Butter Factory Kuala Lumpur opened its doors to swaggers, hip hop lovers, and R&B fans last weekend with a huge bang. The grand launch was celebrated in the presence of Kuala Lumpur’s finest, celebrities, members of the media, and a throng of partygoers. It has been a long time since there was ever a branded “hip hop R&B club” in town and thus, anticipation was on an all-time high for months prior to the opening.
Dare we say, the wait was worth it.
Hours before the official event, we hung out with the resident DJs of Butter Factory Singapore (DJ Stanley, who was been with Butter Factory Singapore for a little over a year and DJ Andrew T, who has been with Butter Factory Singapore for 12 years), who were here to commemorate the launch. While sipping on champagne and exchanging thoughts about the music they both love, we dug deep into their careers as DJs – and then some.
And here’s what they shared with us:
So good to be speaking to you both. Thanks for taking time to do this. You excited about tonight? What can we expect from your sets?
DJ Stanley: “We just got in today, actually. People can expect to have a good night – just like Butter Factory Singapore. My take? The same experience, basically. We try to strike a balance so there’s something for everyone, you know..leave the attitude outside the door, bring high energy into the atmosphere, and give them all an awesome time.”
DJ Andrew T: “Yeah! An awesome time.”
There hasn’t been in a purely hip hop/R&B club in Kuala Lumpur in years. And it’s because most electronic dance music (EDM) has steadily taken over the world. How do you think that’s affecting your careers as hip hop/R&B DJs?
DJ Stanley: “We’re open to, well, I mean..I wouldn’t say that Butter Factory is strictly a hip hop and R&B only club. The same formula applies – we try to cater to everyone. As it is, a lot of EDM artistes, producers, and DJs are crossing over to the hip hop/R&B scene as well. So how can we not be proud of the EDM scene and at the same time, still play a lot of stuff from the urban artistes? The sound is still as energetic as an all-out EDM DJ’s sound.”
DJ Andrew T: “We have to do what we have to do. The club isn’t just a full-on hip hop R&B – it’s just dull to do just that nowadays. We do play a lot of hip hop R&B stuff during the openining for maybe..an hour and a half or so. But when the party starts, then it’s one big mash up of stuff. Suddenly you’ll see everyone getting pumped up, jumping on tables, splashing champagne, you know..”
DJ Stanley: “The beauty about music is, just like fashion, we don’t know what will happen tomorrow. But we spend a lot of time at home digging through music and finding out what’s going on outside in the world, checking out new sounds. We never just play it safe now. We always try to find a nice mix.”
As DJs, what were your most memorable moments? Whether it was a massive gig that you played at, or someone that you played alongside with..?
DJ Andrew T: “Mine would be the festivals that I played at, particularly Avalon at Large. It’s one of the best festivals recently. There were so many huge, huge names. And a nice mix of acts. There were acts like Above & Beyond, Flo Rida, Ludacris, Steve Aoki..”
DJ Stanley: “I can’t really pinpoint just one moment but for me, the best part of DJing has to be the traveling and being able to meet people. My turning point was when I decided I was going to take DJing seriously. I left my day job, took the risk, and personally, that one moment was my best moment. Since then, I’ve played in big cities around Asia and Australia with big acts. It has been great!”
As DJs, you’re exposed to a lot of music but, pray tell, what’s on your playlist right now? As in, what do you usually listen to outside of work or more blatantly, ahem, what’s your guilty pleasure?
DJ Andrew T: “I listen to a lot of rock, old school rock such as Guns N’ Roses and Metallica. I grew up listening to rock bands. But I also listen to jazz. When I’m in the mood to and need to just chill, I listen to jazz.”
DJ Stanley: “Uh, I’m going to twist your question just a bit..”
DJ Andrew T: “No! He listens to Justin Bieber!”
DJ Stanley: “I could live with listening to Justin Bieber..”
Haha. Stanley, do you listen to K-Pop too? BIGBANG?
DJ Stanley: “I was getting there. I mean, I’m proud to say that I don’t have any K-Pop on my playlist.”
DJ Andrew T: “He listens to Oppa Gangnam Style!”
DJ Stanley: “Nonono. I do not!”
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There’s nothing wrong with K-Pop!
DJ Stanley: “Not that there’s anything wrong with it! I mean, okay, you know..to be honest, I listen to everything and I don’t feel guilty about it.”
DJ Andrew T: “Most of the time when we’re out of the club, the last thing we want to listen to is what we play at work..”
DJ Stanley: “Yeah. I tend to just listen to radio stations a lot. And with apps these days, I can do all that on my phone.”
What’s next for the both of you? Having played at big gigs and events, inching resident DJ statuses, meeting huge names and acts, what’s next? What are your future plans?
DJ Andrew T: “Get married and have children!”
DJ Stanley: “(laughs) Yeah that kinda stuff. I also really want to make music like..produce music. I’m almost finishing an audio engineering degree with SAE. So I wanna do that – record our own drums, find our own musicians, do everyone from a studio. Not just the Ableton/laptop kind of producing.”
DJ Andrew T: “Every DJ’s final goal is of course to produce your own music and put out your own album. And to hear your own music being played by other DJs around the world..”
DJ Stanley: “And then get married and have children!”
DJ Andrew T: “(laughs) Yeah!”
Those are good goals though! Are there any acts, artistes, DJs, or producers that you’d someday like to work with?
DJ Stanley: “I..uh, me?”
DJ Andrew T: “Did you just say BIGBANG?”
Did you just say G-Dragon?
DJ Stanley: “Nonono no bangs and no dragons here (laughs). I guess I’ll have to say, I’d like to someday work with one of my favourite producers/DJs, Diplo. He’s not afraid to go out there and he really does get out there to do what he has to do. Everything can be done on laptop but Diplo is like on Instagram and he’s in Africa, literally in a safari and recording sounds. Then suddenly he turns around and does a commercial song with Usher. I’ve heard he has even done something with BIGBANG..”
DJ Andrew T: “Yeah Diplo has done something with BIGBANG!”
DJ Stanley: “Yeah BIGBANG, but again..”
There is nothing wrong with BIGBANG!
DJ Andrew T: “He’s a closet fan. He’s going to deny it all the way and then go back to the hotel room and listen to Fantastic Baby..”
DJ Stanley: “(laughs)”
We almost didn’t want the interview to end – they’re both so funny! Thank you DJ Stanley and DJ Andrew T for speaking to us. We really appreciate it. And thanks for the great party. Come back soon!
For more information on Butter Factory Kuala Lumpur, hit up their website.
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