［PYRO音乐的对话间］ 深圳地下音乐领域的引领者 Mantis Project 的创始人—Mantis

（scroll down for English）

PYRO音乐希望与在中国进行电子舞曲文化推广有着出色成绩的人，有更多的对话和了解，所以我们会开始找寻这些很酷的人进行一次次的对话，这次我们找到了Mantis。出生并长大于南非约翰内斯堡的Mantis是目前深圳地下音乐领域里最有影响力的人物之一，拥有多年在音乐和DJ专业领域的丰富经验，并且在中国的八年时间里，Mantis还建立了非常多的音乐项目，参与不同的音乐活动，充分影响到当地的音乐文化。他是Mantis Project 的创始人以及邦酒吧的音乐总监，就让我们和他聊一下关于中国的音乐这些事。

A：在我来到中国之前，我从未去过任何Club去放商业型的音乐和EDM Top 40。在我的家乡我喜欢听Electro Industrial、Techno、Dark Psy 等风格。当我来到这里，这里没有Club在做我喜欢的音乐风格，所以我决定自己成为DJ。但是有时候不得不播放商业型的音乐，于是我和我最好的朋友及搭档—DJ Mechnophile 开始组织活动，我们可以做我们喜欢的音乐风格，不过这过程比我们想象要困难很多。

Q：当你第一次组织派对的时候，有什么困难是需要面对的？

A：我并不是很确定，更多的注意力我放在音乐上，音乐会决定派对的氛围和整体的感觉。我认为这对所有DJ来说都是如此，我会给我派对上的DJ们更多表达自己的自由。以前也说过，我努力去邀请有着和我理念相同的DJ。

A：首先我是一名DJ，我看待活动会从一个DJ的视角出发。如果DJ觉得这个晚上的活动是有趣并且成功的，我认为这就足够了。这也意味着喜欢来我们派对的人能够享受今晚的音乐并且舞动起来，我比较容易满足和随性。

PYRO will begin featuring one venue or event organizer located in China to share with our followers. There are thousands of clubs throughout China with a steady growth of events and festivals inside and outside venues and the typical environment. This new feature will bring to light all their unique approaches to the nightlife scene.

Q：Hi Mantis! Its great to have you as our first feature, can you tell us a little about your background and where you’re from for those that may not know you?

Q：When did you first get into electronic music and what motivated you to take the next step with organising events?

A：Before I came to China, I never went to any club that would play commercial music or top 40. I was very much into the Electro Industrial, Techno and Dark Psy scene back home. When I got here, there were no clubs that played the music I was familiar with and I soon realized that if I wanted to DJ here, I had to play commercial music. I came with my best friend, and DJ Partner at the time, Mechnophile, and we just wanted to create events where we could play the music we like. It turned out to be much more difficult than we thought. 

A：It’s probably the same obstacles we still face today. Lack of money; Lack of Venues; Venue owners whose expectations exceed reality; Club bosses who aren’t as open minded and forward thinking as one would expect; and definitely the fact that it is very hard to get proper permission and documentation to do Legal parties outside of already established clubs or venues. I’d say another major issue we face, especially in Shenzhen, is the lack of support from people in general. Underground music really struggle here, and it’s much harder to compete with the more mainstream events or clubs. 

A：I have no specific tactics or methods. I just provide the platform and then book the djs. They do the rest, really. I think people often over look the role of the dj in events. 

A：Im a dj first and foremost, and I look at every event from a DJ’s perspective. If the djs had fun and felt like the night was a success, then I think that’s enough for me. Basically, that means that people were dancing, and enjoying themselves. Im really easy to please. 

Q：Whats next for The Mantis Project? Any big goals that you’re shooting for by the end of this year or so?