Conrank is a figure whose presence in Shanghai's nightlife scene has been more-or-less constant over the past few years (and we don't just mean his stickers being plastered all over the DADA toilets). Since
Ahead of his DADA show as part of the
Outlook Festival launch party he gave us some of his favourite tracks that have accompanied him over his Shanghai years, and told us the stories behind them.
DBridge - Inner Disbelief
‘[This] track marked my arrival in Shanghai. The day I arrived, after getting unpacked I decided to walk to DADA and check it out. I remember walking through the FFC feeling so excited about the move and taking in everything around me while listening to [this], it feels like yesterday, walking down Taiyuan Lu vibing taking in so many new sounds, smells and sights. That was the night I properly got to hang out with Gaz (Subculture/Shanghai) and was the start of an amazing period of my life in China.’
Rusko - Hold On (Sub Focus Remix)
‘Subculture booked me for my EP release at The Shelter, it was my first time playing there under the Conrank alias. I dropped this and it was probably one of my most memorable DJ moments in China, people lost their shit including me, I remember just being behind the old DJ booth with a sea of people sweating and getting rowdy, so much fun. It’s just such a well-produced track, I still pull it out from time to time and it always does damage. Seven years on and Rusko is playing out my music in his sets, which is madness really.’
Grace Chang - Wo Yao
‘This track had a huge impact on my time in China. I was sitting in the back of a taxi a little bit drunk one night and I saw this advert for mints. The backing track was sick, and I couldn’t get it out of my head. Luckily I used my phone to record it and played it to some Chinese friends who told me the name and I got hold of a copy as soon as I could. The very next day I went into the studio and remixed it. It did pretty well, and was definitely a milestone in my career.’ (VPNs on please).
Kendrick Lamar - Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe
‘I got a call one day from my friend Sondra, who calmly asked me if 12th Planet and Skrillex could rent my studio (CTRL) for 24 hours. I less calmly agreed and a few days later me Q-Kraft and Zean spent the day with the both of them plus their team, was pretty memorable, we even managed to get Skrillex to eat malatang (he wasn’t a huge fan). Anyway, he mentioned this new album by Kendrick, I think at the time it was still unreleased so none of us had heard it, he grabbed his laptop and played this track and that was it, that was my anthem for quite a long time.’
Doshy - Plastic
‘I was introduced to Doshy by Michael Michael [Michael Ohlsson, DADA owner]. We clicked quickly and started sending music backwards and forwards on email. His sound really opened my eyes and ears up to a whole new genre of bass music. The next time he was in Shanghai we spent a few days in the studio together and it was a huge turning point in my career. How I approached music after that time together changed drastically and shortly after that I released my EP Ankle Grinder which dropped on Doshy’s label Robox Neotech. That was the release that kicked things off for me in the US and is the reason I now have a base there. I have a lot to thank Doshy (and Michael) for… check out the track, such a talented producer.’
Conrank is at DADA on Friday 5. Entry TBA. See event details below.
