All of 21, Irishman Jack Byrne is tripping the light fantastic with his eclectic tastes in music as the new hot DJ in town. Between gigs, KEE exchanged some notes, of the musical kind.
Words: P.Ramakrishnan
Images: Tim Cheng
What are you listing to right now?
Right this very moment, I'm listening to "Must I Go (Waifs & Strays 2 Drops of Acid Remix)" by Teva, mind bending! Currently I've been listening to a lot of deep house, producers such as Jamie Jones and Maceo Plex are amongst my favorites. Recently I've been finding a lot of underground house music, it has that element of freshness to it that I love and it's really good to relax to.
What was the first cd you ever bought?
There are a few CD's I think could have been my first but to be 100% honest I can't remember, when I was really young there were always house CD's and cassette tapes lying around at home, playing in the kitchen or in the car when driving to my grandparent's house on the weekends. When I got a bit older these CD's and tapes all ended up in my room. When it came to buying CD's I used to go to a shop and listen to almost the whole disk before I decided whether I really wanted to buy it or not, it was something very personal to me, spending time and money making sure I was buying something really worthwhile.
What sort of music do you like to play? Who's been an influence?
As I have grown up my taste in music has changed drastically, I have always had a passion for house music, however I go through phases listening to all different genres of music which I believe has helped me develop my current sound when DJ-ing. When I play, there needs to be momentum, I can't keep playing the same mood for a whole night, I like to feel as though music is constantly building as the night goes on. Deep house, tech house, funky, nu-disco, techno, electro… These are amongst my favourite styles to play however it's the way in which they are delivered which I find the most important.
It’s been a much traveled tour of Asia and UK as a youngster, but is Hong Kong finally home? What have you seen and learned behind the scenes?
Yeah, Hong Kong is home. Working behind the bar at Drop for the past year I have seen the way in which the resident DJ's (Joel Lai, Eric Byron, Janva Tam & Tai Pan Dan) are able to read the crowd and are able to entertain the customers. I would definitely say listening to these DJ's for the past year has helped me learn how to improve my skills as a young DJ. I would not have had such a passion for my music if it weren't for my upbringing. My parents used to go to Ministry of Sound warehouse parties in the early 90's and there was always really good music playing in the kitchen or in the car when growing up in London.
What do you hate to hear at a club? What do you love?
When it comes to music I can be such a snob. Not a fan of anything which could be considered commercial or mainstream, even as a child growing up if there was pop music on TV I would switch to the news. I have no problem with nightclubs playing such styles of music, it's what a large percentage of people enjoy and it's the reason they go out clubbing, However,personally it isn't my style. I love being in a club and hearing something fresh that I haven't heard before that makes me go "WWAAHH!! WHAT IS THIS!?". I enjoy being around like-minded people who all enjoy similar music and don't go out looking for anything in particular, just to enjoy the music and have a wild night.
What are you surfing?
Facebook! I'll share a track or two on my wall, Beatport, YouTube and a few small promotional music websites such as The Fresh Beat are usually where I spend most of my time if I'm surfing the net.
What are you reading right now?
When I was younger I used to read quite a lot of non-fiction, biographies and autobiographies in particular, I find peoples accounts on past occurrences really interesting. Iggy Pop's autobiography was full of bright and fascinating stories, I highly recommend it to anybody… willing to keep an open mind.
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