Bangkok’s nightlife scene is a diverse place and for those who like it percussive and sometimes a little heavy, Phatfunk would rank among the capital’s drum & bass royalty.
Tomorrow night the team celebrates five years of making music and parties happen at parties throughout town, but most nights you’ll find them at Glow Nightclub.
In a world whose soul is being eaten alive by EDM, Phatfunk continues to bump their beats without breaking their stride. With roots from the UK, France, Netherland and Thailand, we wanted to check in with the Phast, Phresent and Phuture of Phatfunk.
Phatfunker James Gilbody got back with responses to our questions about their take on the party scene and the story behind the deck.
1. It’s been five years, what is its mission today?
Phatfunk is as much a personal outlet for us as it is a chance for us to share the music and culture we all grew up with. It’s an amalgamation of the Drum & Bass underground street culture, and street arts which influenced us all growing up thousands of miles apart.
Phatfunk really is just dedicated to bringing drum & bass to Bangkok, something everyone behind it grew up with in our respective countries, James Gilbody (DeLorean) and Ashley (Instinct) in the UK, Jeremy (Azek) in France, Wesley (Gorb Visuals) in the Netherlands and Orawan who is Thai but spent her formative years in New Zealand.
2. What made it happen, what brought you all together?
The simple answer is Drum & Bass brought us all together. We started at Cafe Democ in 2010, still to this day one of the best and most nurturing venues Bangkok has ever seen, and without paying much attention to what else was happening in the scene, carried on with the same spirit we started, playing music we love for people that will listen.
3. What is it about drum & bass?
There’s no other music to us that gives you the same energy and takes the same level of concentration and depth to listen to.
4. How do you think you guys have affected or influenced the Bangkok nightlife scene?
The reason we’re still doing it after five years is because our love for the music hasn’t changed, and also the lack of any other consistent D&B nights in Bangkok also. I guess you could say that gives us the purpose to keep on providing for this niche but passionate crowd. Although we’re not up there with the big boys throwing 1,000+ House / EDM parties, I feel we’re still bringing in acts as big and as interesting to a small, intimate venue. I guess our influence is bringing in the latest and most progressive names and some old school classics into the mix month-on-month.
5. What do you think of the what’s going on in the nightlife scene? What’s the future hold for Phatfunk?
Bangkok’s nightlife has been through some serious ups and downs in our five years of existence. Some of our favourite clubs have been and gone, to name a few Astra, Club Culture, Cafe Democ, 808, Park Bridge. Add to that the political trouble of recent years closing night clubs early, it really has been tough going. Right now we’re pleased to see nightlife back on the up, new venues opening all the time and a new generation fresh on the heels of electronic music, EDM, Dubstep, Trap. Doesn’t matter. It can only be a good thing. For the past two to three years we’ve been pushing international artists every month, and we don’t see that changing anytime soon. This year alone we have Sam Binga, Roy Green, Om Unit, Eveson, Lenzman, Skeptical, Artificial Intelligence and a few more secrets we can’t quite reveal yet. We want people to expect something that no one else is Bangkok is doing. Real D&B, debut acts to Bangkok and our signature sound system with plenty of extra punch we bring to any venue we run our night at.
Toast and say happy birthday to the pholks of Phatfunk at their five-year anniversary party featuring Roy Green tomorrow night at Glow Nightclub. Expect the beat of their best drum & bass and a taste of the soulful and funky. Entry is THB450 and includes one drink.
FIND IT:
9pm, July 3
Glow Nightclub
Soi Sukhumvit 23
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