Sometimes the hardest thing in life is knowing when to walk away. But Hong Kong-based DJ Ricky Stone made that decision with clarity. A few months ago the 34-year-old was on one of his jaunts around the world and found himself behind the decks at a club in Los Angeles. Everything was as normal until he looked up from his work and gazed into the crowd. 'I was playing and it suddenly hit me - they were really young,' says Stone, laughing. 'Then I started thinking, 'Do I look old to them?'' It was the realisation of something that had been at the back of Stone's mind for a while. Having spent half his life travelling and playing in clubs, perhaps it was time for something new. 'It's a relief to me, to be honest,' says Stone. 'For the past five years I have been looking out on dance floors and the people have started looking so young. I don't want to be [DJing] when I am 40 or 45. I want to get out of it while I'm still happy doing it, which is now.' And so an era, of sorts, is coming to an end. Stone will still be based in Hong Kong, but he's having one last night of spinning for the local masses, at Club PP on September 25. He admits there'll be a lot to reflect on; when the Sheffield-raised Stone first arrived on our shores in 2002, the local clubbing scene was still in its infancy. Stone had started spinning at 14, and it wasn't long after that he decided to make a career out of it. His earned a name for himself in the 1990s as he developed a progressive style of mixing that soon saw him sharing the stage with the likes of Sasha and John Digweed, and playing to hundreds of thousands at events such as Berlin's Love Parade. But the move to Hong Kong presented something a little different. Although Stone wasn't sure of what to expect when he arrived here for a residency at C Club in Lan Kwai Fong, it proved an inspired move. Stone found himself not only at the forefront of the local scene, but also able to expand his musical career from his Hong Kong base, branching out to establish his own record label, 852 Recordings, and a management company. 'I've seen a lot of the world, so I've been quite lucky with that. I've had a great time,' he says. 'But the truth is I just can't hack the touring any more. People think it's quite a glamorous life, but it's not nice to be alone or sit in a hotel for four days between gigs while you are touring. You get tired of it. 'I love Hong Kong,' he says. 'I'm not leaving. But I just think it's time for different things.' The amount of touring Stone has been doing over the past five years, month in, month out, has taken its toll, he says. And even though his love for the music has never diminished, it's the lifestyle that has become hard to handle. 'To be honest, Hong Kong's not really a place to be an international DJ. You need to be based in Europe and avoid the 17-hour flights back and forth,' he says. What will his best memories be? 'The handover [anniversary] gig at Western Market [in 2007] was probably the best gig, but my residency here when I first came to C Club [in 2002] was probably the best memories I have of DJing here,' he says. 'That gig first brought me out here and the scene was really developing. It was just a great time to be involved in something pretty new.' Stone is tight-lipped about what exactly will be taking up most of his time in the future - but he says it will complement his label and management work. 'I'm launching something in early 2010,' he says. 'It's going to be big. It's something that I've been working on for the past two years, a work in progress. It's music-related, obviously, but I can't really say much more at this stage. It's going to be taking up all of my time.' One thing he says he won't miss about the club scene in Hong Kong is the seemingly endless input from the local authorities. He's one of a growing number of locally based DJs and promoters who fear for the scene in the city. 'It's quite hard for people these days to do parties in Hong Kong because of all the restrictions,' he says. 'It's so much easier for promoters to do parties in Macau. There's so much red tape here. The last three parties I have played in Hong Kong, the police have raided all three of them. It just makes things difficult and it puts people off organising them and going to them. I don't know why they do it.' When Stone takes his final bow from behind the decks, he can do so happy in the knowledge he has for half a decade been voted among the world's best in his trade. But perhaps he won't miss the hype, either. Stone was recently involved in a spat with DJ magazine over its annual top 100 list, brought on when he asked fans not to vote for him this year. 'I've been in the top 100 for the past four or five years, so this year I just decided to ask people not to vote for me,' he explains. 'They made a big thing out of it, which is fair enough - they have to diss me. But I wanted to say the top 100 is really just who has the best marketing team, and it's the top 100 for that mag, not the top 100 in the world. Anyway, it's over now and I'm moving on.' But before he does, he will have one last night doing what brought him to Hong Kong in the first place. 'Well, all my friends will be there - I hope,' says Stone. 'The idea is to just go out with a good time, have a good party and play what people want to hear me play. And hope the police don't show up. I'm sure they will do, regardless.' Ricky Stone with DJ Tynee and Jason F, Sep 25, 11pm, Club PP, Unit 3-5 UG2, Chinachem Golden Plaza, 77 Mody Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui East, ticket prices TBA. Inquiries: 2739 1084, 9322 1219
