M&A #26: Sean T

Sean T arrives in Cambridge off the back of time spent in London, where he says he started embarrassingly out of his depth. Things began taking off after a gig at well-known South London venue Brixton Jamm and now he holds 2 residencies back home in Singapore, as well as emerging in Cambridge with nights at everyone's favourite low-ceilinged cocktail bar, 2648. With his mix for us, he's explored an array of DnB and bassy subgenres. The tempo stays high with occasional vocal releases, wompy interludes and some pretty intense drum workouts throughout. This is a full-on hour of caffeine overdose x fever dream from someone who is sure to make strides as a DJ worldwide.

How did you record the mix?

CDJs at AS:HE’s studio while back in Singapore for Christmas, they’re a lifesaver for whenever I’ve left my gear in the UK.

What were you trying to do with it?

I had a very speculative conversation with a Belfast-based promoter about possibly playing at Outlook festival in Croatia this summer. Turned out he wasn’t in charge of bookings anymore, but I figured I’d try and record something anyway. I’d never attempted a proper DnB set before, mostly because I was- and still am- intimidated by the intricacies of the genre. So I tried to be experimental and play all types of DnB including jump up (the good kind anyway) alongside other genres like EBM and fast-paced industrial stuff, and basically not worry too much about it being erratic or pissing off DnB purists.

What's your background? How did you start DJing and where’s it gone so far?

I started out at 16 with a boutique DJ school called POP Studio DJ, run by AS:HE, a stalwart of the Singapore music scene. Back in those days I didn’t take anything in life seriously. I’ve always liked the music, but DJing was almost sort of an inside joke with friends at school to make me seem cooler than I actually was. A few years later I tried getting back into it while at uni in London, and quickly realised how embarrassingly out of my depth I was. I really only got my act together after a couple of disasters. Someone trusted me with a gig at Brixton Jamm and things finally took off from there. Over the past year I’ve been more closely involved with POP Studio DJ and their regular events while based back in Singapore for a while. I’ve also been active in the Singapore bar scene at venues like White Label, and as a resident at Chimichanga (a Mexican dive bar) and Ginett Bar,by the Hotel G franchise and have played at 2648 a couple times since moving to Cambridge last September. For me, being a resident- at any venue however big or small- is probably the best way to grow and develop as a DJ. It gives you a chance to play regularly, forces you to act professionally, and means you can’t get away with playing the same tracks over and over again and just being uncreative.

How do you find new music? And how do you categorise the new stuff you buy? Genre, mood, energy?

I never like to be too bogged down by individual genres so energy levels are best. To be honest I’m pretty disorganised in the way I categorise my music, but if there’s one other thing I’d recommend it’s trying out unlikely tracks that might work together on rekordbox every now and then, and being pleasantly surprised. 

What’s the nightlife like in Singapore? How does it compare to London (/Cambridge)? 

Everyone thinks the nightlife industry in Singapore is totally commercially driven, but we’ve had some interesting venues open over the past few years like HQ who’ve brought in some really good acts. Midnight Shift is our most successful ‘home-grown’ label so to speak, and they’re taking over Berghain for a weekend in March. Generally speaking people in Asia have a different way of consuming music to anywhere in Europe- its either your life and you’re totally consumed by it or you don’t care about music at all, no in-between. 

But if I had to name one other difference between the music scenes in Singapore and in cities across the UK, it is that things are far more inclusive over here. As basic and obvious as it may seem, an amazing thing for me about the UK, and something I’m really grateful for, is how enthusiastic people are about spreading their scenes far and wide and getting as many people involved in their scenes and parties as possible. Singapore underground scenes sometimes feel more fragmented and distant from one another, which means bigger audiences aren’t being reached out to, which is why locally produced ‘underground’ music doesn’t grow as quickly and everything else ends up being so commercially dominated. Having said that, they just opened a commercial club called Marquee which has a fucking Ferris wheel in it, and they ended up hosting Richie Hawtin a couple of weeks ago- I suppose that’s uniquely Singaporean.

I’ve seen on your social media you’re involved with running some DJ/music workshops. What’s your role there? Does running a workshop change how you think about DJing at all? What have you learned from those?

I’m mainly in charge of the marketing and planning side of things for these workshops and courses. I give whatever advice I can to new students, but it’s just as interesting to watch how experienced and talented instructors in the local scene (the likes of AS:HE, Jasmine Nera, Ifan Christanto and Ben Ang) approach people with no prior knowledge about DJing whatsoever. Last summer we ran these huge workshops of about 35-40 kids each, so teaching them about different music genres is just as important as teaching them technical skills. That helps me broaden my own horizons too, since everyone’s still learning all the time. But it’s not just the music side of things. We always say that these days being a DJ is like being a rock star, but some people take that too literally. What I’ve realised over the years is how a surprising number of DJs have no clue about how to set up their own equipment, myself included when I started out- we want to teach them that being a DJ isn’t just about being cool and getting girls, and that helps me stay grounded too.

What’s your musical guilty pleasure?

Early Robbie Williams, first 4 or 5 albums

Also, whatever the hell that Route 94 genre is called (Instagram house? white boy house?)

What’s the last song you listened to?

Easy Living- Billie Holiday

Who is your favourite producer/performer at the moment?

Bufiman’s new album is worth a listen. Off the top of my head, Schacke’s also had a good year. I really like the Copenhagen sound, so anything that gets released on Ectotherm records really. Aside from techno, I was chatting with someone over Christmas and we agreed Dua Lipa is one of the only genuinely interesting performers to emerge over the past couple of years- maybe add that to the guilty pleasures list?

What is your go to tune to bring a party up/banger?

3AM Eternal- The KLF

What was the best party you’ve played?

Strangely enough, a disco night I did for Cinco de Mayo last May, that went off.

What’s coming up for you in the future?

I’m working on my first track which will hopefully be finished in a few weeks, so stay tuned x

Sean’s Tracklist:

Formula- Aphex Twin

Synth Geek- Randomer

Etre Assis Ou Danset- Liaisons Dangereuses

Hologram (Richard Fearless Remix)- The Horrors

Maru (Skee Mask Remix)- Plaid

Dust (Original Mix)- Xhin

Positive Education (Zero T Remix)- Slam

Bruce Lee (DJ Hype & DJ Zinc Vocal Mix)- Underworld

Positive Education (Zero T Remix)- Slam

Justified- Commix

Wear Your Skin- Hide

Black Mamba- Voltage

Take Me Away (Come Hard Mix)- Exile & Mark XTC

Ahead of Me (VIP)- Alibi & Command Strange

Choke Me ft. Nurs- Paul Mørk

Acid Generation- Grafix

Tape Pack- Ulterior Motive

Feel for You (VIP)- Bladerunner

Soul Makossa (Aphrodite Remix)- Afrika Bambaataa

Papua New Guinea (Evol Intent VIP)- Future Sound Of London

Badboy Business (feat. Kate Stewart & Mr Williamz)- Shy FX

Only You (Greg Packer Remix)- Nookie

Kozmic Flush- Skee Mask

You Didn't Care- Joe Armon-Jones, Nubya Garcia