Although a relative newcomer to DJing, 25-year-old Casey Anderson is a life-time music geek – in the very best sense. While growing up in the small Florida town of Crystal River (“It’s kind of in the swamp, definitely not Miami”) Anderson played in various bands throughout his teens, eventually releasing his first album with his group So Does Plastic in 2003. “We had this indie-folk-punk sound, but we all played acoustic instruments. I played the accordion, keyboard and guitar, and we had a bassoonist and lots of other weird instruments.” While always a big home listener of electronic music, it wasn’t until he moved to Asia for studies that Anderson experienced his first proper party, an unforgettable overnight beach bash on a remote shore of Lamma Island. Soon after, he moved to Osaka Japan, where he took up DJing with abandon and began playing professionally.

He returned to Hong Kong to take a job as a music consultant for Stattus, where he procures and produces background music for commercial spaces and DJs fashion events. Hong Kong party-goers will know him best for his appearances at the Destroyed summer beach parties and regular stints at Yumla, although he’s apt to pop up at almost any venue in town. Dextrous and unpredictable, Anderon’s style of play is similarly undefined: indie, electro, house, techno, ‘other’. He’s currently working on a production project built around iconic Hong Kong-found sounds (think beats made from MTR gate bleeps). You can see him at the multi-genre music event Half-Baked at Saffron on The Peak on Saturday 5, where he says he’ll be playing Can, Iggy Pop, or whatever else might “make the indie kids have some fun in public, against their better efforts.”

What’s your earliest memory of music?
When I was a kid we used to go to this skating rink and they had DJs playing there. They would mix really mainstream pop songs for kids with 1980s electro music. I loved that place. And still today when I’m looking back at old tracks, I find this music that I recognise from when I was four or five years of age.

Best venue in Hong Kong?
Definitely Yumla, as far as clubs go. But I prefer beaches and boats. There’s always politics in a club, and I’d prefer not to have to deal with that shit. Take it outdoors.

Who would you most like to see in Hong Kong?
James Holden. He seems to be a fellow music geek.

What’s your favourite word?
Sassafras.

What’s been your best gig in Hong Kong?
Someone once asked me to do a gig on Kowloon side, and I wasn’t sure about it, but two of my best friends from Florida were over for a visit so I said yes. And then my two friends were the only people who showed up [Laughs]; but it was some of the most fun I’ve ever had playing – just playing the songs that the three of us wanted to hear, on a really big sound system.

What do you most dislike about yourself?
I’m way too scatterbrained.

What do you most dislike about other people?
Their hair. Think about it…

Standout acts from last year?
Blonde Redhead, Ital Tek, Justin Martin, Mystery Jets, Joy Orbison, Maya Jane Coles.

What song would you most liked to have played at your funeral?
Don’t Worry Baby by The Beach Boys – my favourite song, hands down.

Interview: Patrick Brzeski

Casey Anderson (TOHK74) by Time Out 5  

1. Casey Anderson - Hungry Ghosts
2. Matthys - Aura Line Use Soup
3. David E.Sugar - Keep It Simple
4. Rolling Stones - Under My Thumb (Todd Terje Remix)
5. Gay Marvine - I'm Yr Money
6. Laid Back - White Horse
7. John Lennon & Yoko Ono - Every Man Has a Woman Who Loves Him
8. Midnight Star - Operator
9. Matias Aguayo - Rollerskate (Marcus Rossknecht Version)
10. Hannulelauri - Metropol
11. Popular Computer - I Can't Forget You
12. Casey Anderson - You Are Only Coming Through In Waves
13. Prince - I Would Die 4 U
14. Bjork - Unison (Ital Tek Remix)
15. The Horrors - Sea Within A Sea
16. The Love Supreme - Bela Lugosi's Dead (Bauhaus Cover)
17. Human Beinz - Nobody But Me (Allez-Allez Edit)
18. Javelin - We Ah Wi
19. The Postal Service - There's Never Enough Time
20. T. Rex - Cosmic Dancer
21. Cibo Matto - Sugar Water (Mike D., Russell Simins & Mario Caldato Jr. Remix)

Saffron on The Peak, Mar 5 Tickets: 9196 2993.