"It's fast, dynamic and super-efficient, I just feed off that energy," says Ricky Stone of Hong Kong, yet similar words could be used to describe the Sheffield-born DJ himself as much as the city he has called home for the past six years. For whilst Stone arrived in Asia in 2002 as a proselytising voice for electronic music, he has since become something of an evangelist for the Oriental club scene itself, establishing himself as probably the most influential Western-born DJ in the region, as his set at the Olympics closing ceremony in Beijing highlighted. "I was lucky to go there just as electronic music was first getting started and I've seen it grow every year," he explains. In fact, so beloved is Stone with the Far East that his gigs further abroad, such as those on his recent 30-date tour of America, are regularly packed with as many Chinese ex-pats as locals. "I've certainly got a lot of Chinese friends!" he laughs. Which, considering we're talking about the country with the world's largest population, is clearly a good leg-up when it comes to scaling the Top 100 chart. But Stone is also making quite a name for himself outside of his adopted homeland too, largely thanks to his 852 Recordings label and new sister imprint Flatbelly, an outlet for a more electro-based sound that already has Will Bailey and Montero, aka Dee McAuley and Graeme Laverty, on the roster. Not to mention putting out Stone's own tracks such as 'Cantonese Woman' and 'Shanghai Taxi', which, as the latter's title suggests, show he's really behind the driving seat of China's club scene.
"It's fast, dynamic and super-efficient, I just feed off that energy," says Ricky Stone of Hong Kong, yet similar words could be used to describe the Sheffield-born DJ himself as much as the city he has called home for the past six years. For whilst Stone arrived in Asia in 2002 as a proselytising voice for electronic music, he has since become something of an evangelist for the Oriental club scene itself, establishing himself as probably the most influential Western-born DJ in the region, as his set at the Olympics closing ceremony in Beijing highlighted. "I was lucky to go there just as electronic music was first getting started and I've seen it grow every year," he explains. In fact, so beloved is Stone with the Far East that his gigs further abroad, such as those on his recent 30-date tour of America, are regularly packed with as many Chinese ex-pats as locals. "I've certainly got a lot of Chinese friends!" he laughs. Which, considering we're talking about the country with the world's largest population, is clearly a good leg-up when it comes to scaling the Top 100 chart. But Stone is also making quite a name for himself outside of his adopted homeland too, largely thanks to his 852 Recordings label and new sister imprint Flatbelly, an outlet for a more electro-based sound that already has Will Bailey and Montero, aka Dee McAuley and Graeme Laverty, on the roster. Not to mention putting out Stone's own tracks such as 'Cantonese Woman' and 'Shanghai Taxi', which, as the latter's title suggests, show he's really behind the driving seat of China's club scene.
