The most unique thing about Depeche Mode is that…we have consistently written good songs throughout our career.

The band found success because…we were lucky to form the band when we were very young and lucky to meet Daniel Miller who guided our career through all these years.

The New Romantic movement…only lasted a few years, and the bands involved moved in very different ways.

The biggest highlight of my career was when…we released our first single “Dreaming of Me” in 1981 and our Rosebowl Concert California in 1988.

If I could do it all again, I would…reshoot our early videos as some of them were very embarrassing.

On my DJ sets I play…modern electronic dance music with a touch of retro.

My idea of a perfect set is when…I perform well and the audience are enjoying themselves.

My 2010…finished with our Tour of the Universe and spending quality time with my family.

In 2011 I am going to…continue my DJ-ing and hopefully start a new album with Depeche Mode.

In my upcoming gig at Ku Dé Ta, you can expect…pandemonium.

Don’t miss Blue Velveteen Sessions presents Andy Fletcher (Depeche Mode) on Feb 25, 10pm at Ku Dé Ta, Marina Bay Sands, 10 Bayfront Ave., 6688-7688. $88 includes one drink.

You’ve remixed tracks from some of the biggest names in the dance scene. Which of these remixes are you most proud of?
When a remix or a production leaves our studio we at least like it and are happy with it, otherwise it will not leave the studio. Sure, there are some mixes that we are more proud of when they perform great than others, like our remix for Vincent de Moors’ "Fly away" for example or Tiësto`s "Suburban Train," to mention just two.

Your latest album features your original tracks being remixed by a host of top-notch producers. What was the intention behind the release?
The idea behind Back 2 The Future started when we still wanted to play the old tracks in our DJ sets. But the sound and style of these early works simply does not fit the feeling of our current sets anymore! For these reasons, we decided to first do some new versions ourselves for festivals we played in. Seeing the great reactions from the crowd and people asking for these new mixes over and over again, we thought maybe its time to rework the old tracks, and make a whole CD for the fans. The result is remixes from Rank 1, Wippenberg, Markus Schulz, Arty, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Alexander Popov and Robbie Rivera, to mention only a few.

Cosmic Gate is a name synonymous with trance … what about the genre appeals to you?
For us trance is the most emotional and touching electronic dance music. When we talk of trance, it starts with house or progressive beats with only trance-y pads; this is trance to us already. It goes from melodic to more uplifting tracks using melodies and harder basslines and all this is what we like in trance also. It’s a very wide genre and we try to pick the best out of it and include it together with our own productions for a real Cosmic Gate set.

You seem like a perfect pairing when playing and making music together but sound so different when playing separately.
Actually the music played by us individually is about 90 percent the same as when we play together. So musically, there’s not much of a difference. Of course the performance is different—two guys behind the mixer look different from one DJ performing. Also, there is more time to party with the crowd and the visual impression is different when we play together.

How was last year for you?
2010 was maybe our busiest year ever. We clocked half a million air miles, played about 120 gigs, got nominated in the International Dance Music Awards, were Beatport award winners, and we had the pleasure of remixing the title song for Avatar! A really fantastic year for us!

What can we expect on your return to Zouk?
Zouk is really one of our favorite clubs worldwide, plus it’s Bossi’s birthday night, so we will party extra hard, spin a lot of tunes from our Back 2 the Future compilation plus the best of current trance and progressive. Don’t miss it!

Join perennial trance leaders Cosmic Gate on Feb 26, 10pm, Zouk, 17 Jiak Kim St., 6738-2988. $28-33 includes two drinks.

I was kind of a scaredy cat. As a child, I was very well-behaved and really obeyed my elders. I still don’t know how to ride a bicycle because my mom was afraid I would get hurt.

I felt like a girl ever since I was little. I liked wearing my mom’s clothes, liked her heels and playing with dolls. I even had a crush on a tomboy in sixth grade. She looked like she could protect me.

Growing up in an all-boys middle school made me realize what I am. Guys would call me e-tud [faggot bitch]. It was OK, though. I still managed to get good grades.

I went to a casting for Exact, a TV production company, and got a part in the lakorn Chai Mai Jing Ying Tae [Fake Man, Real Woman] which aired more than ten years ago.

I felt unhappy with my life. I was an English teacher at the time. I couldn’t do the things that I loved. So I borrowed my uncle’s video camera to shoot a short movie, Wan, and sent it to the Thai Short Film competition in 2001. I knew nothing about movie making but it won an honorable mention and I started making a lot more films both here and abroad.

In international competitions, they won’t care if you’re transgender or not. They only care about the ideas. This is how I want to be judged.

People tend to only look at the surface, in Thailand. It’s why I’m having these problems with Insects in the Backyard. It isn’t accepted here because Thai people are so conformed to what they know and what they’re supposed to see.

I didn’t think the feedback would result in the movie being banned. I thought the ratings system would help ensure it got screened. I mean, I was expecting the 20-years-plus rating.

Thai society has always been censored to the point that everyone is so used to it. Thais have been taught to be within the frame, stay within their cage, ever since they were born.

More people are starting to wonder what it’s like to not stay in the boundaries. To find their way across the border. This is why there’s a conflict between different types of people.

Thai people like to think certain things are completely wrong. That certain types of people are completely wrong, such as gays, transexuals and prostitutes.

I want people to think of these “wrong” people as human beings. If you were one of them, would you not be human?

A penis is only a body part used for urinating and reproducing. It does not come with duties. The owner of that body part has the right to choose what they want to do and don’t want to do.

I think the set duties of men and women largely contribute to a lot of world crises, like war and power struggles, because some people want to maintain their power to control society.

I feel nothing when people call me, “that katoey [transgender] director.” Gender is just a uniform that society tags us with at birth. If had to define myself I would say, I am human.

It’s really not true that Thai society accepts trans men and women. Society categorizes us as a third gender, something on the outside. They can only be comedians or colorful characters in a movie while, in real life, they can’t be a mother or father.

I am living my dream where I can make movies. I can speak what I want to say.

I don’t believe that humans can have only one love for their entire life. Do we live with someone because of responsibility or love? I feel that loving someone for the rest of your life is chaining you to suffering.

My identity won’t change if I do a big studio movie, like Hak Na Sarakham. I will do the movie that both the studio and I want. I won’t take their money and just what do I want, like some directors. That’s disgusting. I can do what I like in my self-funded movies.

Isaan movies are all about poverty or drought but this one is all about love.

Every movie has the right to be shown, even porn movies. We have to make a place for them. Movies are like people. You need to get close to really know them. Don’t expect them to be just there to entertain you.

Censorship laws are made by ignorant people who don’t know movies. Thai movies won’t go anywhere if the people in charge are all products of a Thai education system that hasn’t taught them how to think and how to critique what they’re told.

I am still optimistic that Insects in the Backyard will have its day to shine and will eventually be shown.

What do you think of Singapore and the local cuisine?
I’ve been to Singapore quite a few times now as a tourist and also for the World Gourmet Summit in 2000 and 2006. My first time was 20 years ago and I stayed at the Raffles Hotel. I really enjoyed that trip and have good memories of that. Singapore’s a city for people who love to eat, and it’s always a magnificent place to go. It’s also a city with a growing focus on gastronomy. There’s so much variety here, I really like it. But you do need to get used to the spices and the spicy element of local food. The other cuisines such as French, Chinese and Italian still manage to maintain a truly authentic flavor.

Have you ever eaten anything really unusual?
That’s a real cultural thing. Everything comes from nature, so on that level, I don’t really think natural ingredients are strange. I’ve had fried ants and grasshoppers, and the fact that they were crispy helped. What I think is really strange are all the chemical, synthetic products that people use.

What are some things that are important to you as a chef?
Where do I start? One important thing to me is to have better schools. I feel strongly that part of my vocation is the education of the new generation, to teach and share my knowledge with up and coming chefs. I’m very passionate about the young generation.

Something that I find most troubling is fast food. I’m big on slow food. Take your time to eat. Learn to cook. If you’re cooking, you think more about what you’re putting into your body because you have a much more direct relation with the food. That means thinking about what kind of products you’re buying. It’s such a pleasure to cook fresh, good quality products. Like the humble tomato. Just the beautiful, vibrant color of ripe tomatoes, the sweetness and flavor, the texture in your mouth: It’s magic.

Can you imagine walking into the supermarket and asking for 100g of cellulose, 50ml of lemon flavoring, four teaspoons of MSG? As a child who grew up near the mountains, I used to go on mushroom-picking excursions. I would grab a basket and just pick the freshest mushrooms till my basket was completely full.

You have a strong commitment to natural products. What do you think of molecular gastronomy and chefs such as Ferran Adrià who specialize in that style?
Everyone has the right to choose what they want to and each one of us is responsible for our work and what we do. I’ve tried Ferran Adrià’s food, I know his food, and I simply don’t enjoy it. For me, as a person, I would never want to build a Frankenstein (monster). But there’s a market for a lot of different people, cuisine styles and products. It just means there’s more of a choice for the customers. As long as they understand what you’re doing, I think that’s what counts.

Do you think of yourself as an artist?
I think chefs fancy themselves as artists. At the same time, when you’re working in the kitchen, you have to be very focused, attentive and disciplined. It’s the kind of business that is full of stress and tension, but at the end of the night when you’ve had a good service, you really can relax and let go. It can be difficult for the new generation of chefs to understand this and control their emotions. Everything we do in the kitchen has an immediate relation to the guest. You do it, they taste it. There are so many steps along the way where something can go wrong. Too much salt, it’s a disaster. Too long on the stove, another disaster. The list goes on. After being in the industry for 30 years, I think it’s normal to say to someone “better that you go home today.” Although I prefer to teach them than to just tell them to go. That having been said, patience also has a limit. If someone isn’t willing to learn, there’s not much you can do.

Chef Santi Santamaria passed away in Singapore on February 16, 2011.

Who are you, really?
I’m a Japanese Ronin with a British accent building a music empire in Asia.

What are you really good at doing?
Being hated for my honesty, drinking too much sake and rapping about my life.

If you were not making music, what would you be doing?
Credit card scams and dope dealing, and writing a novel about it.

You’ve lived in England, Germany and Japan. Why’d you come to Singapore?
To start a new life. I had two credits after two years of university in Japan and there were some other things I needed to escape from and the opportunity came up. So I thought, “a place full of the sun, the beach plus lots of cultures and languages…Why not?”

Do you listen to Asian pop much?
Well, I don’t listen to K-pop. My best friend is Korean and he says the chicks are hot. I also hear they have the same noses. In terms of Singapore, well, the scene is small but is growing well. There’s a young dude, Shigga Shay, who I respect. He’s really young but he’s working his ass off. He’s dope. Dharni the beatboxer is dope. DJ Ko Flow is dope. And the whole Bedsty crew holds great parties that bring real hip hop into Singapore. I respect them because they know it’s about more than just music; it’s an entire movement.

What’s the sneakiest way you’ve ever tried to make your music stand out?
In Japan, I stuck my CD into the sleeves of Britney Spears albums at HMV. I wonder if anybody listened to my shit.

Any starstruck moments?
Just once when I was a little kid. I met Tiger Woods and was like, “Holy shit!” This was way before his sex scandal thing.

What are the perks of making music? Does it really help you get the girls?
I’ve never thought about the perks before but yeah, I’ve gotten free clothes and VIP treatment though I don’t really care about that stuff. I don’t use my music as a reason to pick up chicks either [laughs]. It’s just the satisfaction from making music that keeps me going. I listened to a song of mine I recorded eight years ago the other day and it was totally inspiring. Like it was an experience of a 17-year old me talking to me now and I learnt from it. That’s a perk to me.

You call yourself the Jay-Z of Asian hip hop. Why is that?
I don’t personally call myself that [laughs] but he’s a guy that has built a business empire on top of his music. He was strategic and Napoleon about it. And that’s what I’ll be doing.

Do you have your own Beyonce then?
Not right now and even if I did I’d probably do what Jay-Z did and be all secretive about it.
What are your lyrics mostly about?
My answer could be as long as a book but to simplify it, most of them are about escaping your troubles, moving on, struggling and winning. And doing it all in style. 

Learn more about this star in the making and listen to his original music on www.monkeykingflow.com.

I was very talkative and involved in sports when I was younger. I was in the school soccer team, always playing badminton with my friends at recess and always running around. I’ve always been somewhat of an extrovert, never a quiet kid who sits in the corner.

The simplicity you have at 12, when you are with your friends and before girls come into the picture and complicate everything, the simple purity of life where you play football and talk rubbish with your buddies. That’s what I remember.

The Pyramid Game was a phenomenon simply because it was in that golden era which I call “BC”—Before Cable. There were only three or four free-to-air channels so everybody watched them. There was a lot less noise and interference at that time so people from those years like James Lye and Diana Ser are still well known; Moses Lim is always Moses Lim. I still get people talking to me about it now.

Nowadays there’re just so many other options in terms of entertainment. In the 90s, the Internet was hardly as penetrative as it is now; the same for video games. Things have changed, it’ll never come again.

For me, show business was never something I’d always wanted to do. It was interesting, it was fun; it let me experience a lot of things and meet a lot of interesting people, but ultimately I wanted to do something else. I wanted to teach.

When you go out into the real world, it’s tough. When I first left MediaCorp to come to TP I had to photocopy my own things and do my own filing. People don’t care who you are. Once upon a time you were that guy on TV but here, you’re just another lecturer who must pull his own weight.

I’m very thankful to have the opportunity to teach at a polytechnic because polys play a tremendously important part in the education landscape; they teach what’s relevant, they teach a skill set, they teach what you need to function in the actual industries.

To see your graduates out there working in the media, all professional young men and women, you feel this tremendous pride. That’s the pay-off of the job.

I still work on selected events. Not merely as a host because I give my input and my ideas to clients—almost like an event consultant. It allows me to know what’s going on in the industry and to build a network of contacts who can collaborate with my students. It’s good to keep your skills sharp.

I’m not a fan of molecular gastronomy, I like my food hearty and solid. Often it’s a case of the “Emperor’s New Clothes”. People are scared to seem shallow and ignorant so they don’t give their honest opinions. Some of it is good and some of it isn’t; that’s it! The best char kway teow or nasi briyani can be as good, if not better. You talk about cappuccino foam with slivers of sea urchin. Really? Can I have my steak please?

Being a dad is my proudest achievement; it’s been a great journey. It’s easy to biologically create a child but to be a father is a complex, holistic role that’s about responsibility, unconditional love, setting good examples and really taking care of someone.

I think it would be great to be a grandparent—at an appropriate time of course!
My simple philosophy is: “Get it done.” It’s not Machiavellian but if stuff needs to get done, get it done.

What’s being a chef about to you?
One of the things I realized after shooting my shows is that (this is with all due respect to all chefs cooking with passion) there’s no money in it. It’s only the idea that you cook for people and the gratification you get when they appreciate your creative ideas.

How have your culinary adventures inspired you?
Now I am moving more towards the idea of executing food with precision, which is not ridiculously creative. I am going back to classics; the same thing I am doing with my street food. But the thing about these guys making the most amazing street food is that they don’t get credit for it because they are selling it for four bucks. To me, that guy is as much a culinary hero as Thomas Keller; except that you take your hats off to Keller for all the ingredients and techniques he uses.

What is it like working for Bobby Chinn?
How my staff relate to me has changed a lot actually. I used to live in my restaurant. I would sleep in my restaurant for about nine months on and off, and I trained everybody. There were times when staff wanted to leave and I was like, “Where are you going? You don’t even know how to speak English properly and you want to leave? Think about what you are saying to me! You walk out that door and think about how much time I spend teaching you!” I told them to look at it as an education. So basically, I educated everybody with my standard of service from what I was used to and I was able to keep a lot of staff and make them work like dogs. But now I travel a little too much, and things have changed. That desire for knowledge from my staff isn’t really there anymore.

Where did your love of cooking come from?
I don’t know actually. The truth of the matter is, I think that as a kid you don’t really appreciate food and you just accept that you are going to eat whatever your parents feed you—whether you like it or not. In those days if you didn’t eat it—it’s called abuse now—you’d be disciplined. So you ate whatever was placed in front of you. I didn’t realize that food could actually be a horrible experience until I went to England and the food was absolutely horrific when I was a kid going to school. I had really great food from my Shanghainese grandmother who was a fantastic cook. She used to pay us a dollar if we gained a pound and my sister and I would just pig out.

So, any plans to open a Bobby Chinn restaurant in Singapore?
I’d like to. One of the difficult things about opening a restaurant in Singapore is that I find Singaporeans are very spoilt with their food. You can eat really well for $4, so why would they want to pay me $7 for a crème brûlée when you can have a plate of char kway teow for the same price? Why are all these great chefs coming to Singapore and why does (Anthony) Bourdain speak so highly of Singapore’s food culture? It’s the incredible variety. So if I were to do something here, it would have to be affordable.

You’re in the band with your brother Bryan, while Aaron and Bryce [Dessner] are also brothers. What’s that like?
It’s a lot like the United Nations. There’s a lot of disagreement, warring parties, peacemaking and sanctions but it’s mostly good fun. It’s nice to have a family bond and yeah, there’s definitely a lot of bromance.

You get compared quite a bit to Joy Division. How do you feel about that?
We certainly like Joy Division a lot but we’ve never really consciously modeled after their music. My brother’s a big fan of Stephen Morris.

What do you think draws listeners to your music?
Our lyrics are kind of open-ended, making our songs seem cryptic. They’re a bit open for interpretation and that allows people to create different meanings from them. The whole process is interactive. People find our songs intimate and personal as we talk about relationships, hard times, good times and all that other stuff. Our music is emotionally intense. I think our videos are also pretty fun to watch.

Your music has a dark, brooding feel to it. Do you think that might change if you guys lived someplace warm and sunny like Singapore?
We live in a gray place. You’re right; maybe we should go to a beach paradise. Maybe then we’ll write songs about surfing.

Will you be playing mostly songs from last year's High Violet when you come here?
Of course, we’ll definitely play songs from the latest album but we’ll try to play something from all the records, as well as some that have never been heard.

Most memorable places you guys have played in?
In the past year, we’ve played in a couple of large places we never expected to play in. The Radio City Music Hall is always an amazing place to play in because people are really crazy and always sing along. It’s inspiring to play there.

You must travel quite a bit. What are your favorite cities?
Paris is beautiful. Everyone says that because it’s true. We love Australia though we’ve only been there once. We mainly like places where there’s beautiful nature around us. It can get really tough traveling so we appreciate things like this.

Catch The National at the Mosaic Music Festival on Mar 15, 8pm, at the Esplanade Theatre, 1 Esplanade Dr., 6828-8377. $40-120 from Sistic.

You’ve been DJ-ing since the late 80s. How do you think music has developed over the years?
I think the music has developed with technology. I don’t like the word dictate but I think technology has impacted the way we listen. Similar to how we share pictures and videos. Music has evolved, production has gotten much better and so have mixes. Music-wise, it is interesting that in this generation we have probably gone to every corner of music there is. We went as hard, as minimal and as funky as we’ve ever gotten.

Has it always been Detroit Techno?
Detroit techno alongside house when house just started. I was DJ-ing at the Haçienda club in Manchester but we didn’t have enough house records to carry off a stable night. So at that time, I played everything from hip hop to old electro and go-go music. Then it went to house, Chicago house and then Detroit techno. To me techno is the essence of everything I liked—housey, rough cuts, urban hip hop vibes and so on. Techno has always been about freedom, it has a little bit of everything in it.

What is your creative process like when you go into production?
I like to be on my own. I start on my own, work on a skeleton, a rough sketch and I will invite other musicians in after I’ve done my part. Even when musicians come in and work on their parts, I will ask them to leave after they are done so I can mix it all together by myself.

Creativity in isolation then?
It’s more of a frustration because I am not an instrumentalist. I can’t play drums as good as my drummer does or the keyboards as good as my keyboardist. I do write and produce the tracks but I am not able to play the instruments by myself, and therefore I need time on my own to work on my music. It’s a kind of frustration that I am not able to (freely) express myself the way I want to.

Head over to Laurent Garnier ‘Live.Booth.Sessions’ feat. SCAN X & Benjamin Rippert on Feb 18, 10pm. Zouk, 17 Jiak Kim St., 6738-2988. $28-33 includes two drinks.

Why the name Treasure Fingers?
A friend actually came up with the name and I really liked it so it just stuck. I like to hear what people think it means before telling them any definition. I get lots of interesting answers.
Your current sound is kinda edgy; what were you into growing up?
A lot of 80s funk, and also a lot of French and Chicago house music. I was also really into experimental music such as Squarepusher, Aphex Twin and Tricky, so I think that influenced the music I've made.

Born and raised in Atlanta, what’s good there?
Fried chicken, sweet tea and strip clubs.

You started off with drum and bass but you’ve now got a more disco-influenced vibe … why the shift?
I've always made lots of different types of music, and still do. I just have different aliases and project names for different music. If I put out Treasure Fingers-sounding stuff under the Evol Intent name, then it would upset a lot of Evol Intent fans. I've found that keeping all music styles separate with different names is the best way.

How has your label Fool’s Gold been treating you?
Really good. I recently had a new single out with them "Keep Up" featuring Haley Small, and am currently working on another. It's a good family to be apart of. 

What are some of your most insane memories of last year?
I can't really talk about the really insane stuff (laughs). I got to see the pyramids in Egypt which was amazing and a life dream for me. It's something I never thought I'd get to see in person. Playing some big festivals and huge night clubs was also a highlight, mainly because of the size of the crowds and the energy, but also DJ-ing and hanging out with tons of great artists.

What can Singapore expect from your gig at Zirca?
Lots of high energy feel-good house music with a disco/funk twist. Get ready to dance!

Treasure Fingers dishes hot-fire tunes on Feb 18, 11pm. Zirca, #01-02/05 Blk. C The Cannery, Clarke Quay, River Valley Rd. 6333-4168. $15-28 includes two drinks.