Over a pint of Sapporo six floors above the cacophony below, Basil Tam is soft-spoken, happy, approachable and a little reserved. But catch him behind the decks in the wee small hours and he’s more like the stern, no-nonsense villain from some outdated and un-PC action movie set in ‘the Orient’ – all short sleeved black jacket, black jumper and closely shaved head. And right now, the increasingly popular and in-demand Yumla resident’s star is on the rise – mainly due to his epic five-hour sets and the imminent release of a new driving tech-house track called Weirdo (co-produced with Ocean Lam), which includes a sample of Stephen Hawking discussing, above other things, weirdos. Musically he was influenced a lot by his older sister, as well as the decade or so he spent in London, both as a student and a salary man. And it was in the late 90s that he began mixing (funky house, mainly) while immersing himself in the capital’s vibrant club culture. He returned to Hong Kong in 2007, dragging his equipment and vinyl with him, because of ‘tax, and my family,’ but it wasn’t long before Yumla heard his style and asked him to become one of their residents. With other tracks up his sleeve, including an unreleased track with Frankie Lam (‘hard to master, cos it’s got a real heavy bassline), 2011 will be his year. Oliver Clasper

What’s your earliest ever memory?
Something I really remember, I think I was maybe three or four years old, was seeing my dad drinking beer. I somehow had a sip, and I remember after ten seconds I was dancing on the sofa and then ‘boom!’ [Laughs]

What about your earliest ever memory of music?
Culture Club. [Laughs] On TV. And Cyndi Lauper. It was my sister’s vinyl.

Which DJs or producers have influenced your sound the most?
Actually, I really like Roger Sanchez – because he can play anything. He influenced me a lot and really opened my eyes.

Favourite ever club?
Space, in Ibiza.

Which artists or tracks would you make sure are in your record bag for your last ever set on earth?
Laurent Garnier’s The Man With the Red Face. I have to play that, I love it. [Long pause] Oh, and a bootleg of Shout by Tears for Fears. I heard it in London and it took me eight months to find it.

What album from last year are you really excited about?
I really like Röyksopp’s album Senior. I’m not sure when it came out, but I really enjoyed that sound.

What makes you happy?
When I see other people happy, that makes me happy. I like down to earth people. Straight forward, easy going. I don’t like arguing.

What makes you sad?
Day-to-day life. I think today most of the businesses exist not to provide for the community but just because they want to put all the cash into their own pocket. They don’t care about the consequences.

What keeps you awake at night?
Missing my family.

What are your guilty pleasures?
[Laughs]. Let’s see. There should be a lot. Speeding. I don’t drive in Hong Kong, but I like to speed. [Laughs]

What’s your favourite word?
Kung hei. It means congratulations. It’s a happy word, usually. Or sometimes you take the piss. Like you get a parking ticket and you say: ‘Kung hei.’

DJ Basil Tam (TOHK73) by Time Out 4

1. Extrawelt - Mit Liese Auf Der Wiese (Max Cooper’s Melt Remix)/Traum
2. Monoloc, Pfirter – Trucker 2 (Ascion Remix) /Synewave
3. Subfractal – Clusterfuck /Prosthetic Pressings
4. SQL – Bucket /SK Supreme Records
5. A. Mochi – Restore/Figure
6. Mark O’Sullivan - Come over (Psycatron Remix)/Nice & Nasty
7. SQL – Primitive/Open Records
8. Basil Tam, Frankie Lam – Deranged/Yumla Records
9. Mauro Picotto - Love Message (Ramon Tapia First Message Mix)/Alchemy (Italy)
10. Kobbe, mar-C - You You You (Voodoo Tech Mix)/Land Of Voodoo Recordings
11. Astronivo - Just a Feeling (Luis Junior Remix)/eVapour8
12. Basil Tam, Ocean Lam – Weirdos/Yumla Records
 

Basil Tam & Ocean Lam’s latest track, Weirdo, is out on Wed 16 on Yumla Records, and he plays at Yumla on Fri 18 with Alex Einz.