kafka, whereby each crew member wakes up from troubled dreams to discover they’ve been transformed into a monstrous bassline.

tbj: Fellow Syndicate member Dan Stephenson told us a few months back that he’d be “working on his autobiography” in 2010. Any sign of progress on that?
DJB: I presume you’re referring to Nightlife: A Stephenson Story – “A no-holds-barred, seat-of-the-pants, white-knuckled, double-fisted exposé of Beijing’s nether regions.” Look out for the 28-part, six-figure serialization in the Beijinger.

tbj: Finally, who would you choose to write up The Syndicate story?
DJB: If he writes novels as well as he writes lyrics, I think MC Terra D would do a good job.
DJS: Jeffrey Archer.

Celebrate with The Syndicate on Mar 13 at White Rabbit. Check out the gang's latest podcast here.

CORRECTION: In the version of this interview which appears in the Beijinger's March 2010 issue, the photos were wrongly credited. All credit for the images featured goes to our ace photographer Judy Zhou.