Saving Asia’s Club Culture: Tune in to Live Streams & Radio Shows by the Region’s Music Collectives
PUBLISHED June 10th, 2020 10:40 am | UPDATED August 18th, 2023 12:05 am
The pandemic has resulted in a shuttering of clubs nights, festivals and concerts – events that usually dominate the summer season. If you missed hitting the dance floor like we do, here are some music collectives in Asia working to keep our club culture alive whether you’re looking to jam out on your own or organise a streaming party with your friends.
United We Stream Asia
Launched less than two weeks ago, United We Stream Asia streams three days a week, providing a platform for Asia’s clubs, events, and artists. Originating from a movement in Berlin, take this chance to journey through the club culture scene of countries like Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, Philippines, South Korea and Singapore. Expect performances from DJs like Tiago Oudman, and Aldrin, well-known for his groovy, house sets this weekend. During this period, viewers can also donate to a relief fund supporting clubs, bars and organisations in need across Asia.
Check out United We Stream Asia’s event list here.
More Unst
Unst, a Bangkok based artist collective, has collaborated with More Rice to bring the club scene to your home. Local and regional DJs, visual artists and crews have provided pre-recorded mixes and visuals for the collective to stream weekly, allowing them to showcase their talents in a different setting. Groove along to the minimal deep house beats of DOTT, have fun with the creative sets of Elaheh, and dance along to Heartbreakkid‘s performances among others.
Unst streams every Friday, from 8pm – 11pm (UTC+7). Details on artists can be found on their Facebook page.
Viral Beats
It started off as a surprise virtual party for a friend amongst 40 people, but Viral Beats has now grown to a community of over 1,400 people with a curated line up of reputed and upcoming DJs, musicians and producers. Brought together with a shared love of electronic music, the team streamed performances every Saturday to help make lockdown days a little less dull at home. As measures are slowly lifted up in various cities, they have taken a step back to focus on bringing more quality acts. Their past roster has seen both regional and international DJs gracing the decks, from Singapore’s Amber H and Tom Shellsuit to Bangkok’s Dott and Chamapoo, Ho Chi Minh’s MyHero to Turin’s Seven Sins.
Viral Beats streams can be found here. Check out their Facebook page for the upcoming shows.
Darker Than Wax
An established underground electronic music label in Singapore, Darker Than Wax breaks bounds and grounds in progressing the music scene in the city and influencing globally. Not only does the team organise live streams to bring music to the wider community, they have three ongoing radio shows that connect listeners to other local and international artists. Tune in to Darker Than Wax FM, hosted all the way from Brooklyn by DJs Marco Weibel and Mawkus or check out Worldwide FM by co-founder Funk Bast*rd, where a new global artist is introduced each show.
Darker Than Wax’s radio shows can be found here. For details on their livestreams, check out their Facebook page.
Revision Music
Co-founded by Singaporean DJs Rah, Senja and RTJ, Revision Music connects listeners with alternative and electronic music through specially curated events. Bringing together artists from all over Southeast Asia, the team wants to shine a spotlight on the underground music scene in the region. From well-known funk DJ Tom Shellsuit to energetic newcomers like OMJ, their artist selection is sure to please a crowd. Their most recent live stream was even in support of AWARE’s Vulnerable Women’s Fund, giving back to communities in these tough times.
Check out Revision Music’s monthly selections of mix show here. Playlists curated by their founders can be found on their Facebook page.
Milkman
Based in Mumbai, Milkman is a collective offering live music and entertainment events. Having won awards in 2018 and 2019 at the India Nightlife Convention and Awards, the team is now putting those skills to use keeping people entertained at home. Check out Milkman Radio, where each episode features a DJ from around the world like Bombay based dreamstates and Brazilian DJ Gui Scott, to name a few. Their newest live stream series ISOLATION STYLE launched last month, in collaboration with leading Dutch DJ Cinnaman, so one can expect greater things to come.
Milkman’s radio series can be found here. Check out their live stream series on their Facebook page.
Beam Bangkok
Beam is one of Bangkok’s liveliest underground dance clubs, known for their love of underground house and techno music. With the closure of clubs all over the world, Beam has also shuttered their doors, moving operations online. For all those missing club nights, transport yourself to Bangkok with their weekly live streams Beam Live. This weekend, vibe along to beats from DJ Noxro and K.A.D.E, with more artists yet to be announced. With such a line-up, who’s bored at home?
Beam streams live every Friday and Saturday, from 11pm – 1am on their Facebook page.
