January 20th, 2008LET'S DANCE!
Music festivals are rare in this part of the world. And dance music festivals? Well, Singapore has had ZoukOut for years and Malaysia hosts Global Gathering Recharge Revolution, but now the time has come for Bangkok to enjoy its first full-blown international dance music festival.
Bacardi B-Live Presents Culture One Bangkok International Dance Music Festival (try and read that really fast in one go) will make dance music enthusiasts’ dreams come true this Saturday at Bitec’s helicopter port when more than 25 artists take turns to demolish the dance floors.
“We are hoping that the festival will become an annual gathering for all music lovers like the ones held in our neighbouring countries. Bangkok is a major city and it needs a proper dance music festival. But this is only our first, and we’re trying our best to make it enjoyable for everyone involved, from the artists and staff to the revellers,” said organiser deejay Tui, founder of Club Culture and long-time patron of the club scene.
There will be four separate arenas sprawled around the lake of Bitec’s helicopter port. These are the Main Arena, the Amnesia Arena, the Godskitchen Arena and the Dudesweet Arena.
Headlining the Main Arena will be none other than deejay David Morales whose label, the legendary Def Mix, has chosen to include the festival as part of its 20th anniversary world tour. Def Mix deejays are loved by hard-core dance music fans the world over while its three flagship deejays/producers/artists - Morales, Frankie Knuckles and Satoshi Tomiie - have worked with everyone from Madonna to Diana Ross. Morales is said to be one of the first “superstar” deejays and his many remixes have transformed pop hits into dance floor-friendly tracks.
“We are quite proud that Def Mix has chosen to come to our festival. They could have gone anywhere for this anniversary tour. It will be David Morales’ first time in Thailand as well,” said deejay Tui.
But Morales won’t be the only pioneer featured in the Main Arena. Break beat luminaries Stanton Warriors will get some different juices flowing while Singapore’s living legend Andrew Chow will shake the dance floor with one of his booty jumping sets that can incorporate everything from old school hip hop to nu jazz. Sound-element crew are also on the bill to add some Thai-style break beats while deejay Spydamonkee will do the same for hip hop.
The Amnesia Arena will specialise in trance and electro house. For those who haven’t been to Ibiza or are uninformed about the world of trance and techno, Amnesia is one of the biggest clubs on Ibiza. It was recently recognised as Best Global Club by the Winter Music Conference in Miami. Now, your chance has come to get a taste of the Spanish party island through Marco V (who is ranked 20th in DJ Mag’s 2007 best deejays list), Brian Cross and Toni Varga alongside our very own deejay Oum, who isn’t actually Amnesia material but what the heck!
For progressive trance and psytrance heads, the Godskitchen Arena will scratch your itch big time. One of a few international super-club brands, Gods-kitchen has toured and organised events around the world with their rotation of famous deejays. Godskitchen also runs a music label and AIR, an infamous night club in Birmingham. Gatecrasher resident deejay AJ Gibson will play the Godskitchen Arena as will multi-talented old hand John 00 Fleming, one of very few deejays whose compilations sell over one million copies.
“It might sound like an exaggeration but John 00 Fleming is really one of the most important people in electronic music. He’s done many things from hosting a radio show to running his own label,” said deejay Tui.
Not to be outstaged is Thailand’s own deejay Sabai Sabai whose shaggy appearance may belie the fact that the hippyish decksmaster spends half of his year holding residencies in European clubs.
Last but not least is the Dudesweet Arena. The notorious party collective might stick out like a sore thumb at Culture One since their sound will be far removed from the hard dance of the other three arenas. Heedless, Dudesweet have gone ahead and cobbled their own arena party together.
“The festival has been really good toward us,” said Dudesweet head honcho Pongsuang Kunprasop. “They understand what we are about. Tui and his staff never interfere with our selections. They pretty much let us do whatever we want, including decorations and schedules. We feel very happy working with them.”
Dudesweet’s headliner might not be a household name in Bangkok, but the Filthy Dukes are gallivanting around Europe with their eclectic remixes and unpredictable, indietronica deejay sets. The Dukes, Olly Dixon and Tim Lawton run London’s famous club night, Kill ‘Em All, which has long been first to host cutting edge new bands who have gone on to make names for themselves. Hip would be an understatement for this duo. Trust Dudesweet to bring you the cool stuff!
Also present at the Dudesweet Arena will be Xu from Twilight Action Girl, Dudesweet’s Malaysian counterpart, and a special guest, namely Dome Pakorn Lum, whose identity was initially going to be kept as a surprise.
Dudesweet will be the only arena to host live bands including Cyndi Seui and Slur, set to rock ‘n’ roll with their short, energetic performances.
“We normally play rock or pop music festivals or with other bands with similar sounds, so this will be a nice change for us,” said Yeah, Slur’s vocalist. “We also frequent Dudesweet anyway and we think it’s fitting that they have live bands on their stage for they always support new bands in their regular events.”
In addition to music, there will also be an art exhibition at Culture One featuring 10 new artists and specially commissioned Thai contemporary dance performances.
“We want to make it a wholesome festival so we are including other fan factors such as games area and foot massage services. So even if you don’t feel like dancing, you can come and soak up the atmosphere,” said Tui.
The organisers are mildly concern that people might mistake the event for a big night out, thereby showing up late and missing some of what’s on offer. Well, people, the festival is starting at 4pm and the first deejays will be manning the decks no later than 5pm, so if you’re used to your Bangkok ways and show up after midnight consider yourself lucky if you catch more than one deejay!
Bacardi B-Live Presents Culture One Bangkok International Dance Music Festival is this Saturday from 4pm at Bitec’s helicopter port, Bang Na. Advance tickets through http://www.thaiticketmajor.com/ cost 650 baht, which includes one drink, or 850 baht at the door. Visit http://www.culture-one-bkk.com/ for more information and maps.
