Born in Hong Kong to Chinese parentage in 1980, DJ Wash’s family (who he describes as “regular Hong Kong people scared of the ’97 thing’”) uprooted themselves to Sydney in the mid-1990s. From there he began to cultivate his love for drum’n’bass and dubstep, and was soon DJing alongside genre stalwarts such as Friction and SP:MC, who, in collaboration with a few others, he began bringing over to Australia. He describes those early ventures as “minimal promotion, more the DJing side of things” but returned to Hong Kong in 2005 and soon set up a multimedia drum’n’ bass network called Kongkrete Bass alongside Hong Kong-based DJ Elemiz. Wash and Elemiz started the successful promotion company, that included a website replete with news and podcasts from the DJs they were digging, to essentially bring over artists they enjoyed and indulged in. It has paid off, as since then Kongkrete Bass has grown in stature, and alongside Heavy and Magnetic Soul is now responsible for supporting some of the very best drum’n’bass and dubstep in Hong Kong and beyond.  By Oliver Clasper


Most memorable gig in Hong Kong over the past five years?
This one’s tough. I mean, everyone’s special in their own way. But I think the latest one I can think of, for me, would be Kryptic Minds.

And what’s been your worst gig?
There were two really hard-tech d’n’b DJs that came and I didn’t think across the board about whether the Hong Kong crowd would know them as much as me. It was still a good gig but the turnout was low.

Best drum’n’bass artist?
Anything by Calibre; tunes by him are good on the floor and they’re good at home.

Top three tracks in any record bag?
Is this on the record? [laughs] Okay,  I do love the Bee Gees. There’s also a band called Reel Big Fish, an American punk-ska band from a while back. And Led Zeppelin.

Which DJ would you most like to bring over?
For drum’n’bass I’d like to have Friction. For dubstep someone like Youngsta, or N-Type.

Best venue in Hong Kong?
My house! [laughs] If I could, I would. The best venue for me is still Backstage Live. It’s close enough to Lan Kwai Fong and they don’t charge through the nose.

Where would you most like to play a set at?
The best venue I have been to that I’d like to have played at would be [the now-defunct] The End. Full stop.

Plans for 2010 and beyond?
I have a few things pencilled in for October and December, but they’re not confirmed. Without naming any names there are some big people.

Best thing about the scene in Hong Kong?
People are always up for it, no matter what you play. That’s really encouraging for the punter and for us, of course.

Desert island luxury item?
My MP3 player and headphones. I cannot live without it. I get on any train or bus and they’re straight on. I’m back in my own little world.

Listen to and download DJ Wash's drum'n'bass Boxcast right here

Tracklist:

1.   Intro
2.   Kode9 // You Don't Wash // Martyn Remix
3.   Redlight // Stupid // Instrumental
4.   Darqwan // Metro
5.   Katy B // Katy On A Mission
6.   Geenus // Old Skool What
7.   Quest // Wind Tunnel
8.   Mr Larger // Tell Me // Distance Remix
9.   Digital Mystikz // Eyez
10. Addison Groove // Footcrab
11. Icicle // Minimal Dub
12. Icicle // Minimal Funk
13. Breakage // Temper
14. System // Peach Fuzz
15. Arp XP // Changes
16. Total Science & SPY // Gangsta
17. SPY // Xenomorph
18  Lomax // Jungle FX // Original Mix
19. Spectrasoul // 4 Points Feat. Kenny Knots
20. Icicle // Spartan // Original_Mix
21. Noisia // My World ft. Giovanca // Album Version
22. Ed Rush and Optical // Chubrub
23. BSE // Stasis // JADE Remix
24. Break & Silent Witnes // ABTN
25. Ulterior Motive // Glued // Original Mix
26. Jade // Venom feat RhymeTime
27. Break & Silent Witnes  // Kontroller

Listen to more at www.kongkretebass.com