X-Clusive Interview with DJ StoneDog (2011)

This month exclusive interview with DJ StoneDog... ExMen: Evan, congrats on the launch of the album "Volume Presents: Club Anthems Asia"! This must have been a long labour of love involving many people. How did the concept for the album come about?
DJ STONEDOG: There aren’t any Asia-based dance labels, that I’m aware of, that are putting out very ‘Westernized’ commercial club music. Volume being a gay venue, this compilation, and our label Volume Up Records, naturally grew to become a platform for upcoming LGBT and LGBT-friendly artists. I wanted to showcase what Asia can do- and to prove that we do have the talent, often unfairly overlooked, here within the LGBT community. On top of that, I wanted to include songs that told stories relevant to gay culture. “Rainbows” is about our pride flag, the Hollywood Road track is about coming out, there’s a song about gay open relationships, a very daring one about ‘fun’ at the sauna and of course “Love Wide Open” which is about our struggle for gay marriage rights.

VIDEO: “Love Wide Open”- DAVID BOSLEY



ExMen: What, in your opinion, is a "Club Anthem"? What makes it "Asian"?
STONEDOG: I’m pretty sure most of your blog readers are familiar with what a ‘cub anthem’ is, but in terms of ‘Asian’, for this project, all the tracks on the album originated from Asia. If not the singer on the song, it was either the remixer or the songwriter. Some of the tracks have lyrics that specifically reference Asia, especially the song “Delay No More”, which to Hong Kongers sounds like a very rude Cantonese slang term. Something not very flattering about your Mother (laughs).

VIDEO: “Delay No More”- GOLD MOUNTAIN



ExMen: How were the vocalists selected? Was there singing auditions involved, or was there some scientific attempt to match certain vocalists to certain songs?
STONEDOG: I initially started writing for artists who were friends of mine like Olynn Saleh and Andy Josh Lim from Singapore, HK Magazine’s Johannes Pong and Volume’s resident Drag Diva La Chiquitta. Melanie Alexander (of 90’s girlband ‘Girlfriend’ from Australia) is a long time friend of mine. Manila’s DJ Brian Cua (whom you recently interviewed) recruited Med Marfil the lead singer of the famous Pinoy band True Faith and later, Ricci Chan. David Bosley’s manager approached me to work with David after hearing Chiquitta perform her song “Tranny in the House” during the 2009 Mr Gay HK finale. I found other talent by scouting HK’s nightclub and hotel circuits. I also put casting notices out via Facebook and found Helena Angwin and Kitty Fung who then auditioned for me. Tonally, Helena fit the song we had already wrote, whereas Kitty’s good girl/bad girl song was written specifically for her and was inspired by her uber kawaii girl next door looks which belie her ballsy, sassy sense of humour.

VIDEO: “Bad For You”- KITTY FUNG



ExMen: You have vocalists from Hong Kong, Philippines and Singapore. How challenging was the production and recording process?
STONEDOG: And not just that, there’s remix teams also representing Manila (Brian Cua, as mentioned before), Japan (willie2400), Malaysia (Princess Ann) and mainland China (DJ Chozie Ma). There was some jet setting required on my part but with technology these days I can have a singer in a studio in another city (as was the case with the Mel Alexander track) and simply phone in and have my call patched through to the singer’s headphones so I can direct the session. The whole album was 2 years in the making. I calculated I lost one night’s sleep a week for the final 6 months of production in order to deliver the album on time for Volume’s 4th anniversary. I was determined!

VIDEO: “Let’s Take It Higher”- RICCI CHAN


ExMen: How did you manage to bring together so many remixers, many of whom have cult followings, into this album?
STONEDOG: Not as difficult as you might imagine when we had a few really strong tracks like “No I Won’t”, “Love Wide Open” and “Rainbows” already completed to lure the bigger talent in with our limited budget. Matt Pop has a massive following on Youtube (I was a huge fan) and he had heard “Rainbows”, loved it and so happily came on board to work on the Kitty Fung song. As we completed more tracks, it became very apparent to the more established people like Bassmonkeys, Oren Nizri and Pete Hammond that we were on to something really special and they wanted to be a part of it. Especially for a project so ground-breaking in this region.

ExMen: Speaking of the amazing Pete ‘Mixmaster’ Hammond, you collaborated for the song "Change Your Life" by Hollywood Road. How was the experience like?
STONEDOG: I am one of the geekiest Stock/Aitken/Waterman super fans out there and to work with one of my teenboy idols from the PWL Hit Factory was an experience I will treasure forever. Pete is super affable and has been making quite a comeback of late especially with remixes for artists like Alphabeat and Mini Viva. He is able to re-imagine familiar loops and samples from his PWL days and thread them into these new songs. Pete and I discussed in length what classic PWL track would have the right elements to build in to the Hollywood Road song and we eventually settled on Kylie’s “What Do I Have To Do” not just because of the workable tempo and key. We liked the subtle subtext that blending these two songs created. Because “Change Your Life” is a song to help LGBT people find ways to come out of the closet, by including the other song’s connotations in it, we ended up layering in a whole new dimension, which as a songwriter and producer, I find very artistically satisfying.

VIDEO: “Change Your Life”- HOLLYWOOD ROAD



ExMen: Some of the tracks such as "The Snake and the Spider" talks candidly about relationship pitfalls, while "Rising 2 Fame" contains many catty references. Compared to the usual uplifting club anthems, are you also trying to provoke some kind of reaction with these tracks?
STONEDOG: As much as I do love a mindless, throw your hands up in the air sing-along song, as a songwriter I find it liberating to also be able to tell stories never heard in songs before, like the gay open relationship storyline in “The Snake and the Spider”. That song was based on listening and observing certain friends of mine who’d think nothing unethical about having on the side flings from their partners, yet also lamenting about the inevitable power struggle that often underlies many gay relationships. In the gay world, we have our own rules and codes of behaviour, both sexually and socially, so for me it’s a fascinating world to explore both lyrically and emotionally.

VIDEO: “The Snake and the Spider”- ANDY JOSH LIM



ExMen: Where will the album be released?
STONEDOG: So far it’s out in HMV & Volume in Hong Kong, and by the time this interview is published on your blog, it will be in all the leading record stores in Singapore. Hopefully soon other regions in Asia like Taiwan, Thailand & Malaysia it will find outlets too. It is envisioned to be available to the major markets outside Asia at various stages throughout this year, whether on physical CD or digital release. To everyone outside Asia who is interested, if you can’t wait, email us at info@volume.com.hk with the subject heading ‘Club Anthems Asia’ and one of our label staffers can assist you with an advance order.

ExMen: How has the initial reaction to the album been so far?
STONEDOG: We are such a new, grassroots little indie label but we’ve been met with such positive buzz. I’m so extremely grateful. We’re getting some radio airplay here in HK and a lot of positive praise from DJs and punters who’ve already got the album. Time Out Magazine Hong Kong put it in their “Best of 2010” awards. I’m hoping everyone who reads this will find a way to grab a copy to see what all the fuss is about.

ExMen: Will we expect a sequel? If so, can you shed some light on it?
STONEDOG: That depends on you guys. Get out there and support the first one to ensure there can be another one. Such is the nature of start up labels. We do have more songs waiting to either begin or be completed like the 2nd La Chiquitta song we recorded and an original track with Singapore’s DJ Big Kid that didn’t quite get finished in time. There is always hope our community feels compelled enough to act on it to help keep our voice heard and continue to give local LGBT artists a fighting chance to raise their profiles. It’s really up to the public to decide our fate. I’d hate for it to end before it really had a chance to grow and perhaps become a key that can help unlock a better future for gays in Asia.

X-Clusive Interview with DJ Brian Cua

This month exclusive interview with DJ Brian Cua...

Brian is an award winning producer, arranger, jingle composer, remixer and DJ from the Philippines. Brian is a founding partner of Hit Productions, Inc, the largest jingle house and audio-post production. He is one of the resident DJs of BED, the largest gay dance club in Manila.

Check out my exclusive interview with him, below.

ExMen: Hi Brian.. can you tell us a bit about the remix work you do?

Brian: Most of the time, i do bootleg remixes, meaning i don't have any acapella or stems from the actual recording to work on, it's something i do to enhance my DJ playlist and offer them to my fans as well.
Sometimes i do get paid for remixing work - still working on that to become a regular thing LOL. For remixing software, i usually work with Ableton Live and/or Logic Studio 9. A lot of people tell me even though
i don't have the acapella my remixes sound better than the ones out there - thank you very much!

ExMen: You are also the the founding partner of Hit Productions, Inc, the largest jingle house and audio-post production house in Manila. Can you tell us more about the projects you are involved in?

Brian: We do around 60% of the local tv ads being shown in manila, and a bit for regional ads. We provide music, jingles, SFX, and voice dubbing - just any kind of audio requirement you need, we can get it done for you. Our clients include, Coca-Cola, Unilever and P&G
products, etc.


ExMen: How is like spinning for BED, the largest gay night club in Manila?

Brian: With the recent renovations, spinning for BED is like giving a performance - the DJ booth is bigger and elevated - it feels like a stage! And it's very inspiring because you can feel immediately the energy of the crowd and how you want to give it back to them!

ExMen: How would you compare the club scene there to other countries you've been to?

Brian: Manila has actually a limited club scene - a lot of small bars and a small handful of big clubs. People here are also very discerning when it comes to music. Filipinos are typically shy to dance but when properly given some social lubrication - they are quite the rowdy bunch. They also like their vocal anthems. Other cities like New York - are more appreciative and would dance to anything that is beat related.

ExMen: What can one expect when visiting Manila for the first time?

Brian: Well, the weather is for the most part humid. Our people are very warm and hospitable. Food is relatively cheap and varied. Beaches are heavenly and it's usually a few hours trip away!

ExMen: You are also the remixing partner of Drew G (NY), collaborating on remixes for Solange, Dangerous Muse, Jason Derulo and Cyon Flare. How did that came about and how is it going now?

Brian: I met Drew from twitter/facebook and working with him has been very fulfilling because we challenge each other constantly - we have different musical influences and that's what gives us our unique 'dirty pop' sound. Right now we are waiting for spec approvals from record companies and promoters - market for remixing is very competitive - it is our hope our 'dirty pop' sound would get their attention.

ExMen: You've also collaborated with DJ Stonedog on the Volume album. How was the collaboration like?

Brian: Evan is a very prolific composer- the songs we worked on are simply amazing and covers a lot of topics... it was very easy to fashion a dance anthem sound for his songs.

ExMen: Your bootleg mixes of Kylie Minogue, Christina Aguilera and especially Glee songs have inspired quite a cult following of fans. Why the interest in remixing Glee songs?

Brian: The idea of making Glee remixes actually came from a very good DJ friend (and biz partner of BED Manila) DJ Jay Santos. it was he who collaborated with me in remixing 'Don't Stop Believin' - and after that - many requested me for other Glee songs to be remixed - mind you, not all of them were 'remixable' - But i guess i stumbled on a niche market, nobody not even the recording company saw the potential. They also make my DJ playlist special - the Glee songs are the hit with the clubbers! For non-glee stuff -i choose carefully other songs to remix - sometimes i don't touch a song when it's suffering from remix fatigue. It's either i have to come up with that remix very early in the game or not at all. Sometimes i pluck 'unremixable' songs like from 'Burlesque' out of nowhere and make them into dance tracks.

Check out Brian's It's My Life/Confessions Video

ExMen: Who are are your favourite DJs/remixers? Who would you like to remix for if given a chance?

Brian: My favorite DJs/remixers are Kaskade, Dave Aude, Richard Grey, Erick Morillo, Edson Pride, Tony Moran, Ralphi Rosario, Avicii, Swedish House Mafia, Laidback Luke, Sebjack, Chew Fu and many many more!
I would love to remix any of the divas - Madonna, Kylie, Beyonce, Rihanna, etc.


ExMen: If you have a genie to grant you anything you want in the world except world peace, what would you wish for?

Brian: I wish people would be kinder to everyone- that's like world peace too, right? :)

ExMen: What are you working on now, musically? What are your future plans?

Brian: Plans for a 2011 summer US DJ tour (NYC, SFO, LA) , work on a scoring movie, and of course many more advertising work and bootleg remixes (and hopefully get paid for them)

X-Clusive Interview with DJ Stonedog

This month exclusive interview with DJ Stonedog...
DJ Stonedog is the resident DJ and Creative Director of popular Hong Kong gay venue Volume. He made National headlines as the first queer artist to write, produce and release a single for and from the city’s gay community. His debut single “Rainbows” became synonymous with Volume and has the distinct honour of being the world’s first club song about the Gay Pride Flag.

Check it out then read my exclusive interview with him, below.

ExMen: Hi Dj Stonedog…. first of all, how did you get a nick like that?

DJ STONEDOG: From my ex-boyfriend, actually. At the time we were in a long-distance relationship (he in Manila, me in Sydney) so we were spending long periods apart and struggling with ridiculous phone bills. It was the mid-90’s and the birth of the email era, so he encouraged me to sign up for an account. I didn’t know what user name to go for, so I just translated his, which was a Filipino Tagalog expression “Bangag Na Aso”- which roughly translates as ‘the dog is stoned’. Back in my wild youth, it was both funny and appropriate. (laughs). Fast forward to when I had to come up with a DJ name, I simply just took my email account moniker and thus ‘DJ Stonedog’ was born. Thankfully, people seem to like the name and it hasn’t failed me yet.

ExMen: How did you end up in Hong Kong, being originally from Sydney?

DJ STONEDOG: I guess as I’ve matured I’ve come to realize I’ve become quite a very goal-oriented person. In my early 20’s, I began discovering within me a loud urge suggesting to me I was meant to be living overseas. I just didn’t know exactly where, but I definitely knew when. I can clearly recall thinking to myself when I was around 23 years of age saying “I’m going to be an ex-pat by the time I’m 27”. Sure enough, I had scored a job offer in Hong Kong and moved there literally a week after my 27th birthday. I knew in my gut that that was when it was going to happen. My star sign is Scorpio, and one of our traits is that we’re very in-tune with the more mystical elements of life. I had an intuition about living in Asia, as if it were a calling of sorts, and it proved to be correct.

ExMen: How was it like when you first established Volume in Hong Kong? How would you compare the GLBT/ club scene there to the other countries you’ve been to?

DJ STONEDOG: I’d been living and working in HK for several years before Volume was even a thought in my mind and although I did party on the gay scene from time to time, most of the time I preferred to hang out at straight venues with my predominantly straight friends. They all knew I was gay, but it seemed I just wasn’t connecting with the HK queer scene at the time. I guess coming from Sydney I missed that vibrancy and creativity that is the lifeblood of Oxford St. What was here in Hong Kong paled in comparison, and quite honestly, bored the shit out of me. Where were the regular drag shows? Where were the novelty events? Where were the dress-up parties? And mostly, where is all the good music? I had had numerous conversations with other gays here and like them, lamented on the uninspiring scene here. I never once imagined at the time, that I would be one of the ones who would eventually step up and actually do something about it. But I’m glad I did and I think the queer community as a whole has noticed the change Volume has helped trigger for the better here.

ExMen: Your website (http://www.volume.com.hk/) mentions that you’ve worked with artistes like Chaka Khan, Ricki-Lee Coulter and Dannii Minogue. How did that happen and how was it like (for each)?

DJ STONEDOG: I come from a TV production background, so I used to work with a lot of celebrities day in, day out. They stopped becoming ‘stars’ in my eyes and just became real people as it’s hard to think of the hottest actor in town as a God when you’re sitting outside the studio, both nursing hangovers and gulping down coffee lamenting a pounding headache. Dannii was one of the many talents that I worked with during that era of my life. I recall at the time she wasn’t getting much respect in the press and was thinking to myself how unfair that was since she was such a hard-worker and very professional on set. As for Chaka Khan, meeting her was a moment I will never forget. I was volunteering for the Sydney Lesbian & Gay Mardi Gras and dancing in their big stage shows at the after-parade party. I was in her 4am “I’m Every Woman” show and all us performers had to wear drag. It was my first time in a frock and heels and I was petrified of having to run down a giant gold-gilded staircase in that get up, plus- in time with the music! If I’d tumbled, it would have been ass over tit down the steps in front of 20,000 people! Thankfully it all worked out fine but I’ve been afraid of donning a dress ever since! (laughs). Ricki-Lee, I worked with last year. It’s great to see her sustaining a career well beyond Australian Idol and she’s only getting bigger. I met her in Melbourne when I was sent there to direct a concert she was doing for TV. She was very down-to-Earth and very accommodating towards my ideas for the show as well as her fans. I would even go so far to say she’s one of the friendliest of the celebrities I’ve ever worked with. I wish her all the best and I’m thrilled she’s now signed to dance label Ministry Of Sound.

ExMen: How was it like working with Olynn Saleh to produce Volume’s anthem song, “Rainbows”?

DJ STONEDOG: Olynn is one of those artists with such huge talent that I am in total awe whenever I’m around her. She’s definitely fun to work with. I was concerned that she might baulk at the concept of recording a song about the gay pride flag, in terms of it potentially pigeonholing her, but she believed we had a positive message within the song and one which deserved its chance to be heard. “Rainbows”, to the best of my knowledge, is the world’s first dance song about our Rainbow Pride flag. Some people have criticized it saying it’s not political enough but from our point of view, we didn’t want to hit people over the heads with a ‘we’re here, we’re queer’ message. The line at the end of the song about rainbows being a “symbol of pride”, we felt was all it really needed to get the point across. We just wanted to make a happy song about how we feel when our community comes together. Our pride flag is our unifying guiding light and I think, of all the world’s flags, ours is definitely the prettiest!

ExMen: You categorized your own spinning style as “flamboyantly aggressive retro-tech meets modern-day macho manbeatz”. Care to elaborate what that means?

DJ STONEDOG: Have you ever done one of those inane ‘how gay are you quizzes’? I always seem to get around 50-60% which probably explains why my sets are a combination of girly handbag tracks and edgy underground macho stuff. I like my house-divas, but I also love tribal and tech-house electronic music. My sets reflect both sides of my personality. I’m also an 80’s-kid at heart so I love throwing revamped 80’s songs into my performances. Artists like Pebbles, Deacon Blue, New Order & Taylor Dayne for example. So that whole spiel about my spinning style truly is a reflection of me. I have wide, eclectic tastes.

ExMen: What can one expect when visiting Volume for the first time?

DJ STONEDOG: Apart from everyone loving the free vodka we serve each Wednesday before 9:30pm, I think the best way to answer this is from the feedback of others I’ve had over the years who’ve come through our doors. The first thing Los Angeles’ DJ Kimberly S said when she came to Volume was “Oh, this place is so cute!” DJ Dan Murphy (Sydney) said something similar. So I guess the first thing that hits people is the whole interior design of the venue which just instantly puts people at ease. There’s a lot of sheer fabrics and fun patterns everywhere with bold, playful, non-traditional colours on the walls like bright yellows near campy purples. We never wanted a space that was sleek, impersonal and too-cool-for-school. We wanted Volume to be more about fun and not about hooking up so the club reflects that. It’s translated well towards the type of clientele we attract. We’ve managed to avoid that sleazy reputation. People go there to have a good time with friends first and think about hooking up as an afterthought. It creates a very open, relaxed party atmosphere in the venue when it’s not all about sex, it’s about being social and meeting new people- but not in a cliquey, predatory way. Actually, I was discussing this with a drag queen the other day and we decided that Volume basically is about fun, friendship and…the occasional fuck. (laughs).

Check out DJ Stonedog’s 2nd single “No I Won’t”:

ExMen: Who are your favourite DJs/remixers? Who would you like to remix for if given a chance?

DJ STONEDOG: For me, it’s more about who is coming up with the next ‘in’ sound. Less so, who’s been flavour of the past 12 months or who’s jumping on a fad bandwagon. A lot of DJs and producers get trapped by labels into churning out the same style for different artists- just so the label can have a familiar sound attached to the remix. After a year or so it all begins to start sounding the same on the dance floor and I start passing on any of their new material. So I admire the guys who have managed longetivity like Peter Rauhofer and Junior Vasquez for their versatility. In terms of who I think is hot right now, I’d say Brian Cox, TV Rock, Casey Alva, Funk Avy, Lenny B, Linus Loves & Matt Pop- each of whom are currently cutting through the clutter. My personal fave of course, is Brian Cua from Manila who’s become my partner-in-crime of sorts. He’s working on several tracks with me for the Volume album. Not only does he possesses incredible talent, but is also fantastic to work with. As for whom I’d like to work with in the future, well, Bananarama are making a bit of a comeback this year, and they seem like they don’t take themselves too seriously, so a project with them sounds like fun to me.

ExMen: If you can place a mail order for a lover according to specifications you dictate, how would he look like?

DJ STONEDOG: Polished, chiseled, made of 18-carat solid gold and shipped directly to my offshore bank account and trust fund for future investment.

ExMen: If you have a genie to grant you anything you want in the world, what would you wish for (excluding “world peace”)?

DJ STONEDOG: Well, if I can’t have world peace then let’s drop that infamous ‘gay bomb’ we all read about and get the rest of the world on ‘our’ side. (laughs).

ExMen: What are you working on now, musically? What are your future plans?

DJ STONEDOG: I’m about halfway through producing Volume’s first full-length album. Obviously the first two singles “Rainbows” and “No I Won’t” will be included as well as a new track “The Snake And The Spider” which I’ve done with Singapore Idol’s Andy Josh Lim. I’m currently working on two more tracks with a very special Hong Kong based artist and in talks with a handful more to get them on board the project. So far it’s coming along great. What I like, is since its Hong Kong’s first ever dance club album from the local gay scene, some of the songs reflect life here in gay HK. For example, the track with Andy Josh is about an open gay relationship. It’s great to have an outlet to have our stories told…to a pulsing, dance beat.

ExMen: And lastly which is your favourite DJ ExMen mixset?

DJ STONEDOG: Ah, that’s easy- your Debbie Gibson Megamix! She was my teenboy childhood idol because she wrote and produced all her own stuff and hit #1 in the US at an age just a few years older than I was at the time. So as a songwriter/producer myself, I looked up to her as a very positive role model. Having said that, I thought your Rhianna Vs Chris Brown collection was pure genius. Especially because you released it right after that alleged beating incident. So yeah, I dig the humour in your mixes and I love your site. It’s one of the better ones, for sure!

To download the 2 official Volume singles “Rainbows” and “No I Won’t” (along with each track’s various remixes), click here: http://volume.com.hk/store/releases

If you wanna know what kind of music you can espect at Volume? Check out my mix "One Night At Volume Hong Kong" Out Tomorrow!!