Renegade Creation is… all about a group of friends who respect, trust and like each other and love making music together.

A major part of our music is… all about improvising; it gives us a sense of play and keeps things fresh.

Loving what you do on stage… connects you to the audience. You can’t fake it at all, it has to come from within.

If there was a fire, besides Renegade Creation’s albums, I would save… my solo albums Tiger Walk and Talk to Your Daughter. These are two albums that reflect different facets of my musical range.

Recently, I have been listening to… old jazz tunes from the likes of Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane, as well as classical Indian music which includes Hariharan and Ravi Shankar.

My plans for the year include… recording a new studio album with Renegade Creation. I will also be working on a new solo album with a Dutch label Mascot Records. It’s going to be all about making fantastic blues albums.

Our gig in Singapore is going to be all about… unpretentiously great music.

Catch Renegade Creation on Oct 14, at TAB.

I was just a typical Singaporean kid in my childhood. I did well in primary school.

Midway through my education in Melbourne, my dad’s business was affected by the Asian financial crisis. I had to stop my degree course and self-fund my diploma.

I aspire to be great and not rich. Being able to make a change in people’s lives is more important than having a fat bank balance.

My friends would wonder if I am crazy if I suddenly turned up in a suit. They are so used to my self-proclaimed techno-punk look of checked shirts and black boots.

My black boots give me power. Not that I want to use them but they come in handy when someone creates trouble in the club.

My mantra is: Entertain, educate and innovate.

I owe everything I have learnt about the dance music industry to Melbourne’s Richard Maher. He taught me everything from guerilla marketing to quality music. And more importantly, about taking pride in my work.

I have always wondered why he picked me over his fellow Australians.

I used to travel around Melbourne with a large bag of posters and pasting them on poles and cars. I have touched almost every pole in Melbourne.

It was more than just pasting posters. We listened to records and he taught me how to break down and analyze what makes a good record.

The negative press that the rave culture attracted saddens me. It was definitely more than a drugged up culture. In fact, the more positive elements like the indie press, pirate stations and the dedication of the event organizers was hardly touched upon.

My heroes are Jeff Mills, Underground Resistance, Tony Hawk and Rodney Mullen.

I am quite a simple person who is easily contented by creating a great party.

I don’t like to go out. I can’t even remember the last time I was in Orchard Road.

Indie is all about having self-belief and going for what you want in life.

As I grow older, I appreciate my family more. Even a simple moment like sharing dessert my mum makes for me has special significance. I can always count on them when I am down.

If I wasn’t a DJ, I would have been a pro skateboarder.

In the 15 works created during her residency at Singapore Tyler Print Institute last year, the background of vivid magenta skies, resplendent with Braille messages created using intricately minute perforations made out of mirrors, take multi-layered forms as one views them from different perspectives.

The works, named after doomed romances, ancient jewels and famous latitude lines, cleverly resonate with the MacArthur Award-winning artist’s fascination with how humans have always looked up to the skies for information.

While it is easy to interpret the fable of ill-fated, star-crossed lovers in works like Devdas and Paro and Tristan and Isolde and how latitude lines like the Tropic of Capricorn have been important in navigation, the works challenge you with their indecipherable messages.

The confusion is no accident, as Fernández work references “Ecriture Nocture,” or “Night Writing,” a perplexing communication system designed by French army Captain Charles Barbier de la Serre during Napoleon’s reign.

If you do want to take home one of these unique creations, be prepared to fork out between $20,000 and $45,0000.

Night Writing runs through Oct 29 at Singapore Tyler Print Institute.

Political Mother

The quirky dance darling and erstwhile composer Hofesh Shechter, who once donned a gorilla suit on stage, returns with the highly anticipated sensory feast Political Mother. Expect militant drumming, roaring guitars and gritty high octane dances in an explosive work that question the idea of modern day nationhood and democracy.

We Came From The East

If your grandmother told you that hip hop was born in Papua and not the streets of Bronx, you would probably think she’s gone senile. But that’s definitely not the case with Indonesian choreographer Jecko Siompo’s We Came From The East. The movements are based on Animal Pop, a vigorously sublime combination of traditional tribal beats, animalistic moves and hip hop. But it’s not all primal as the troupe of eight Indonesian and two German dancers notch up this fresh, clever cross-cultural piece with a generous dash of humor.

6,000 Miles Away with Sylvie Guillem

Shame on folks who are under the impression that only nubile teens make good dancers. Sylvie Guillem, the acclaimed 46 year old former ballerina banishes that ageist stereotype with an eloquent series of two performances in Rearray and Bye. The former is a serious duet with veteran Nicolas Le Riche examining the relationship between age and dancing. The later, a solo choreographed by Mats Ek, is a playful mediation on a middle aged woman who escapes into her youthful dreams. Also includes Jiří Kylián’s work 27’52,” performed by dancers handpicked by the famous choreographer.

Shoulder pads, poodle perms and neon tights…
I don’t think shoulder pads looked good on anyone, not even models. Poodle perm, we never had one though they were a necessity for most bands, although only Jon Bon Jovi got away with it because he had a cute face.

Would you ever work with the Stock Aiken Waterman (SAW) crew again?
The beginning of our career was very indie-based with songs like “Cruel Summer” and “Robert de Niro’s Waiting”. We approached SAW mid-career and wrote some great pop songs. We then moved on to producers Youth, Murlyn (Swedish) and Ian Masterson for more electro dance material. I don’t know if SAW is still working as a team but we enjoyed working with them.

Any new sounds we can expect from Bananarama?
Personally we would really like to make a country and western album with some folks in Nashville.

Your secrets for pop longevity?
A passion for music, ambition, drive, belief in your own talent. Enjoying the highs and accepting the lows as a natural part of any career. Friendship, sense of humor and writing our own songs.

Biggest non-musical influences?
Don’t know if they were influences but we love people who challenge and open minds. Oscar Wilde, Sylvia Plath, Noam Chomsky, Martin Luther King, Dali, Denis Diderot and Michelangelo.

Bananas or cucumbers?
We don’t like bananas. Cucumbers are good in a Greek salad.

Famous last words.
If you don’t ask you don’t get. F**k it lets do it!

Don’t miss out on Retrolicious on Oct 8 at Fort Canning Park.

If life throws a curveball at me, I’d be… hitting it dead on.

If I weren’t a DJ, I’d be a… star shining behind a superstar.

The last time I was happy, it was… when my fan page nearly crossed the 3,000 mark.

The last time I was thrashed, I was… getting my tooth pulled.

I’d die in peace if I get to meet… Hatsune Miku.

Jumpstart: The F. Vodka Champions’ Lounge takes place on September 23, 10pm at TAB.
 

What are some of the biggest misconceptions and myths about DJing?
Well it seems to be every boy`s dream to become a DJ, get rich, snag the girls and travel around the world. But it’s a lot more than that. The good thing about playing music is that you constantly have to find new music. You simply don`t want to repeat yourself too much—therefore you stay open towards the music of other people. It is very much about experience and being able to project a feeling to the audience through music. At the end of the day, it looks like child`s play even though there is a lot of work behind it.

What music did you listen to as a teenager and how has it affected the music you make?
It started with the record collection of our parents; they had a lot of classical music. A friend’s father owned an incredible jazz collection where we were happy to discover great things like the whole CTI catalogue—everything from Herbie Hancock to AC Jobim. And we are into 60s and 70s rock history too and love bands like the Doors, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Emerson, Lake and Palmer. Then the big black jazz-funk-soul universe come along and what a fantastic world that was and still is .We remember the first time we heard "Summer Madness" by Kool & The Gang—that had such a strong effect on us. Artists like Serge Gainsbourg, stranger stuff from Brian Eno and of course cosmic music influenced us. And when the dub reggae thing came along that opened a lot of doors too.

As music connoisseurs, what attracts you to a particular track?
It is more the feel of the track that hits us. We will then listen in more detail and would find a defined reason but in the beginning you just feel it.

How do you craft setlists?
Well honestly there is no real setlist—the key is to know your tracks very well—then you are able to place them at the right time with full effect. Now, there is such a wave of new music being released all the time that it is rather important to cut your selection down to a minimum. And then again the more you play, the better you can test the reaction of the audience to the tracks. Music always sounds completely different, or has another effect, in a club than in your studio or at home.

Greatest non-musical influences?
Probably films from the likes of Jim Jarmusch, Sofia Coppola, David Lynch, as well as classics like Chinatown, Apocalypse Now and Blade Runner. Art, photos, books and graphic design. And just life in its permanent up and downs. But it’s important to filter, pick out the positive and chuck the crap.

Chill out with Kruder & Dorfmeister at Avalon GP Season Pre-Race Party on September 24, 9pm. Avalon, Marina Bay Sands, Crystal Pavilion South, 2 Bayfront Ave., 6597-8309. $88-203.

If you could collaborate with anyone living or dead… I would love to be insulted by John Lydon.

My greatest non-musical influence is… Richard Avedon.

Three records that never fail to cheer me up are… Etta James’s “At Last,” Refused’s “The Shape Of Punk To Come” and Wendy Carlos’s “Switched on Bach.” They are all classics and hybrids.

The single that never fails to make me dance… James Brown’s “Get Up Offa That Thing.”

Any special remixes or exclusives for Avalon punters… Who knows?

Catch The Bloody Beetroots for Avalon at Large Go! on September 23.

The artist that never fails to simultaneously make me cry and dance is… Michael Jackson.

I would like to collaborate with… DJ AM.

The musical acts that need more hype and love are... Swollen Members, Slightly Stoopid, Pepper and Tech9ine.

My greatest non-musical influence is… Oprah.

My style icon is… Gwen Stefani.

If my mixes were a man... he would be bipolar with extreme ADD and multiple personalities.

At the end of my set... hopefully everyone will leave with someone and get laid.

Check out DJ Tina T’s hi-octane set on September 24-25 at the Johnnie Walker Jet Black Party Series.

This retrospective exhibition at Vue Privée is a cacophonous celebration of iconic works by a stellar line-up of famous photographers, who documented the biggest rock icons of our time, including The Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin.

The rich tapestry of images features archetypal works from musician and lensman Henry Diltz; the former sheepherder and carpenter turned superstar photographer Rowland Scherman; Bob Gruen, a confidante of John Lennon and Yoko Ono; and the aptly monikered Mick Rock who inspired Queen’s classic “Bohemian Rhapsody” video and is still busy working with the likes of Daft Punk, Lady Gaga and MGMT.

But it’s not just the crème de la crème of photographers from the West. Former corporate big wig turned award-winning photographer, Singaporean Eddie Sung, presents his recent works, which include shots of Eric Clapton and Slash in action alongside his visually stunning images of Blondie for their recent album Panic of Girls, till Oct 9.

Rock Re-Awakens runs through October 9 at Vue Privée.