I was totally fascinated by that country: beautiful girls, cheap and great food, hard training... and records! At that time i was a hardcore vinyl digger (i was DJing only with vinyl in my country and i was selling lots of rare funk/jazz/soul records in eBay). I visited the chinatown area in Bangkok and i found a lot of good local stuff and some original thai pressings from afroamerican bands (with cover).
After that experience, I thought about the possibility of going back to Thailand, renting a cheap apartment, trying to make it at some clubs and so on. At that time (end of 2006) i thought that being a western DJ with around 8 years of experience could be good enough to get some residences here and there.
While planning all that in my hometown, i met a taiwanese girl... and well.... my plans changed. She invited me to go to see her in Taipei during summer 2007. And i found that Taiwan was quite attractive to me for the following reasons:
-I was interested in the language (specially writing)
-Life was quite convenient, safe and people seemed nice
-Lots of hot girls everywhere
and the most important:
-The place has a lot of japanese influence
Let's be honest: my first years in Taiwan where a mere training in order to be ready for Japan. That was my real dream. I liked Thailand, i was enjoying Taiwan... but Japan was the place to be, for many reasons: pop culture, language, food, girls and martial arts. That was my childhood dream, since my mom was working there for 2 years before i was born. I was always fascinated about Japan, and all my movements and efforts were focused on that goal.
To make it short: Taiwan was the closest substitute for all those not good (or rich) enough to make it in Japan...
To make it short: Taiwan was the closest substitute for all those not good (or rich) enough to make it in Japan...
Then the reality: i made my first trip to Tokyo around winter of 2008. I had some friends from Barcelona going there too, so the main thing (apartment) was resolved. Then i dedicated 2 weeks to explore the city, sightseeing and training aikido. I fallen in love with a local girl too, so i was dating her during my stay in Tokyo (the story continued for a few more years and we used to keep in touch through skype, even after she got married and with 3 kids).
I found Tokyo a really tough place to live in. Expensive, and not many opportunities for a job (i was already struggling in Taiwan, since virtual DJ's with laptops and Serato were dominating the market, while an old school DJ with all his equipment and vinyl records back home couldn't get much respect anymore). Anyway, it was not enough to have job there: it should be a good one. Recently, i was listening to a podcast from a funny guy. He really has a point about that reality (the sound quality is crap, but after a while, you get used to it, and it's really worth a listen) :
part1
part2
What this guy says is common sense. But some foreigners want to try it so hard that they think they can do anything just for surviving in Tokyo. I met some foreigners in Tokyo and Osaka struggling or having a shit life with long hours of work just because they want to experience Japan and it's cool.
I think we are too influenced by the japanese propaganda and j-pop culture in the west (manga, anime, movies, books, music, etc) and we don't realize how horrible can be to just survive in a big city like Tokyo. Many people in the west really think that the only worthy place to live in Asia is Japan. And well, of course we got China on the map, but people tend to see it in this simple way: Japan=good and expensive, China=bad and cheap. I would agree most of the time, but i believe that Japan has many bad things too (and nobody is gonna tell you till you go there and stay long enough to see it by yourself) and China (although i didn't go or stay long enough there) has its advantages. I am sure that you can find something you like in an enormous country like China: Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu (Sichuan) and many other cities. I think there is a lot to explore in there.
Anyway, i was still not ready for even trying to find a job in Japan on my first trip. It was much later, during the mid 2012, that i made a serious effort about it: through a friend's friend, i found the way to stay in Osaka for 1 month without paying the rent. And i saved enough money to be able to move freely around the country, trying to make some serious connections. Of course, my goal was to find a job as a DJ (i am not a lawyer, doctor or chef, so that's it). And yeah, i found some gigs. First, my friend's friend (a rich guy playing to be a business man during his free time) helped me to play in a fancy bar in Osaka. I was so excited when i got booked that i didn't dare to ask about the payment. A few days later, i asked my common friend about it, and his face looked a little bit surprised, then he said: Come on, man! They will give you free drinks! It`s gonna be fun! What else you expect?
Then i saw it clearly: the foreign white boy visiting Japan wanted to play some tunes in the CD players and those guys were super nice to me, letting me do so for 30 minutes. I tried to let my friend know that this is a serious job and it should be paid, but after seeing that his face expression was turning a bit bitter, i just said thanks and i accepted the gig in order to be polite. That night i played the first tunes i had in my laptop and i tried to leave that place asap. I even tried to make connections with a korean DJ, who totally ignored me cause he was too busy making his debut and licking the party host ass. I was starting to hate Japan.
Then, the "good gigs" were with real DJ's, playing the real stuff. I remember that i met them through a friend from my country who went to play there some years ago. Then i remembered what he told me at that time: I was very disappointed about Japan. They paid my plane ticket and so on, but not the gig... and the club was empty. They just returned me the favour because i invited that japanese band (with 8 or 10 members) to Barcelona before. And of course, they got paid and i covered all the expenses.
Then it was exactly the same for me: they didn't pay me anything. But initially, i was not invited to play with them and it was more like a friend's party. No complaints. I enjoyed it. But i was not going anywhere in terms of building a career or making a minimum amount of money. Then i realized that Japan was not the place for me to live. I can't live in a place if i can't make money. So since then i decided that i would be glad to visit Japan at least once a year, but i would never try to find my place in there. That feeling was bigger in Tokyo, during a short visit and having a meeting with some of the local artists. Everything seemed too tough. Just a bunch of people being formally polite to an intrusive tourist and wishing that he will leave their country as soon as possible.
I also remember how hard was to get respect from the scene: initially, i was introduced to the local DJ's there. And they were JUST polite to me. Not many smiles or welcoming (not to mention that i was the only white guy in the party, it felt very awkward sometimes). Of course, i know that the language barrier was one of the main reasons. Only after i had to opportunity to play in one of their parties, some of them started to look at me differently. Cause i am not an asshole pretending this or that, i don't fear the pressure. And i love opportunities. Then i just got a bit of respect from them, but that was not resolving the "living" thing.
I decided to meet some foreign DJ's in Japan in order to see how they do it. What i found was another friend's friend, an american english teacher who was playing in a small bar in Osaka. And he was honest enough to say: I don`t get any money from DJing, but i can get drinks, friends and pussy.
Seeing why it was so hard to be taken seriously, i decided to accept the reality. I talked a little bit more to that guy in another place, and then he made the main point: Even the japanese DJ's who make money doing this, don`t live in Japan: they are all living in USA or UK...
Asia is definitely not the best place for a professional DJ. Far from being a superstar, i realized that the digitalization of the art made it even worse: it lowered the standard, lowered the prices, created a lack of appreciation, since everybody can download a few thousands of mp3 and be ready to autosync the tunes with a minimum and portable equipment.
You could say: come on, man. You go to another country, without speaking the language, nobody knows you and you expect to be treated like a superstar. Well, my point is what i saw in my own country: unknown DJ's from France, UK and around going to Spain and getting gigs easily. And the english speaking ones don't even bother on learning some spanish, even after living in my country for many years! And they do quite well. And also, the locals treat them nicer and friendlier. For example, i met very few "real" foreign DJ's in Asia. Most of them became DJ's after arriving here. It means that nobody knows them in their hometowns. No profile, no background. It just looks fake to me and i can see it clearly (music selection, skills, actitude, etc). So i thought that i am not DJ Tiesto (and i don't want to be anyway), but as a real DJ with some years of experience here and there, i thought that i could make a difference easy to appreciate, not just like an ibecomeaDJtogetpussy guy.
Meanwhile, in China, seems that it's possible to make some money, but forget about music and skills: they only look for a white face (and sometimes black) to fill the poster. Maybe would be interesting to try it, but posts like this one below describes the situation very well, which i think it's quite insulting for any (famous or not) serious professional DJ. This part is pure gold:
It's not much better in Taiwan. There is a problem of variety. There are not musical scenes. Big and small clubs only offer canned party music, the one they think is the best: top40.
I did that job during my first 2 years here. After i started to look for other options.
But going back to the Japan topic: not long ago, i met a german guy. Very different background: around his mid 40's, university teacher... he said that Tokyo was a great place to live. Of course, when we talked about expenses, living, etc... he told me that he was making 4000 euros a month, and life was comfortable ENOUGH to him... OMG! You can live like a king EVERYWHERE with that money! Well, that's it. Definitely not my place. Seems that the same goes for Singapore, Hong Kong...
Taiwan is a comfortable place to live for a modest person (let's say it: normal people without extraordinary skills. And many losers can take advantage of this convenience and get a decent life too, of course). But there are not many opportunities to learn, to develop oneself. Right now i am doing jobs where i don't learn anything (mainly teaching, but not english. teaching languages is only the 10-20% of my occupation here) and others where i do a very specific thing, but it`s gonna be the same after some years. No improvement.
I am not here to give tips to anybody. But the key of my "success" in Taiwan without being a full time english teacher is the flexibility. I have some decent skills at many different fields: martial arts, languages, writing, music, radio, computers, etc. Not to mention personal attributes like an infinite patience, endurance and some guts.
Having finished with my japanese dream (at least now i can focus on other things), i was considering about my initial thai dream... but many things changed. And i still don`t see the way to make money there (i am 33 years old now, almost 34.. i can't see it like a backpacker's adventure anymore). Now i just see some countries as good to make money or good to spend your money. Seems that Taiwan has both. Pretty balanced. In average, this is the best place i found to live in these days of western world's bankruptcy, chinese capitalism... and japanese mirages.
part2
What this guy says is common sense. But some foreigners want to try it so hard that they think they can do anything just for surviving in Tokyo. I met some foreigners in Tokyo and Osaka struggling or having a shit life with long hours of work just because they want to experience Japan and it's cool.
I think we are too influenced by the japanese propaganda and j-pop culture in the west (manga, anime, movies, books, music, etc) and we don't realize how horrible can be to just survive in a big city like Tokyo. Many people in the west really think that the only worthy place to live in Asia is Japan. And well, of course we got China on the map, but people tend to see it in this simple way: Japan=good and expensive, China=bad and cheap. I would agree most of the time, but i believe that Japan has many bad things too (and nobody is gonna tell you till you go there and stay long enough to see it by yourself) and China (although i didn't go or stay long enough there) has its advantages. I am sure that you can find something you like in an enormous country like China: Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu (Sichuan) and many other cities. I think there is a lot to explore in there.
Anyway, i was still not ready for even trying to find a job in Japan on my first trip. It was much later, during the mid 2012, that i made a serious effort about it: through a friend's friend, i found the way to stay in Osaka for 1 month without paying the rent. And i saved enough money to be able to move freely around the country, trying to make some serious connections. Of course, my goal was to find a job as a DJ (i am not a lawyer, doctor or chef, so that's it). And yeah, i found some gigs. First, my friend's friend (a rich guy playing to be a business man during his free time) helped me to play in a fancy bar in Osaka. I was so excited when i got booked that i didn't dare to ask about the payment. A few days later, i asked my common friend about it, and his face looked a little bit surprised, then he said: Come on, man! They will give you free drinks! It`s gonna be fun! What else you expect?
Then i saw it clearly: the foreign white boy visiting Japan wanted to play some tunes in the CD players and those guys were super nice to me, letting me do so for 30 minutes. I tried to let my friend know that this is a serious job and it should be paid, but after seeing that his face expression was turning a bit bitter, i just said thanks and i accepted the gig in order to be polite. That night i played the first tunes i had in my laptop and i tried to leave that place asap. I even tried to make connections with a korean DJ, who totally ignored me cause he was too busy making his debut and licking the party host ass. I was starting to hate Japan.
Then, the "good gigs" were with real DJ's, playing the real stuff. I remember that i met them through a friend from my country who went to play there some years ago. Then i remembered what he told me at that time: I was very disappointed about Japan. They paid my plane ticket and so on, but not the gig... and the club was empty. They just returned me the favour because i invited that japanese band (with 8 or 10 members) to Barcelona before. And of course, they got paid and i covered all the expenses.
Then it was exactly the same for me: they didn't pay me anything. But initially, i was not invited to play with them and it was more like a friend's party. No complaints. I enjoyed it. But i was not going anywhere in terms of building a career or making a minimum amount of money. Then i realized that Japan was not the place for me to live. I can't live in a place if i can't make money. So since then i decided that i would be glad to visit Japan at least once a year, but i would never try to find my place in there. That feeling was bigger in Tokyo, during a short visit and having a meeting with some of the local artists. Everything seemed too tough. Just a bunch of people being formally polite to an intrusive tourist and wishing that he will leave their country as soon as possible.
I also remember how hard was to get respect from the scene: initially, i was introduced to the local DJ's there. And they were JUST polite to me. Not many smiles or welcoming (not to mention that i was the only white guy in the party, it felt very awkward sometimes). Of course, i know that the language barrier was one of the main reasons. Only after i had to opportunity to play in one of their parties, some of them started to look at me differently. Cause i am not an asshole pretending this or that, i don't fear the pressure. And i love opportunities. Then i just got a bit of respect from them, but that was not resolving the "living" thing.
I decided to meet some foreign DJ's in Japan in order to see how they do it. What i found was another friend's friend, an american english teacher who was playing in a small bar in Osaka. And he was honest enough to say: I don`t get any money from DJing, but i can get drinks, friends and pussy.
Seeing why it was so hard to be taken seriously, i decided to accept the reality. I talked a little bit more to that guy in another place, and then he made the main point: Even the japanese DJ's who make money doing this, don`t live in Japan: they are all living in USA or UK...
Asia is definitely not the best place for a professional DJ. Far from being a superstar, i realized that the digitalization of the art made it even worse: it lowered the standard, lowered the prices, created a lack of appreciation, since everybody can download a few thousands of mp3 and be ready to autosync the tunes with a minimum and portable equipment.
You could say: come on, man. You go to another country, without speaking the language, nobody knows you and you expect to be treated like a superstar. Well, my point is what i saw in my own country: unknown DJ's from France, UK and around going to Spain and getting gigs easily. And the english speaking ones don't even bother on learning some spanish, even after living in my country for many years! And they do quite well. And also, the locals treat them nicer and friendlier. For example, i met very few "real" foreign DJ's in Asia. Most of them became DJ's after arriving here. It means that nobody knows them in their hometowns. No profile, no background. It just looks fake to me and i can see it clearly (music selection, skills, actitude, etc). So i thought that i am not DJ Tiesto (and i don't want to be anyway), but as a real DJ with some years of experience here and there, i thought that i could make a difference easy to appreciate, not just like an ibecomeaDJtogetpussy guy.
Meanwhile, in China, seems that it's possible to make some money, but forget about music and skills: they only look for a white face (and sometimes black) to fill the poster. Maybe would be interesting to try it, but posts like this one below describes the situation very well, which i think it's quite insulting for any (famous or not) serious professional DJ. This part is pure gold:
Most of the “lao wai” (foreign) DJs play the safe route, offering up a familiar set of mainstream hip hop, house, electro, trance, or generic club music. Every weekend, in every 1st and 2nd tier city in China, there’s at least one club boasting a “foreign DJ.” While Shanghai and Beijing will frequently have a famous international DJ like Paul Van Dyk, Tiesto, or Paul Oakenfold, most of these 2nd tier city gigs are “starring” an expat foreigner already living in China. Many of them came here to “teach English abroad” and found that playing CDs for an hour paid better than a week’s work babysitting in some kindergarten.
When I first arrived here and saw this circus — clubs begging to book a “foreign DJ” regardless of talent or experience, and refusing local (Chinese) talents, I was offended. Even foreign DJs with Asian ethnicities were rejected in favor of a black or white face (the same can be said for English teaching jobs here). But in the end, this is showbiz, and that’s what sells tickets. Foreigners are exotic here in a land so homogenized that most people don’t know the difference between the concepts of “nationality” and “ethnicity.”
Full post here: http://www.chinamusicradar.com/uncategorized/chinas-foreign-dj-circus/It's not much better in Taiwan. There is a problem of variety. There are not musical scenes. Big and small clubs only offer canned party music, the one they think is the best: top40.
I did that job during my first 2 years here. After i started to look for other options.
But going back to the Japan topic: not long ago, i met a german guy. Very different background: around his mid 40's, university teacher... he said that Tokyo was a great place to live. Of course, when we talked about expenses, living, etc... he told me that he was making 4000 euros a month, and life was comfortable ENOUGH to him... OMG! You can live like a king EVERYWHERE with that money! Well, that's it. Definitely not my place. Seems that the same goes for Singapore, Hong Kong...
Taiwan is a comfortable place to live for a modest person (let's say it: normal people without extraordinary skills. And many losers can take advantage of this convenience and get a decent life too, of course). But there are not many opportunities to learn, to develop oneself. Right now i am doing jobs where i don't learn anything (mainly teaching, but not english. teaching languages is only the 10-20% of my occupation here) and others where i do a very specific thing, but it`s gonna be the same after some years. No improvement.
I am not here to give tips to anybody. But the key of my "success" in Taiwan without being a full time english teacher is the flexibility. I have some decent skills at many different fields: martial arts, languages, writing, music, radio, computers, etc. Not to mention personal attributes like an infinite patience, endurance and some guts.
Having finished with my japanese dream (at least now i can focus on other things), i was considering about my initial thai dream... but many things changed. And i still don`t see the way to make money there (i am 33 years old now, almost 34.. i can't see it like a backpacker's adventure anymore). Now i just see some countries as good to make money or good to spend your money. Seems that Taiwan has both. Pretty balanced. In average, this is the best place i found to live in these days of western world's bankruptcy, chinese capitalism... and japanese mirages.
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