PUBLISHED August 5th, 2016 06:00 am | UPDATED August 19th, 2024 02:39 am
Damian Saint has been spreading the gospel of electronic music for 16 years, from Bangkok to Taipei, Singapore to Bali, and everywhere else in the region. He was also the Tour Manager for Pete Tong throughout Asia and Australia. Alongside his current studio work, W Bali’s music curator Damian Saint is responsible for developing WooBar’s musical lineup across an international portfolio of underground house, techno and disco. Apart from that, we do know that house music, synthesizers and drum machines make Damian Saint a very happy man.
In this edition of City Nomads Radio, we speak to the man himself on W Sound Suite, the current music scene in Bali, and his life.
Hi Damian, what have you been up to?
Hi, Sharmaine! Always super busy at W, either booking DJs for events or working in the studio. I’ve recently starting writing music again after a couple of years of “rest”. It’s going well and look forward to sharing releases with you in the near future. I actually just wrapped up W’s summer launch party with Culoe De Song, Hyenah and Moodwax. That took months of prep, stress and melt downs but we got there in the end and smashed it. I’ll start getting ready to plan New Year’s Eve next.
How would you describe the current scene in Bali?
The scene right now I think is more diverse and stronger than it’s ever been. You can go out any night of the week to either a club or a live music event, restaurants that have DJs or some really cool bars. Musically it’s very international with DJs and musicians bouncing between Ibiza, Berlin, and Bali in both high season and rainy season. Whether you like house, techno, hip hop or live rock… It’s all here.
W Hotels has recently introduced their first ever private recording studio and creative space right here in Bali. Tell us more.
That’s right…We’ve built the very first W Sound Suite here at W Bali and plan to build three more. Next will be Seattle, West Hollywood and then Barcelona. It’s a fully functional recording studio capable of recording small bands, producing both live and electronic music, dj mixes, podcasts and so on. It’s kitted out with top of the line gear from Pioneer, Native Instruments, Moog and loads more. It’s pretty impressive and I spend most of my time in there. I surface to eat and sleep sometimes.
We began the project back in November 2015 and completed it in April this year. To be honest it’s a dream come true. I’m a studio nerd so when my boss came to me and asked if I’d like to build a studio in the hotel and they’d pay for it, I thought it was a wind up…but it came together and fast. It’s available for both hotel and outside guests to use too.
Apart from W Bali, where’s your favourite hangout in Bali?
I’ve been spending so much time at work since the studio launch that when I’m not working, I like to just be at home. If I do get any time off, I tend to fly out and go to Hong Kong, Singapore, or Bangkok for a change in scenery. Or…studio studio studio.
Tell us more about you curated mixtape for City Nomads.
I wanted to put together a short mix of tracks from artists and labels that I’m playing right now. Some lighter tracks, some darker tracks…but never too dark 🙂
I’m a house DJ. I’m not really into the moody stuff. Have a listen.
[mixcloud https://www.mixcloud.com/citynomadsradio/city-nomads-radio-20-damian-saint/ width=100% height=120 hide_cover=1 light=1]
Is the dance floor where you lose yourself in the music or where you feel connected to everyone?
For me it’s a place of togetherness where everyone is connected, on the same wavelength you know, literally. Waves, sounds and so on. Everyone’s there for a good time. I’ve spent most of the last 15 years in DJ booth; the better ones always really close to the crowd so you feel like part of the dance floor.
What’s the first thing you’ll do after answering these questions?
First, I’ll send the mix to you, then I’ll get over critical – “should have put this on it, shouldn’t have put that on it” and so on. Then, I’ll try to work out this new Insta stories nonsense I just installed, maybe eat again then head down the stairs to Woobar and DJ for the next few hours before going home to watch The Sopranos!
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