If dance and rock music ever break into the Chinese musical mainstream, then DJ Zhang Youdai will surely become one of the most famous people in the Chinese entertainment market. Apart from running two clubs in Beijing, Cloud 9 and the recently opened Tango, Youdai is probably best known for his numerous alternative music radio programs over the last decade on Beijing Music Radio Station. He has also helped bring a large number of big western names to China, such as Leeroy from Prodigy for dance enthusiasts, and a Suede concert for the indie contingent. CRI recently met with DJ Youdai to have a chat about radio, vinyl and Banarama.
In the opinion of not only myself but also many other people, you are the person who has done the most to bring good quality western music to China. Over this year, you've had so many different radio programs, such as New Rock Magazine, Midnight Blues and Listen FM. Did you choose to keep creating new program ideas or was this something forced upon you by your radio station?
When I started to do radio programs, I first wanted to do a program about rock music so I did New Rock Magazine. Later, I wanted to play some jazz music, so I needed to create a new program, Midnight Blues. But nowadays my time on the radio is limited, because my audience isn't big enough. I therefore think I can play any kind of music on a program of mine, for example on Listen FM I could play any kind of music. Then there was Dance FM, which was only on air for a year, but still I get e-mails from listeners about Dance FM, saying they've recorded every one of the programs and still want to listen to them.
Tell us about your new program, "Soundtrack of my Life?"
My radio station wanted to stop Listen FM, and they said, "if you want to continue being on air, you need some new ideas." I'm also tired of doing the same things, so I thought maybe I could do something new, maybe a program which interviews some artists, some of my friends, about how music influences their lives and their own music. So I started this new idea.
Some of your fans are so loyal that they think that not only is "God is A DJ" but that his name is Youdai. Do your fans slightly scare you with this kind of loyalty?
I think I want to keep myself more private. I'm only a DJ when I'm in the club. If I'm on the radio station – I don't think there are any DJs in radio station right now, they are all hosts- on the station I only choose music, I don't talk too much. I'm the selector, I choose music and play it for one hour. So if people really like me, they like the music I choose and not me, and if you like the music I choose I think we must be the same kind of people.
Speaking of your wish to keep fairly private and stay in the background, for Listen FM interviews, you even edited out your questions so that listeners only hear the interviewees' answers. Isn't it sometimes nice for the listeners to hear the questions so that they might understand the context in which an answer is given?
I want people, when they listen to the interview of my guest, when they listen to the program, to feel they are not a third party listening to other guys talking, [to feel] that they are personally interviewing this person.
Radio programs aside, I would to go even further back into your history. When you first started to listen to music, was there any kind of music which particularly attracted you?
The first thing that attracted me was western classical music. That was the only music that I could hear [back then] apart from the old revolutionary songs.
So how difficult was it to get hold of western classical music?
Very difficult. There were almost no cassette tapes. You could only hear it through the radio station, who would sometimes broadcast a whole symphony, say Mozart or Beethoven. After that I started to listen to some pop songs like Simon and Garfunkel, and then I found the Beatles.
How did you end up doing a major in script-writing?
When I was young I was interested in movies, theatre, painting, photography, music, everything. I want to go to a college to study arts, and at that time the Central Drama Academy seemed an interesting college to study.
So how did you get to know people in the Beijing rock scene?
That's where we grew up in the 1980s. We were all in the same period of time, like Cui Jian, He Yong, Gao Qi. We all grew up at the same time.
So you all just happened to meet each other?
Sure. The rock musicians at that time were all listening to music, and they came to me saying that they had heard about someone in the academy who had a lot of music and cassettes, and I introduced some music to them. They would have parties in small restaurants, and we would go there to meet each other and become friends. That was how we grew up together.
Now you seem to be much more involved in dance music. Is it still "the future of music," as you once said?
It's certainly the music right now. I really like dance music, I think I'm addicted to it.
When I was back in London, I noticed that a lot of the major clubs in London are now suffering and that dance music is less mainstream than it has been in the past. How is the clubbing scene in Beijing at present?
It's not even started [as a scene]. Last weekend, we had a DJ from Paris, DJ Lily. I drove her around the city. She really loved Beijing, loved to see the little alleys, people walking on the street, and riding bicycles. And she suddenly said, "I really love the people here but they don't have any reason to like house music."
The music is your lifestyle, so the people who are riding bicycles are not living the life of house music. But the young people are changing now. The future is [determined by] how young people change their lifestyles, by what music they listen to.
Which kind of dance music is most accessible for Chinese people?
For myself, my favourite music is house music, and still in the future I will keep my house style. I think it's funky, groovy, and humorous. It's positive, it brings a lot of energy and love. For Chinese people, I think the big discos are playing Euro beat, Euro techno. They like hard dance music. And hip hop is very popular in Beijing too
As you are involved in dance music, you obviously use a lot of vinyl. Do you find that you prefer the sound of vinyl to that of CD?
I prefer vinyl. I think vinyl only has one problem because you can't listen to vinyl when driving. But it's real, it's music with a real sound, not like digital music. You can see the music, (i.e. the grooves) touch it, smell it, it's not like a cold plastic thing. For jazz music, it's good for vinyl, you can listen to the hiss of the record. It's like a time machine, can bring you back to the original time of the music. And rock music is good on vinyl, because all the rock album covers are classics. On dance music, the bass sound is warmer. For a good record, I have to buy two, one on vinyl, one on CD.
Where do you go to get your vinyl? Do you generally have to go abroad?
Yes, I like to go to second hand shops. However, just before I came here today I bought one vinyl, an original extended remix of Madonna's "Like A Virgin." The time before that, I bought Banarama's "Venus." I think all this kind of music from the 80s, previously so popular, has now gone. When it was popular I hated it, but when people forget it, I think it's cool. I play it for a kind of joke. I bought it [Banarama] for 20 kuai, because they think it's rubbish and want to throw it away. Last weekend in my club in the morning there weren't many people. I was playing lots of 80s songs One girl came and said "I have a request. Do you have a band called banana…rama? When I was young and in a karaoke disco, that was the first song I heard." I played it and this girl, she started to cry, and came to me and said, "I don't care how much it is, I'll buy it." So I gave the record to her for a present."
(CRI September 30, 2004)
