STOP! in the name of WHALE!: JUE Launch Party

“Stop! In the name of WHALE!”

(My favorite photo of the night feat. WHALE!’s very own DJ Assassin Eyes)

JUE Music + Art Festival 2012 launched with a massive WHALE! dance-a-thon at 4corners肆角餐吧 bar last Friday night.

The music was blasting, the dance floor was rocking and people were getting sh*t-faced. Just your typical WHALE! party I suppose.

Good thing I took a nap before heading over because every WHALE! thus far has led into all-night ragers. This past WHALE! was no exception. I, myself, managed enough will power to drag myself out at a reasonable hour so that I could be up early the next morning for my Qi Gong workshop at The Hutong with TCM Specialist Alex Tan (more on this later!). But my point to mentioning this is that I missed the point around 3AM when police came and tried to crash WHALE!, but in the end, I hear WHALE! kept going!

Good on WHALE! for partying on!  

Here’s a recap of the night before I slipped out early…

LumDimSum Snapshots of WHALE! - 

(the Official Launch Party of JUE Music + Art Festival)

Emergency WHALE! at 4corners! Tonight!

Blue Alert! It’s a WHALE! Emergency TONIGHT!

WHALE! is holding a last-minute emergency party tonight, Friday, January 27, 2012 at the newly opened 4corners肆角餐吧 bar by the Drum and Bell Tower in Gulou.

Previously, WHALE! parties were rocking Beijing with monthly gigs around town, but since winter hit, it’s been a few months without some WHALE! fun.

So what calls WHALE! out of hibernation?  A member of the WHALE! family is leaving Beijing for a few months and this is his unofficial leaving party.

Who is leaving you ask?  Well, they are all masked by alias names, but here’s one hint: It’s the only DJ who changes his alias name every WHALE! party. This time around, his name is DJ No Requests.

Who is WHALE!?  Check out CW’s article on WHALE!’s DJs here.

If WHALE! is a new concept for you, the best way to sum it up quickly: WHALE! is “200 tons of danceable rock and electro in the deep, dark hutong”.  

And the eclectic music mix will be played by the regular WHALE! DJ Line-up featuring DJ Assassin Eyes, Bobby Dropper,  DJ Fun Party, DJ Dirty Pirate and our beloved DJ No Requests.

This has been something in the works the past weeks, but they’ve only just announced it and as this is the unofficial leaving party of DJ No Requests, there will also be an unofficial dress theme: Cardigans.

I was hoping to find some quirky picture of a whale wearing a cardigan, but I guess it figures the reverse is more likely.

So here you have it: Whales knitted onto a cardigan.

Close enough.

…or perhaps you prefer this knit WHALE!?

OK. Enough fun for now.

Time to WHALE! at 4corners! TONIGHT!

Click here to see pictures from previous WHALE! parties:

• WHALE! on a Rainy Night in the Deep, Dark Hutongs
• “W” is for WHALE!
• A WHALE! of a Good Time

Event Details:

• Date: Friday, January 27, 2012
• Time: 10PM-late
• Location: 4corners 肆角餐吧
• Address:  By Drum and Bell Tower on DaShibei Hutong 西城, 大石碑胡同27号 (See map below)
• FREE ENTRY 

WHALE! on a Rainy Night in the Deep, Dark Hutongs

What WHALE! looked like at 4AM

Friday night would not stop raining, Temple Bar is not the easiest place to find on a dark, rainy night, there were technical difficulties, there was a wire that blew and made our eyes sting, by 1AM, the po-po had already forced WHALE!’s music volume down…and  even that didn’t stop the dancing frenzy that took on a life of it’s own.

Maybe it was the good vibes, maybe the music was so good it didn’t matter that it wasn’t loud enough, maybe it was one-too-many “blowhole” cocktails, but boy was it another WHALE! of a good time.

Thanks to a fun WHALE! line-up: Assassin Eyes, Bobby Dropper, DJ Fun Party, DJ Crumbum and DJ Dirty Pirate...but DJ Je Ne Sais Quoi, where were you??!?  After all that hype around this special guest DJ, the fans were slightly heartbroken he never made it. Perhaps some day WHALE! will be graced by the presence of the high and mighty Je Ne Sais Quoi…one can only hope.

LumDimSum Snapshots of WHALE! fun:

Try the “Blowhole” at WHALE!

“Harpooning season is upon us once again”

-DJ Assassin Eyes (one of WHALE!’s DJs)

WHALE! is back this Friday, July 29th and not only do they have their very own signature cocktail drink – the “Blowhole”, they have moved from School bar to the newly opened TEMPLE Bar. Located on Gulou Dong Da Jie, just west of the north entrance of Nanluoguxiang (NLGX), Temple just opened last Friday and is bound to be a nice change from School Bar.

“Roooooooock and roooooolllll! Dance and drink to the best new/old and rare rock, indie, techno, disco, and electro grooves with Beijing’s most casually inept DJs. Swim the briny deep of Beijing’s best underground music night.”

Another new addition to the ever-popular WHALE! party, they will be welcoming special guest DJ Je Ne Sais Quoi (Miami) who will play part in the eclectic music mix by the regular WHALE! DJ Line-up featuring DJ Assassin Eyes, Bobby Dropper,  DJ Fun Party, DJ Crumbum & DJ Dirty Pirate.

Check out CW’s article on WHALE!’s DJs here.

Unfortunately, I lost my camera the night of the last WHALE! party in May (another indication of how much fun I had), but you can still see pictures from the last, last WHALE! party here.

Event Details:

• Date: Friday, July 29, 2011
• Time: 10PM-late
• Location: TEMPLE
• Address:  206 Gulou Dong dajie (100 meters west of North Entrance of Nanluoguxiang).
• FREE ENTRY

WHALE! is BACK! this Friday!

After depriving Beijingers of a month without WHALE!, my favorite group of eclectic DJs – Assassin Eyes, Bobby Dropper, Fun Party, Infinite Mana, & Le Chuc are back this Friday, May 27 @ School.  Hooray!

“WHALE!” is a classic case of creation by committee. It is a wonderful example of 6 disparate voices uniting together as one to create something of almost no meaning or value, although perhaps the reason it works is that each one of the 6 DJs has attributed their own meaning to it. – Bobby Dropper

Read more from Bobby D in the LDS interview here.

Pics from the last WHALE! party here.

Event Details:

• Date: Friday, May 27
• Time: 10PM-5AM
• Location: School Bar
• Address: 53 Wudaoying Hutong (A few doors down from Vineyard Cafe, entrance west of Lama Temple), 五道营胡同53号
• FREE ENTRY

‘W’ is for WHALE!

No tequila shots this time and still WHALE! (Round 3) was once again, a whale of a time.

Shout out to WHALE! DJs – Assassin Eyes, Bobby Dropper, DJ Dirty Pirate and Infinite Mana for keeping the dance floor shakin.  A real whale of a job!

LumDimSum Snapshots of WHALE! Round 3 @ School Bar:

‘W’ is for WHALE!

Why I can’t wait for Friday: WHALE! @ School Bar

What is WHALE!?

• Only the best party that ever came to existence in the entire world. But if you want to get into specifics, it’s -

“200 tons of danceable rock and electro in the deep, dark hutong”

Why is it written in all caps with an exclamation at the end?

• Because everything about WHALE! is random in the best possible way. They are random beyond logic or reason. And that’s exactly what makes WHALE! work more than any other regular DJ event in Beijing.

Who are Assassin Eyes, Bobby Dropper, DJ Dirty Pirate, DJ Fun Party, Gore Tex – The Musical and Infinite Mana?

• Your favorite WHALE! DJs, “playing whatever the hell they want” – quote from Bobby Dropper

*For more quotes from Bobby Dropper, read LumDimSum’s exclusive interview with the one and only Bobby D here.
*Check out Pics and LumDimSum’s review of the last WHALE! party in January here.

Event Details:

• Date: Friday, March 25
• Time: 10PM-5AM
• Location: School Bar
• Address: 53 Wudaoying Hutong (A few doors down from Vineyard Cafe, entrance west of Lama Temple), 五道营胡同53号
• FREE ENTRY

LumDimSum Super Sweepstakes

For your chance to win a RMB 200 voucher at Hummingbird Therapeutic Spa, answer the following question in the comment section:

If you formed a band and could name yourselves after any animal/sea creature in the world, what would you call your band and why?

Deadline is Friday, March 25 at 5PM.  To answer, click here and scroll down to comment section.

A WHALE! of a Good Time

When I didn’t think it could get any better, WHALE!‘s second event this past Friday, January 28 proved me wrong.

Once again, I was bouncing around on the dance floor till the wee hours of the night and waking up in the morning thinking, “last night was the best party I’ve been to since, well…the first WHALE! night.”

This is not the tequila talking and it’s not just me. Everyone who went to WHALE! Friday night had a blast and anyone who missed out felt left out asking when’s the next one.

I can’t quite pinpoint exactly what it is that sets WHALE!’s apart from every other night in Beijing.  They don’t even try to promote the event and yet, hundreds turn up for a massively successful turnout each time and the combination of good music, good people and good vibes just seems to fill a hole in Beijing.

Random is rarely done successfully (especially in Beijing), but with WHALE!, it just comes naturally.  When I say that the music is random and the people who turn up are random, I’m talking the best possible kind of random - the kind of random that most people couldn’t get even if they tried.  The kind of random that’s beyond logic and reason. In fact, it’s brilliant and WHALE!’s got it like a fat kid loves cake.

Shout out to WHALE!’s musically gifted DJ’s: Assassin Eyes, Bobby Dropper, Infinite Mana and Lord Cheeses.

Keep it up WHALE! cause Beijingers are loving all 200 tons of you!

LumDimSum Snapshots of WHALE! @ School Bar:

LumDimSum 1-on-1: WHALE!’s Bobby Dropper

“200 tons of danceable rock and electro in the deep, dark hutong”

A new DJ event put together by six friends in the music industry, WHALE! is giving Beijingers something new to rock out to - an eclectic mash-up of really good (and danceable) music guaranteed to ensure a night of pure debauchery and madness.

For a better explanation of WHALE! and a taste of what you can expect at their next big night (this Friday, January 28), LumDimSum gets exclusive access to their very own Bobby Dropper.

LumDimSum Goes 1-on-1 with

WHALE!’s Bobby Dropper

LDS: Tell me Bobby Dropper, how did WHALE! come about?

After a year or so of a group of us getting together periodically at someone’s apartment to listen to music and swap recommendations, we thought about moving these nights to a public venue. The idea was never to have a big crowd, just to grow slowly if any other music geeks fancied joining.

“WHALE!” is a classic case of creation by committee. It is a wonderful example of 6 disparate voices uniting together as one to create something of almost no meaning or value, although perhaps the reason it works is that each one of the 6 DJs has attributed their own meaning to it. Powerful stuff.

After the surprise carnival turnout of the first night, the musical code for WHALE! has changed from “completely no rules” to “completely no rules as long as it is remotely danceable”. Trying to keep both the music geeks and the partygoers happy. Not easy.

LDS: Which musically gifted DJs made the cut for WHALE! and what brings you all together?

The core line-up is Assassin Eyes, Bobby Dropper, DJ Fun Party, Gore Tex – The Musical, Infinite Mana, Lord Cheeses.

A real rogue’s gallery of misfits and ne’er do wells. Never a dull moment.

LDS: To what do you credit the massive turn out for the first WHALE! party?

I guess a) there was nothing else on that night, and b) people are actually eager to go to a night that isn’t playing the usual dirge – where the music is truly eclectic. The idea just seems to fill a hole in Beijing.

LDS: What can Beijingers expect at the next WHALE! party this Friday, Jan. 28?

Well, if the last one was anything to go by, there will be DJs falling over behind the decks, DJs fighting over set length, DJs disgracing themselves in busy open-plan hutong toilets. I am responsible for more of these than I care to admit.

On the plus side, the room is packed out with discerning music fans. People from all walks of life – Good, honest people, just trying to get by and live their lives the right way.

I think our “thing” is the quality and diversity of the music though.

LDS: Do you have any habits/rituals before you get behind the decks?

I like to cover myself head to toe in goose fat and then whip my back with a birch branch.

LDS: Biggest perk about being a DJ? Biggest pet peeve while DJing?