The Music, Art and Travels of Alan D. Oldham a.k.a. DJ T-1000.
Back to France.
Just back from Nantes last night. I love it there. Smaller and more quiet than Paris. Lots of fresh air, architecture and art. There's a venue called La Lieu Unique there that's a restaurant, bar, gallery space, bookstore, the whole bit. Always something cultural happening there. In fact, that's where we had the annual pre-show dinner. The promoter, Christof, is the consummate host.
The gig itself was great. Less people than last year, but that's everywhere at the moment. The crowd was wild, man. Screaming, stomping, hollering. They wanted it hard, baby. Lots of women (the women are young and beautiful in Nantes, with lots of fashion), too, that's what I like to see. I hate when you play hard and it's all boys out there.
Quick note about the Paris Metro: I hate it. Too crowded, too hot. People bumping into you all the time. There are also too many fucking stairs, which in itself isn't a problem, unless you've got a record box and luggage. I'll take the Berlin U-Bahn anyday.
Oh, Sammy Dee from Perlon was on my flight from Berlin to Paris. I thought it was him, but I wasn't sure. I met him three years ago and hadn't seen him since. I went up to him and asked "Do I know you?" He was like, "Alan Oldham?" Turns out he had a gig in Bordeaux.
Thanks to Duplex/Trium Music/Bounty Hunter for the great weekend.
-AO :: 6:05 AM ::
Miss Yetti at H&M.
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
I ran into Henrietta a.k.a. Miss Yetti last night at the H&M at Potsdamer Platz (I had to buy some new clothes 'cause the ones I brought from home are too big for me now). I was waiting to check out and felt something hitting my arm. There she was, in the same line. It's really cool to run into people in this city, I love it. We proceeded to do some shopping together. Isn't that nice?
-AO :: 10:47 AM ::
International Gallery Star.
I just had my first gallery show in Paris. It went very well! A lot of people jammed into the small space to see my installation. There were a lot of people there who were familiar with my Djax work (it helped that my art was part of a Miss Djax cover story in CODA magazine this month), and were surprised to see all my big, splashy color gallery pieces. After years of B&W art for Djax, the color just knocked their eyes out.
The individual painted pages from the upcoming VECTRA comic were a hit! I could have sold all of them, but they're not for sale until the book comes out early next year. We also sold a LOT of the "Sexy Adventures of Orietta St. Cloud" comic/CDs, to my surprise.
Later that night, I played The Batofar. Interesting space (on a boat!), good sound, nice crowd! Dancing, shouting, partying. Saw a lot of familiar faces (Arno, Virginie, Julia, Technotourist Marie with her sexy new haircut) both at the opening and at the party. It's always nice to see friends.
Thanks to my art dealer Adeline Jeudy for organizing the gallery show and making it happen. Thanks also to the beautiful people of Paris for appreciating my work. It was nice to meet all of you!
-AO :: 8:27 AM ::
The New Adventures of DJ T-1000.
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Last Friday was my first-ever gig in Poland. I took the train from here to Poznan, a pretty cool change of pace from airplanes. It took 2 1/2 hours or so, not long. First thing I noticed at the train station was that Polish women look hot. I've heard a lot of hype on Polish girls over the years, and it is indeed well-founded. They smile at you, too, and are flirtatious.
The club I played was called K2. Those people like it hard. Don't come with slow minimal techno, they'll laugh you off the stage. That crowd wore me out, man. I usually don't play that fast anymore, but I had to keep it at 140 and above all night. And the crowd was going crazy. It was that DJ Rush kinda crowd. After the set, I hung around, talked to people, took pictures, and signed posters. They had posters made with my pic on them and had them plastered all over the city. I got a write-up in the local paper, too, one more for the press kit. A really cool night, one that made me glad to have left America, where they treat you like shit, assuming more than 10 people show up.
I hope to return to Poznan one day soon.
The next night I played Berlin at Kapital. My set was off 'cause the guy before me played minimal. I didn't want to shock the crowd so I tried to keep his tempo, which was too slow for me. I gradually brought it up and up, but didn't want to play too hard. I should have just come in rockin' like I usually do. The crowd was a little weird. I couldn't pick up on what they wanted. I had my little fans upfront screaming, though, so I guess I did OK.
This one guy and his girlfriend came all the way from the UK to see me play. That was very cool. He e-mailed me a week later and told me he had been there. Too bad the party wasn't nicer for the guy.
I think I can't play Berlin without it being a Tresor event, like at Maria, where people know what to expect. When I played there last month, it was 600 people on a Wednesday night, quite unlike this party =). It was cool, though, I got a write-up in 030 Magazine out of it. It was nice to open it up and see me in there =)
So now I am taking the whole week to recover as I still have the lingering effects of a cold. I hate getting sick, it just hangs on and on and on.
PS: They used some of my artwork on the cover of the latest CODA magazine (FR). Out of all the hot pieces I did, they use the worst one. Plus I didn't get paid for it. Oh well, the timing's good because of my art show this Saturday in Paris.
Check it out at: www.codamag.com
-AO :: 10:19 AM ::
I'm Over Tokio Hotel Now.
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Yeah, man. Ever since Tokio Hotel won "Best Newcomer" at the Comet Awards (German equivalent to the MTV Awards), they've been playing "Durch Den Monsun" non-stop. The lead singer had a growth spurt and voice change since they made that video, too. He can't sing as high as on the record anymore. Time's running out. The pop world is a brutal mistress.
Speaking of pop, Ciara's "Oh" is in my head non-stop. MTV and VIVA brainwash people. I'm supposed to be a smart guy and see through it, and I'm just lapping it up.
Just getting over a cold and going out tomorrow. First to Poznan (my first-ever gig in Poland!), then back to Berlin for this gig at Kapital. It's gonna be a busy weekend. I like it like that.
-AO :: 11:04 AM ::
A Guy Called Gerald.
Saturday, October 08, 2005
So I was at a restaurant last night eating and I ran into Gerald Simpson! He was actually at the same restaurant, but in another booth. It was really good to see a familiar face in this lonely city. Turns out his studio isn't far from my flat in Mitte. I wasn't doing anything, so I went up there with him to talk awhile. He's still Gerald, you know. Same as back in the day. A cool, funny guy. Turns out he was playing records that night at this little bar, but I was still wrecked from Thursday night. He plays there most every week, so I'll check him out another time. I'm getting up there now and can't bounce back like I used to =)
-AO :: 8:24 AM ::
Coked-Out Minimal Hipster Heroin Chic.
Me and Stewart Walker got on the list via Tim Price for the Minus night at Week12end last night. It's a club in Alexanderplatz that's on the 12th floor of an office building, offering a great view of Berlin while you're dancing. The line-up was Magda, Troy Pierce and Marc Houle.
The DJ booth was fully armed as you'd expect, with dual Sony Vaio laptops running FS and Live (that I could see), and an Allen & Heath Xone 92 mixer. Sound was great.
Very posh hipster crowd, sprinkled liberally with six-foot tall model-looking babes. The barback was a dead ringer for Hawtin. The people watching was almost as fun as the party itself. Yes, I said fun. I had a blast.
First of all, those guys rocked the minimalism, okay? I'm the first one to say that the music is flat and overrated in less experienced hands (and believe me, I've heard some real snoozers), yet I'll also be the first to say that Magda and crew know how to play it. Especially Troy Pierce, whom I never heard before. I think I have a new favorite DJ.
Speaking of Magda, it was good to see her again. She was always one of the few people I actually liked back in Detroit, and she definitely took care of me with drink tickets last night! Troy was cool, too. We did a Jager shot together. He just offered, out of the blue. Like I said, cool guy.
It was also celebrity night, but I guess in Berlin, every night is celebrity night. Miss Yetti was there (whom I hadn't seen in four years!), DJ Pete from Hardwax, Stewart, of course, and this cat from Chicago named Billy Dellesandro. He's got some stuff out on Force Inc.
God, there had to be at least 350-400 people there on a Thursday night. It was out of control. Crowd was great. Put it this way, I left my flat at 11:30 pm, and didn't get home until 7:00 am.
On a weeknight.
I usually get all hot and smoked out and slip out of parties early, but I had such a good time meeting people, drinking and dancing I stayed till the bitter end.
Now it's time to go eat. Love from Berlin.
-AO :: 9:26 AM ::
Raumklang.
Saturday, October 01, 2005
Went to the opening of Ralf Stucki's new club, Raumklang, last night (Raumklang means "Music Room"). Stucki used to work for Tresor. He was the "tour manager" back in '99 when I went on tour here in Germany with Stewart Walker. Me, Stewart, Dash and Tom Clark in a van, rocker-style.
The club is small, but nice. It's in Friedrichshain. The cream of the Berlin electronic hipster crowd was there, including a lot of the expatriates including Tosh Cooey. He's this Canadian guy who's friends with Hawtin. He moved over here like five years ago and hasn't looked back. The party was nice too, 'cause a lot of people knew who I was. As I'd walk by, they'd say "DJ T-1000!" The full name, too, not just "T-1000." Nice ego boost. It was especially cool because I get confused a lot with Carl Cox or DJ Bone =). But then again, I've lost a little weight since coming to Berlin, so who knows. I'm turning into a skinny little rock star hipster.
A Guy Called Gerald's brother, David, was there too, bringing the number of black people at the event to eight =). He sang on Gerald's "Essence" album on !K7!, and was flattered when I told him I remembered his track (I used to have a connect that got me all the !K7! CDs). Don't know where Gerald was, though. He lives in Berlin now, too.
Stewart was there too, and played live. He's switched to a laptop and Ableton Live, a la Surgeon. I asked him what happened to his old "no laptops" rule and he said he sold out. Ableton is the only program I'm interested in. I might stop by Stewart's at some point and have him teach it to me. I wanna make my next mix CD on it. He says it's easy, one week and you'll get it. His set was pretty good. Berlin minimal, you know the sound.
So, yeah, I had fun, it's Berlin, what can you say. I'm off now until 14 Oct. I don't like being down so much, but that's the business. Then when you're booked, 50 other promoters want that date. It's happened a lot since I've been here.
-AO :: 11:18 AM ::
