Shanghai super DJ Ben Huang spins us through a Yellow night at LOgO

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11:00am Get up and face the day. I’ve been getting up quite early recently. Pulling myself out of bed at 11am makes me the real early bird among DJs. Today is Wednesday, and tonight is my weekly Yellow party at LOgO. After thinking through today’s schedule in the shower, I turn on my computer for a little email and MSN.

Breakfast

11:30 My favorite breakfast: two eggs, scrambled with tomato and a bowl of congee. It’s been my habit since childhood: simple but healthy.

More Internet

Noon I see a lot of my friends who have 9-5 jobs on MSN. I chat with them while handling personal and professional business. I reply to my emails, post party events, check out my Facebook (though I find it’s not available at the moment) and download new songs from various music websites. Normally, I receive promo songs from friends in Europe every week via email. Although most of the songs will be released soon, a few will not be available publically. New songs for the night!

Organizing Records

2:30pm Tired after two hours online, I start organizing records for the party tonight. My friends and I always meet up and enjoy the mid-week break. I choose mostly house and minimal for the Yellow party; they are really funky and groovy. Today, I have DJ I and VJ Hector as party guests. I’s Canadian, a part-time DJ and full-time architect and interior designer. Hector is a friend from France. I give them a call to plan the night. Records are all set; the music for tonight is deep house. I like to play nostalgic and retro music in my set. Most of the fans are really into music and know electronic music well, and a lot are fans of the classic Detroit albums.

YY’s

5:00 I thought about a foot massage, but I’m actually not so tired today, so I decide to go out for a cup of coffee with friends. Jumping into a taxi, I head for YY’s, the meeting point for my gang. Kenny, YY’s owner, is there everyday. I chat with Kenny, sit by the window and check out the world going by. I wish all the pretty girls passing YY’s would come to Yellow! YY’s coffee and wine are no different than anywhere else, but it’s still my favorite place in Shanghai.

Food

7:00 DJ I and Hector are busy, so it’s just me. I find a noodle restaurant, order a bowl of beef noodles and read the newspaper. After dinner, it’s back home for a rest before Yellow.

Two Shots

10:00 First things first: not a sound check, but a shot with LOgO’s boss Tai Pei. Tonight, two shots. Tai Pei is a really nice guy and always offers me drinks from his private stock. He and his friends are extra happy when no one is in the bar. Funny how that works.

DJ I

10:30 DJ I arrives and starts to warm up. He’s a fan of everything from dubstep to funky electro and the down tempo stuff becomes more upbeat when people start to arrive. My goal for Yellow is to make people feel funky and groovy during the working week.

Hector

11:00 Hector sets up pretty quickly. He and VJ Met le Cat bought a wireless web cam today. They can take it everywhere, even to the bathroom. They tell me it was only ￥45. I bet we’ll get some interesting video tonight.

On the Deck

Midnight People swarm into the bar as usual. The music becomes more and more suitable for dancing. I order a bottle of beer and get ready to jump on the decks. The small bar becomes extremely noisy, and the sound of music mixes with the taxi horns on the street.
3am People start to filter home. I always wonder when they need to get up and go to work on Thursday! Maybe a lot them don’t need to get up early, like me. Another good day has come to an end. Tai Pei invites me for another shot. Last one, okay!

Home Again

4:30 Check email before going to bed. I see a lot of my friends are still online; they never sleep. This is the DJ’s life. Now, where’s my pillow?

What we think...

Ben Huang is quite simply one of our favorite DJs in Shanghai. He’s been spinning wax in China for a long time and has got the best tattoos of any Chinese DJ. He spins at LOgO every Wednesday night.