Digging The Mind Of A DJ’s DJ: The Inimitable Ulysses And His Imprint On The Scene

In the DJ circuit, there’s truly no one out there quite like Ulysses (Credit: The Council)

The party scene in Singapore wouldn’t be where it is today without the pioneering steps of veteran selectors, carving out a foundation that would buttress a movement that endures. In the case of Ulysses, his presence is familiar, and his contributions to the gig climate embraced by many. Nearly two decades later, the eclectic and charismatic DJ continues to exhibit a spark that doesn’t fizzle out, capturing the attention of all sorts of revellers from fresh rave initiates to seasoned, more selective partygoers.

The ability to win the dancefloor over – whether he’s on the opulent rooftops of CÉ LA VI or the festive fields of Neon Lights – is honed from his years of performance experience and deep-digging pursuits. One could identify Ulysses as a DJ’s DJ, a collector and churner of diverse finds embedded in his repertoire, which not only excludes him from stagnant genre pigeonholing, but makes him one of the most flexible and surprising DJs out there.

Ulysses has been in the game since the early 2000s (Credit: Ulysses)

The full-time selector has also been influential as a member of one of the scene’s most established crews, notably, MUGIC Soundsystem. Launched in 2008, the collective – comprising Ulysses, Dang, Kentaro, Mislav and MyHero – helped push the trend of parties thrown in assorted locations, paving the way for like-minded collectives today such as Kampong Boogie and Ice Cream Sundays. While their activities have wound down in recent times due to members moving abroad, the legacy of MUGIC continues to resonate with groovy torchbearers like Ulysses.

So how does someone so long-serving keep things so fresh? In this interview, I get into the mind of Ulysses to uncover his work ethic, how he first got into the game, his involvement with MUGIC, and how lingerie is somehow connected to his personal branding. What can I say? Ulysses is quite the character.

Hey Uly. What would you say your personal brand is? How important is it for any hustling DJ to have one?

I don’t actually have a personal brand of my own to begin with; never believed in it, although it does work for some people. I’d rather let my music selection speak for me. I guess it all boils down to what kind of DJ you want to be known as which is not wrong. As a DJ, sometimes having an identity is somewhat necessary. But if I had to tie myself to a brand, I’d say hedonistic with silky panties thrown in for flavour.

Very fitting. Paint us a picture, Uly. How was the scene like when you first started out as a DJ? Was your initiation an arduous one?

It most certainly was for me and my peers that started out early back then. I started playing out sometime in early 2000 at small bars. Imagine having to lug around at least two crates of records to gigs and getting paid only $50 or sometimes, nothing at all. This was the time when we were still on CDJs playing CDs or vinyl on turntables. I’d say DJ-ing was competitive back then. You really had to amass a decent record collection before you could even start playing out from your bedroom. You’d gather whatever music you had in your collection, bring it to your gig and try to make it work. Also, DJ-ing back then was definitely a physical thing. I’ve kind of developed quite a bit of forearm muscles just by carrying crates of records. Haha.

You’ve been in the industry for so many years. Do you have any personal milestones?

For me, it would have to be the birth of MUGIC.

Of course, let’s talk about that. Can you summarise the story of MUGIC and its role in the scene?

MUGIC started as a party just for friends and friends of friends. This was in 2008 when many clubs started having bottle service and me, Kentaro and Mislav were getting quite sick of it. We wanted to party like how it was when we first started partying in our early 20s you know, have that non-pretentious vibe almost like a house party; back-to-basics sort of stuff.

For our very first party, we did it at this space called Night & Day (NAD) which was in an old building in Selegie. It was a great space with graffiti on the wall, a simple well-stocked bar and a spacious dancefloor. With just a pair of CDJs and turntables and a mixer playing music over BMB karaoke speakers which blew by the end of the night, we only had about 30 pax at most and these were our friends.

Scenes from a good ol’ MUGIC party in 2010 at the now-defunct Night & Day (Credit: MUGIC Facebook page)

Then for the second time, we put together some money and upgraded the sound system to a better one; no fancy laser lights but just a white strobe light and a disco ball and we had more people showing up over time. And by then, we had been known as one of the best parties to be at, which was never really our intention actually. It just happened. As we grew with the numbers, we also had enough budget to bring in DJs like Kay Suzuki, Levon Vincent, and Jus Ed to name a few. I guess you could say we were one of the few collectives that threw parties in random spaces. Our motto was very simple. “Come as strangers, leave as friends.”

With some members currently based overseas, will we see the continuation of MUGIC? Or is it taking a break?

It’s hard to say. Apart from Jordan (MyHero), Mislav and I, the rest are on daddy duties. Jordan is based in Saigon now and Mislav in Bali. As for me, I am focusing more on myself as an individual artiste. We try our best to gather whenever we can and throw a gathering just like how it was before. We might consider bringing back DJ acts that are around the region if budget permits. Nothing is really in the cards for now but we will see. We are old farts now. Haha.

Ulysses has graced the decks of numerous venues including Kilo Lounge, kyō, Tuff Club and Potato Head Singapore (Credit: Kilo Lounge)

What are some nuggets of wisdom that you’ve held onto throughout your experience?

Open them ears and mind and keep current with trends.

You’re an avid crate-digger. How big is your vinyl collection now?

Too many. I have actually lost count and I have been told that if I buy anymore vinyl, I’d have to sleep by the poolside (LOL).

No matter what the time or setting is, Ulysses always has the perfect soundtrack (Credit: Ulysses)

You play at numerous venues on the island and are currently a resident DJ at CÉ LA VI. How do you prepare playing for such an environment?

There isn’t really much to prepare for me actually. I guess with years of experience, playing in different bars and clubs, you tend to know how to fit into the environment. It’s all about reading the crowd and giving them what they want. I tend to be a little more friendly with the music I play at CÉ LA VI and go easy on the left-field stuff to keep the balance right.

Was it a natural progression for you to become a full-time DJ in Singapore? Would you recommend this lifestyle?

I’d only recommend it if one is resilient and hardworking enough. Constant hustling is very much needed and if you are lazy, you can’t get ahead in the curve. I knew I always wanted to be in the music industry ever since I was young. I was actually juggling my corporate day job and DJ-ing for many years before I decided to take the leap of faith and go into full time DJ-ing. You definitely need some sort of financial planning as DJ-ing is hard to sustain in Singapore or anywhere else in this world for that matter. That is the reality unfortunately. There is also shelf life too. You definitely don’t want to be doing this when you are in your 60s although I know some DJs who are still pushing it.

You can find Ulysses tag-teaming with other selectors in the scene, including Muto Masashi pictured here (Credit: The Council)

With your vast knowledge and repertoire, some might deem you a DJ’s DJ. What advice would you give to aspiring selectors?

The same nuggets of wisdom that I would live by: that is to keep your ears and mind open. Dedication also plays an important part as well. One needs to dedicate a certain amount of time digging for new and old music. It never stops.

And lastly, do you feel the scene or industry has grown through the years?

I guess for me, it’s really a matter of perspective. The scene now is really open to all kinds of different things. With the democratisation of DJ-ing together with accessible information regarding music, that has somewhat encouraged more people to come out and try their hand at DJ-ing which has also changed the dance music scene greatly. There are more parties and events to attend now compared to 20 years ago when I was started DJ-ing and partying. People are spoilt for choices these days. Then there is also, from my observation, the impression that people have a perception of what a party is based on what is popular now, and have their music taste too heavily curated sometimes. The scene is more vibrant now than what it was back then, and that is a good thing. We just need to keep pushing on. I think people who say that Singapore is a boring place to party clearly aren’t thinking straight.