Club DJ Eddie's Consumer Life In Beijing

Originally from Tianjin, Eddie is one of Beijing’s top DJs. He regularly spins at clubs around the city, including D Lounge, Centro and Lantern, as well as working corporate gigs and music festivals. He runs with the capital’s cool crowd, and his friends are actors, musicians, and creative types.

 Q; What does cool mean to you?

 E: Cool is doing what suits you … just do what you want to do.

 Q: What kind of clothes do you buy?

 E: I like more traditional brands … I like Converse shoes, or Red Wing shoes. They have a long history, they’ve done one thing for a long time, so they’ve developed a standard of quality … I think they really suit me, they’re comfortable. I like original Adidas. I like old school stuff. For shirts, I like Carhartt and Uniqlo. They have simple colors, not so many complicated designs … Uniqlo is a Japanese brand, so the clothes are made for Asian body shapes.

 Q: How about phones?

 E: My cell phone is a Samsung. I had an iPhone before, and iPhones are better, faster. But with Samsung you can put in two cards.

 Q: You have a Weixin (WeChat) account, right? Do you advertise your DJ events on it?

 E: Yes, I do. I have a friend circle, and if I have an event, I tell them. But I don’t really promote with advertisements.

 Q: So how do you promote your music or your shows?

 E: I prefer a natural way of promoting. On Weibo, Facebook or Weixin, I’ll put out a message.

 Q: What kind of music do you like?

 E: Electronic dance music. Techno, house. I also like live shows. For example, I saw Herbie Hancock, that was good. For house I like Mark Farina, old DJs, Alex Knight. For techno, I really like Jeff Mills.

 Q: You have a special event once a month where you only use CDs or vinyl. Why just CDs or vinyl?

 Because of the sound quality. When I started djing 20 years ago, I bought a bunch of CDS, and vinyl. Now, the CDs are all broken – I can’t listen to them anymore. But the vinyl lasted, it’s the same as when I bought it.

 Actually vinyl is cheaper than it used to be. I buy it online. From the US or Australia, from record stores. I usually buy from Juno, in England. In the US, I buy records in Chicago. 

 Q: What DJ equipment do you use?

 E: Pioneer is good. But for turntables, always Technics … I bought McCauley speakers. China, second hand.

 Q: How about going out to eat?

 If I have money, I like to go to clean, quiet places. I like Susu. It’s Vietnamese. In Sanlitun, I’ll go to Jazz-ya. It’s an old place … Lately I’ve also been going to Biteappitta. For Chinese food, I often go to my friend’s restaurant, Malaxiangguo, a malatang place.

 Q: You used to drive a car.

 E: A Jeep Cherokee. I was younger, I thought jeeps and SUVs were cool. Especially for men. You could go anywhere in them. And they weren’t too expensive. At that time, gas wasn’t that expensive. They were taller, and safer.

 Q: But you don’t drive anymore.

 E: No, I stopped driving. Now I have a small Vespa …the Vespa design is really good. It’s also a brand that’s been around for a long time. I’ve had it for three years, and never had a problem.

 Q: What kind of alcohol do you drink?

 E: My favorite is beer or whisky. In Beijing, I like Great Leap. I also like Hoegaarden. I also like some American beers that I can’t get here. Like Schlafly, from St. Louis.

 Q: How about whisky?

 E: I like single malt. I like Yamazaki, Glenfiddich.

 Q: How about your watch?

 E: It’s Seiko. My father had a Seiko, and gave it to me … So when I bought a new one, I got a Seiko.