Theme nights

Arrr! Talk Like a Pirate! Hong Kong Beat shivers the timbers for International Talk Like a Pirate Day

Avast landlubbers! Gather’round n lissen ee t’tales n’ shanties o derrin do, treasure n mutiny, as ye swig yer ale n’ rum, dreamin’ o’ sailin’ t’riches with Cap’n Morgan or the dreaded Blackbeard.

Started as an in-joke back in 1995, Talk Like a Pirate Day has become an international parody celebration, one that hasn’t been shanghaid by Hallmark, where adherents growl arrr at people they call matey and threaten to keelhaul any scurvy dog who dares to cross them, like pinching their parking space.

There’s a curious romance and escapism about the days of piracy – though the reality of a pirate’s life, fortunes and comeuppance was very different to the dreams of treasure, grog and a wench in every port. It’s like wanting to run away to the circus, but for jack-the-lads (and lasses) with a more adventurous and maybe blacker heart.

One thing everybody knows about life at sea are the shanties that were devised by sailors to help them through their backbreaking work or escape the hardships of life for a while in the tavern, so it’s no surprise that from a wealth of traditional music about life at sea there’s a lot of contemporary music and, given the nature of pirates, much of it adopts the a rakish and rebellious strains of heavy metal and punk.

N be warrrnd. ‘Tis not an Arrr-rated set o’ shanties!

Shhh! Silent DJ at work! Hong Kong Beat wedding and event disco on iconic silent events

You’ve probably been to great parties where the DJ was just starting to swing when it’s been time for him to pull the plugs and put the tunes away, and you’ve maybe been one of those – I know I have – urging him to play one more song, then another. But sadly, you’ve been left a little disappointed. Yes?

Those of you who’ve been to Clockenflap in Hong Kong (if not, have a look here) will probably know about the ‘silent disco tent’. A surreal place where everybody jumps and dances around, singing along to their favourite tunes… Except there’s no music. Well, there is, but only in the wireless headphones they are wearing. And they have a great time.

Sounds odd? Well it’s actually a great way to cater for a lot of different musical tastes in one room, with three channels on each headphone that can play different music genres, or different styles of DJs, all at the same time.

But it’s not only a great way to satisfy multiple tastes in music, but also a way to bring music to a party and event environment when audible music is otherwise not allowed or is inconvenient; making it a solution to those party unhappy-endings!

I’ve catered to several parties where the venue’s noise control policy, or just simply polite consideration for neighbours, meant an early end to the night, or prohibited audible music completely. This has included some iconic venues where we have had to close down quite early and usually just as we were starting to get going – rooftop terraces and pool sides; beach front restaurants; elegant ballrooms in majestic hotels; restaurants, gardens, and marquees in grounds in residential areas… Even on board Hong Kong’s heritage trams!

Not every day you get to do a party with such a dramatic setting. The Beach House, Cheung Sha, Lantau.

All were in prime, high-end fabulous venues for wine, food, setting, and ambience, but the one thing that detracted from the full satisfaction of the function was the need to call ‘last tune’ at around eleven pm! Not the kind of party nightlife Hong Kong is famous for, or that Hong Kongers usually expect!

So ‘silent disco’ is an answer, and allows for longer parties that can simultaneously cater for all tastes, from the 20 somethings dancing to chart hits, to the mums and aunties ripping it up to 80s and 90s classics, to the grans with 60s and 70s pop and disco, and any combo in between. Or, western pop for one side of the family, Chinese pop for the others; even maybe a channel especially dedicated for dad dancing!

Hardly anybody will be left unhappy with the music choices at the end of the night, or with an early ending. And the excitement of so many different styles happening at the same time creates a great buzz and adds to the enjoyment, leaving your guests talking about the party for years to come.

But ‘silent disco’ doesn’t have to be for just dancing… The concept’s application is almost endless for any place or event where you might have a noise restriction policy, or a need to cater to different audio needs, or the ambient noise levels are too high for the event audio. Some examples might be: multi-cultural events; outdoor events; viral marketing campaigns; shows requiring simultaneous languages; multi-product launches. More ideas can be found at my website here.

Hong Kong Beat works with an experienced Worldwide silent event provider who uses only high quality audio transmitters and headphones and, in terms of music, Hong Kong Beat will work closely with you to craft play sets, either played by a live DJ or professionally pre-mixed, to your exact needs. Take a look here to check and listen to the variety of music I offer and music FAQ, and here for iconic party ideas.

If you do not want silence for the entire event, perhaps pre-dinner cocktail and dinner background music, or for speeches, Hong Kong Beat can provide the traditional audio equipment as well for that part of the evening, or work with your chosen venue to provide music through their in-house system, with the ‘silent’ event kicking in later when the audio levels have to be muted.

Want to build a party and dance floor mood, or enhance an event décor, with intelligent lighting? Hong Kong Beat also has several options on lighting, ranging from packages with computer programmed wash lighting, up to club-like ‘full house’ lighting and atmospherics effects.

More information on comprehensive packages offering audio and/or lighting can be found here.

The great benefit in selecting Hong Kong Beat, is dealing with just one supplier for all your music, audio, and lighting needs, cutting down costs and tricky liaison between different suppliers or the need for an event coordinator, and ultimately giving you peace of mind and a successful, memorable event.

The possibilities are endless really, not just as solutions to venue noise controls, but as a way to stretch your imagination and host the iconic events that people will always remember.

So, don’t make a noise, but make a big impression with your next ‘silent’ iconic party or event with Hong Kong Beat wedding and event solution.

For more information, or a chat about what is possible, drop me a line.

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Hong Kong Beat party and wedding disco lines up a bunch of stiffies, with punk and new wave from Stiff Records

Probably the first really influential indie label, Stiff Records was founded in 1976 at the leading edge of the wave of punk, and later, new wave rock movement, and brought together an eclectic set of artists from the UK and US counter-culture and pub rock culture of the time, and bringing the new music movement to public attention through its Stiff Tours around UK, Europe and USA.

Although many of the acts signed to the label remained or became obscure as the 80s wore on, some became icons of the movement with wider success and fame – like Elvis Costello, The Damned (with ‘The Rose’, acknowledged as punk rock record 001), Madness, Ian Dury, The Pogues, and Devo.

Delving into my collection of Stiffies to bring music as diverse as punk, ska, psychobilly, southern blues rock, synth pop, and even some Burt Bacharach and gospel, in tribute to an era and label that made a huge impact on rock music, even though it was only relatively short lived

(click the image for the show)

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Hong Kong Beat wedding and event disco celebrates St Patrick’s Day

Wishing all my Irish friends and followers a great St. Patrick’s Day with a 90 minute eclectic rocking-and-reeling mix of reels, pop, and rock songs by Irish sons and daughters from the past 5 decades.

May your glass be ever full.
May the roof over your head be always strong.
And may you be in heaven half an hour before the devil knows you’re dead!

Hong Kong Beat wedding and party disco has updated its Theme Nights page

Hong Kong Beat loves theme night parties – whether its 80s hair rock, 70s disco, Carnivale, Salsa, or movie nights, and many other ideas, we love the challenge of finding and playing great and relevant tunes to entertain during dinner and on the dance floor.

So here’s lots of great ideas for themed parties!

 

Talented Idols! – Hong Kong Beat mobile disco’s set from a ‘Got Talent’ themed party

Love them, or hate them, talent shows like Pop Idol, Got Talent, X-Factor and The Voice, have been around for more than 10 years now, and spread to almost every country in the World.

Notorious more for the spectacularly un-talented acts that get the viewer’s attention, some of which even go on to get their own cult-celebrity status, like William Hung from American Idol; and even for the superb acts-that-should-have-won, but get cruelly cut by the whim of the voting viewers; nevertheless they have thrown up some great voices and acts in all kinds of fields, from singers to dance groups, comedians, impressionists and even dog acts. And,  among the singers,there have been quite a number of chart topping hits around the World.

Before Christmas I was booked to provide music for a corporate client’s ‘Got Talent’ themed party, so prepared a set list for the cocktails part of the evening, prior to the company’s own staff getting up to do their thing. So this is Hong Kong Beat’s tribute to Talented Idols.

Hong Kong Beat mobile disco Halloween party package!

Halloween party package available from Hong Kong Beat mobile disco.

A comprehensive solution to your audio and music party needs, supplying all audio equipment with DJ playing music anywhere from today back to the 40s or 50s, with many specially made sets of scary and haunting rock and dance tunes – also suitable for kids – for screaming parties!

Packages can also include lighting that can be customized to add to, or build the spooky atmosphere, with strobes, UV, projected flame effects, smoke and programmed lighting.

Contact me via FB (@HongKongBeat) to discuss your party needs, or via my web page http://www.hkbeatdisco.com, where you can find more information on packages, options, and music, as well as the many different kinds of functions Hong Kong Beat can cater for.

Hong Kong Beat mobile disco gets shaken, not stirred with spy theme music

I love theme parties because they give a great opportunity to dig out and spin music that just would never normally get played at the standard party, and of course there’s always the chance to dress up in theme!

Booked for a recent Austin Powers themed party, it gave me the chance to lay down some tracks from, and inspired by, iconic spy and detective movie and tv series from the past few decades, and there are a lot of cracking tunes to choose from.

So Hong Kong Beat presents shag-adelic International Men of Mystery, or music to get your mojo working.

For no reason other than I like them, Hong Kong Beat mobile disco brings you Brit crime caper movie music!

Tarantino is maybe the King of picking great music for the soundtracks of his movies, but with a smaller list of directorial credits, Guy Ritchie is maybe the Crown Prince, with his trio of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, and RocknRolla, providing enough tuneage for a great night out on a caper…

Then it got me thinking, The Italian Job (no not the awful remake, the original with minis, Cockney rhyming slang and Benny Hill), Sexy Beast, Layer Cake, Buster, The Krays…  can all claim a good line in British tuneage to go along with a cheeky caper.

Iconic cars, antique shotguns, diamonds, gypsy camp sites, drug heists, hungry pigs, improbably named hard men, and laconic one-liners… the movie genre of British gangster movies has them all, as well as underlying black humour laced with matter-of-fact violence.

It was while watching RocknRolla (and wondering when the sequel is likely to come out) that made me realise the list of great tunes that Brit crime capers have brought to the silver screen, and decided it was time for Hong Kong Beat to cut the pony and let the dog see the rabbit. So, for no other reason than I like them, I present Hong Kong Beat’s tribute to Brit crime capers.

See if you can spot the films from the tunes (answers in the Mixcloud track list)

Hong Kong Beat mobile disco goes to the movies with iconic rock movie anthems

First blogcast of 2016 finds Hong Kong Beat in a rocking mood, and inspired by digging back into some classic, and some raspberry blowing, movies from the past, digs out a little personal selection of iconic rock anthems from the movies.

And what a great idea for a party theme night!

Some of these were bigger success than the movies themselves!

Hong Kong Beat goes to the movies with iconic rock soundtrack anthems by Hong Kong Beat on Mixcloud