Patrick Yu: Moonlighting This Weekend

Patrick Yu has been DJing around Beijing since as long as anyone can remember. Some say longer. Always one of the hardest-working men in Beijing showbusiness, Patrick has two parties lined up this weekend, playing alongside Usami at the Moonlighting party on Friday night at Migas and then heading up the evergreen Sundays on Top cookout at Kokomo on Sunday afternoon. We asked Yu about Beijing nightlife then and now, what he'd put in a Beijing nightlife time capsule, and which stars he'd cast to play Beijing's star DJs in a film about the city's party scene.

When you first arrived in Beijing in 2004, where did people party?
I came to Beijing on February 18, 2004. Back when I came, I really didn’t know much about the scene here. I just came with a bag of records – yes, those round black things – and kept bugging people to let me play. The first two places I played were Bed Bar and Lush. Back then Lush had a pretty fun Thursday night, and Bed was – and still is – a cool, chilled-out spot. But as for the main places people were hanging out, I really can’t think of any one spot. We would have one-off parties just about anywhere we could. I did quite a few Ting parties with DJ Usami, which put us at places like Nuage, Look (now closed), the second-floor lounge in Banana (now GT Banana) … The Yen parties were picking up about that time as well. It was a pretty fun, grassroots scene back then.

What’s changed since then?
You have more people involved in the scene now. A number of expats came in, and stayed, and together with the local contingent, really pushed things forward. There are more opportunities to find funding and sponsors for events – not to say it’s that much easier these days. But you get a bigger crowd, especially for the big parties and festivals. One thing that has changed for the worse is less people going the old-school route of using two decks to play – a lot of people, both new and old, are moving to computer based programs that are more controller/trigger based, versus actual beat matching and mixing. I don’t know, call me old-fashioned …

What’s the best party you’ve ever been to in Beijing?
I had a pretty fun Easter Sunday. A hodgepodge of brunch, random outings and fire. Yeah, that’s about all the detail I am at liberty to reveal. Good times.

A party is looking dead on its feet – what’s your standby track for getting things moving?
I wouldn’t say I have a go-to track, but definitely something with a bit of soul, maybe something with a vocal that people can focus on. I’m more often after an overall feel versus a wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am type of track.

Somebody puts you in charge of a club, with unlimited budget. What would you do with it?
You’ll have to wait and find out when I get around to opening a club. But I think it would involve things like brunch, random outings and fire.

Now a hypothetical question. You’re asked to cast a movie about Beijing nightlife in 2011. Who would play some of the main characters?
I’m not sure of all the cast members, as there are too many people around. I’d definitely cast Zach Galifianakis as Thomas Gaestadius from White Rabbit. If you’ve ever seen him with his sunglasses on, you know what I mean. And Jean-Claude van Damme as El-Mar Bengel from Kokomo/Mo Lounge – they can both do the splits between a set of chairs. El-Mar loves doing it, so if you see him, ask him to show you.

What three items would you put in a time capsule to sum up Beijing night¬life right now?
Dice, a KTV microphone and Chivas with green tea. Is that four?

What are you most ashamed of having on your iPod?
Probably the Memoirs of a Geisha soundtrack.

What do you sing in the shower?
Right Said Fred – “I’m Too Sexy.”

Your house is on fire and you only have time to grab one album. Which would it be?
You have no idea how scary this question is…

Finally, give us a five-track summer chillout playlist.
“Norway” by Beachhouse
“The Long Way Home” by Lindstrøm
“D-A” by Discodeine (featuring Baxter Dury)
“Velocity of Love (Hot Toddy Mix)” by D-Pulse
“Kaleidoscopic Ecstasy” by Space Dimension Controller

Patrick Yu plays the Moonlighting party with Usami on Friday May 27 at Migas (free, 10pm), and at Sundays on Top at Kokomo on Sunday May 29. Also look out for Patrick and other Beijing DJs playing alongside Fatboy Slim at the Great Wall Music Festival on Jun 11.