Thang
Mojito Paradise
19:00 - 20:30
‘What a DJ does is this: he knows music. The DJ knows music better than you, better than your friends, better than everyone on the dance floor or in the record shop’ (…) ‘A truly great DJ, just for a moment, can make a whole room fall in love’. (from Last Night A DJ Saved My Life, Bill Brewster & Frank Broughton)
Read one DJ bio and you’ve read them all. The time they’ve put their first steps behind a mixing console, what musical genre they preach, who they shared stages with and what residencies they’ve assembled under their belt. But it takes Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton just three sentences to explain what a DJ really does. Thang, manning booths since 15 years and counting, tries it with four dilemma’s: four dilemma’s for the floor.
1. VINYL versus DIGITAL
Back in 1998-1999, when Thang put his first steps behind a mixing console, vinyl was the only musical format any self-respecting DJ allowed himself to be seen with. And be seen was something new to DJ culture, back in the late nineties. The disc jockey rose above the ranks, and became the focal point of the party. In Thang’s home town of Ghent, big promoters like Kozzmozz and Free The Funk took the lead in a new era of clubbing, and with them DJ’s such as Mo & Benoelie (later The Glimmers) and Stephen and David Dewaele from Soulwax (later Flying Dewaele Brothers, then Fucking Dewaele Brothers, then 2manydjs…), but also TLP, Olivier Tjon and Starski & Tonic, grew to be examples for the next generation record spinners. Ghent proved to be fertile breeding ground for DJ’s, and technical skills was one way to be one step ahead of the competition. It took a while for Thang to switch from record bag to USB-stick, but the technical possibilities that come with digital won him over. Vinyl is intimate and warm, digital is a bigger musical tool. Every means its medium, and vice versa.
2. TEASING versus CROWD PLEASING
Balance, balance is everything. ‘To be a good DJ you must develop the hunger’, write Brewster and Broughton in their book. The hunger to smell new flavors well beforehand, the hunger that brings water to your mouth when discovering a lost collection of dusty vinyl, the hunger to dig into the past and revive old jams. Teasing and crowd pleasing are not a question of ‘or’, but of ‘when’. Obscure disco dubs next to high energy r&b next to slow motion techno next to Blondie next to UK bass next to the next, rising on the horizon club banger? Anything goes, it’s all about the balance.
3. SOLO versus DUO
Around the time of the dawn of the new millennium, a double booking gave birth to a new musical alliance. When Thang found himself at Club 69 – a newly opened nightspot – accidently paired to fellow jockey Fredo, they decided to share the reigns and make the best of it. When somewhat later Club 69’s bigger brother Culture Club beats its chest, one of the resident DJ duo’s is Fredo & Thang. Three years they spun the wheels at Culture Club, as they did at Antwerp’s Petrol, Pop Life and Make-Up Club. At one point, Fredo & Thang morphs into Villa, a production project that, after a few line-up changes, now rests on the shoulders of Thang and musician/studio wiz François De Meyer. When Villa is commissioned a DJ set, it’s Thang representing. The freedom of playing solo, versus the adventure of doing it as a duo, tough choice. But long, nightly marathons are best run at your own pace.
4. BIG ROOM versus SMALL ROOM
Almost any DJ who went through the ropes will tell you there’s nothing that beats the close contact and almost physical energy from playing in a compact atmosphere. Thang, with residencies at petite but quality clubs such as Magic and Club 69, is not different. Not that the big stage frightens him, no sir: on his resume are festivals such as Pukkelpop, Laundry Day, Bestival and Valtifest, and large clubs such as Barcelona’s Razzmatazz are as welcoming to him as he is to them. Every weekend a different story.
Read one DJ bio and you’ve read them all. The time they’ve put their first steps behind a mixing console, what musical genre they preach, who they shared stages with and what residencies they’ve assembled under their belt. But it takes Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton just three sentences to explain what a DJ really does. Thang, manning booths since 15 years and counting, tries it with four dilemma’s: four dilemma’s for the floor.
1. VINYL versus DIGITAL
Back in 1998-1999, when Thang put his first steps behind a mixing console, vinyl was the only musical format any self-respecting DJ allowed himself to be seen with. And be seen was something new to DJ culture, back in the late nineties. The disc jockey rose above the ranks, and became the focal point of the party. In Thang’s home town of Ghent, big promoters like Kozzmozz and Free The Funk took the lead in a new era of clubbing, and with them DJ’s such as Mo & Benoelie (later The Glimmers) and Stephen and David Dewaele from Soulwax (later Flying Dewaele Brothers, then Fucking Dewaele Brothers, then 2manydjs…), but also TLP, Olivier Tjon and Starski & Tonic, grew to be examples for the next generation record spinners. Ghent proved to be fertile breeding ground for DJ’s, and technical skills was one way to be one step ahead of the competition. It took a while for Thang to switch from record bag to USB-stick, but the technical possibilities that come with digital won him over. Vinyl is intimate and warm, digital is a bigger musical tool. Every means its medium, and vice versa.
2. TEASING versus CROWD PLEASING
Balance, balance is everything. ‘To be a good DJ you must develop the hunger’, write Brewster and Broughton in their book. The hunger to smell new flavors well beforehand, the hunger that brings water to your mouth when discovering a lost collection of dusty vinyl, the hunger to dig into the past and revive old jams. Teasing and crowd pleasing are not a question of ‘or’, but of ‘when’. Obscure disco dubs next to high energy r&b next to slow motion techno next to Blondie next to UK bass next to the next, rising on the horizon club banger? Anything goes, it’s all about the balance.
3. SOLO versus DUO
Around the time of the dawn of the new millennium, a double booking gave birth to a new musical alliance. When Thang found himself at Club 69 – a newly opened nightspot – accidently paired to fellow jockey Fredo, they decided to share the reigns and make the best of it. When somewhat later Club 69’s bigger brother Culture Club beats its chest, one of the resident DJ duo’s is Fredo & Thang. Three years they spun the wheels at Culture Club, as they did at Antwerp’s Petrol, Pop Life and Make-Up Club. At one point, Fredo & Thang morphs into Villa, a production project that, after a few line-up changes, now rests on the shoulders of Thang and musician/studio wiz François De Meyer. When Villa is commissioned a DJ set, it’s Thang representing. The freedom of playing solo, versus the adventure of doing it as a duo, tough choice. But long, nightly marathons are best run at your own pace.
4. BIG ROOM versus SMALL ROOM
Almost any DJ who went through the ropes will tell you there’s nothing that beats the close contact and almost physical energy from playing in a compact atmosphere. Thang, with residencies at petite but quality clubs such as Magic and Club 69, is not different. Not that the big stage frightens him, no sir: on his resume are festivals such as Pukkelpop, Laundry Day, Bestival and Valtifest, and large clubs such as Barcelona’s Razzmatazz are as welcoming to him as he is to them. Every weekend a different story.
