ALL CREWS INTERNATIONAL: VIETNAM
- adancecalledhardwe
- Feb 24
- 6 min read
This week we head east to the Land of the Blue Dragon to learn all about Jungle Drum & Bass's journey into Vietnam..
MIRAE
I know you play different genres of music, do people who come to parties that you play Drum n’ Bass at respond differently than when you play other genres?
Foreigners and expats love Drum and Bass , and also Techno music.
What are two things you love and what is one challenge to being a DJ?
I love to see people dancing to my sets and people respecting and supporting the artists. One big challenge is getting paid being booked in Vietnam.
What types of Drum n’ Bass tracks do you love to play when you’re playing at a party?
I like to play tracks like Chase & Status - Baddadan, Aldo Vanucci, and Mila Fall - Impossible.
Social Media Links:
Ezor
Please tell our All Crews readers about Bass2Face.
Bass2Face is a passion project and a culture-building movement dedicated to nurturing the underground bass music scene across Vietnam, focusing primarily on Drum & Bass, Jungle, and UK Garage. The project was officially established in June 2024 by my wife and myself, and since then, we have successfully hosted over 50 events. During this time, we've had major bookings featuring pioneers of the genre from the UK, which has made us known far beyond Vietnam, we are now well-recognized back in England. Bass2Face acts as a community hub for quality UK sound, and we have many spectacular events with special guests already lined up for the next year. Our mantra remains simple: no hype, just quality sound and good vibes.
I see that you've released on Dispatch among other labels, how did that release come about on that great label?
Getting a release on Dispatch Recordings was a huge milestone and a dream come true, validating my dedication to the deeper, more technical side of Drum & Bass. That release, under my alias Ezor, came about after persistently sending demos to the label boss, Ant TC1, over a period of time. I believe it was the specific, minimalist aesthetic and the heavy emphasis on drums and bass weight in the track that eventually caught his ear. On that note, I have another EP coming out on Dispatch soon, which I wrote entirely here in Vietnam, proving that my sound fits perfectly with this respected label. It’s a rewarding confirmation that the sound I’m crafting has a real place within the genre's most respected circles.
You're originally from Russia, how did you end up in Vietnam?
Yes, I originally hail from Russia, and the move to Vietnam was driven by a need for a fresh perspective and a new challenge for my musical ambitions. I initially came here seeking a more dynamic and less saturated environment where the underground scene was still developing. I found that in Vietnam, particularly in cities like Da Nang, there was an incredible appetite for new music and a supportive, energetic community ready to embrace the sounds of DNB and UK Bass. The climate, the welcoming people, and the opportunity to build a scene from the ground up created the perfect environment for establishing Bass2Face and dedicating myself fully to the music.
Social Media Links:
Conduit
I see you’re a tech consultant for the music industry, please tell us more about that.
My role as a music tech consultant involves working with forward thinking DJs, producers, and events that want to push the music industry forward using the latest cutting edge technological advances such as AI and Augmented Reality. We are currently working on a number of products such as a Beatport powered DJ app for Meta Smartglasses and AR app that allows you to paint and tag musical graffiti around your city. Anybody interested in signing up for test links hit me up on Instagram!
What’s been your experience with Jungle & Drum n’ Bass and how that relates to Vietnam?
Vietnam's music scene across all underground genres is very new, raw and exciting and still at an early stage where it is still run by passionate people that are there for the love of the music, the scene and ultimately to give locals, expats and travellers a true taste of the underground. As a person who spent over 20 years DJing across Europe it pains me to now see what has happened to a once great scene back home that has become more about putting money in promoters pockets than putting on great events. Seeing what is emerging in SE Asia gives me hope that there is a new breed that is carrying the energy forward with the right intent.
I’m sure you’re an experienced Junglist, what are your top 5 tracks to shut down any dance?
This is a really hard one for me to answer as my mental discography goes back almost 30 years so instead I'll give a rough outline of what I'd currently play in one of my sets in Asia. My natural taste always heads towards the deeper stuff to get the mood set so I love warming up with anything by Calibre, Lenzman, Dbridge or Mitekiss without going all cheesy and vocal. Then once the dance floor is moving I like to take things up a notch with anything by The Sauce, Spyda, Bou or the man himself Chimpo from Manchester. Then once the crowd is frothing it's time to wrap it up with something extra naughty by the big man himself, Break! Game Over!
Social Media Links:
NIJuGO:
Please tell our All Crews readers about Borderland.
So, The Borderland is my first self-produced event series, and it’s something really close to my heart. The idea came from wanting to build a place where both artists and the crowd can just be themselves; It’s kinda like an underground thing for the music scene in Hanoi; Just no limits, no expectations. It’s all about freedom and connection through music. I wanted to create a space where different sounds collide from House and UK Garage to Trap, Techno, or even Drum and Bass. Every Borderland is unpredictable; even your favorite DJ's might surprise you with something completely different. It’s meant to capture that underground spirit, energetic, emotional, and real. At the end of the day, The Borderland is about bringing people together who share that same love for sound and creativity.
Give us a little background on you, how long have you been DJ'ing and how did you get into DJ'ing?
I started DJ’ing around early 2022, but my love for electronic music goes way back to 2016. That’s when I went to my first festival, and honestly, it blew my mind. The energy, the visuals, the crowd; I just knew I wanted to be part of that world. At first, I got involved behind the scenes hanging around at the 1900 Le Théâtre to connect with people and artists in the scene, and later I started writing for Loop Central, one of Vietnam’s top music media outlets. It helped me understand the culture and how the industry works from the inside.
Then I worked with Gaztik, Vietnam’s first DJ duo, as an assistant and media executive for over two years. Those experiences taught me a lot, not just about music, but about what it takes to build an artist’s career. My turning point came in 2023 when I debuted at the first Điên Nặng event. I still remember that moment, I just asked if I could play that night, and it changed everything. From then on, I knew this was what I was meant to do. Since then, I’ve been performing more, exploring different sounds, and trying to find new ways to connect with people through my sets. Fun fact, I'm actually learning to play new different genres every day; Like, I’ve only got to know more about DNB, Jungle and 170 stuff since last August, and I already just played my 6th DNB set last week hahahaa!
I can’t even believe how fast things have been going for the last 3 years!
Who are some of your musical influences both from an electronic music perspective and non-electronic music perspective and why are you influenced by these artists?
In electronic music, just wanna say I grew up with Skrillex, I mean, he’s THE GUY; Right now I’m inspired by artists like ISOxo, RL Grime, Knock2, Dimension or Fred again, they each bring something unique to the table, like RL
Social Media Links:
Comments