Nguyễn + Transitory: The Politics of Sound, and Radical Listening
Nguyễn + Transitory is composed of Nguyễn Baly and Tara Transitory. Their work crosses the disciplines of sound, performance, and installation. Working mainly with modular synthesizers and analog...
Incendiary and Humorous: Lebanese Illustrator and Comic Book Artist Tracy Chahwan on her Love for Beirut, Feminism, LGBTQ+, and her New Life in the USA
Lebanese illustrator and comic book artist Tracy Chahwan is a lover of Beirut. For over ten years, she dwelled in the city's alternative scene, collaborating with other artists and creating socially...
Visual Artists Headlining The Club Movement in Shanghai: ChillChill Blends Social Commentary into his Virtual Worlds
We chat with the 29-year old Shanghai-based 3D animator ChillChill about his journey to becoming a leading visionary for music labels, producers and clubs as well as his penchant for dystopian cityscapes cluttered with the remnants of our ever-advancing society.
Shanghai queer party promoter HTTP team up with ‘hot mess queer clown’ Y2K3N
One of the club night series taking Shanghai by storm is HTTP, heralded by promoter, organizer and DJs Offskii and Mengki. Based on ‘the concept of empowerment, not exclusivity’, the queer...
Visual Artists Headlining The Club Movement in Shanghai: Jinkui Zhou on Creating a New Visual Language
Who's involved in the development and fostering of a club scene? The first factors that come to mind are usually DJs, promoters, and venues. But the first person to decide whether you go to a party...
Frisky Characters in a Cute Land: the Teletubbies-like World of a Young Thai Artist
Between hearts, butterflies, and flower emojis, twenty-three-year-old Thai artist Kraiwitch Tungsomboon tells about his photographic projects. He’s fresh out...
Bangkok Wet Dream: How a Sexy Towel is Challenging the Power of Uniformed Men in Thailand
Our story starts with Salawat, a police officer that falls asleep during his shift somewhere in Bangkok. In his dream, he meets a blue man wearing a meat suit and a mascot's mask, Nuisance. He is...
Sublimation of Nihilism: Shanghai party organization EVO takes inspiration from Eastern philosophy
Over time Shanghai's thriving underground club scene has spawned a large number of party organizations and artists. If you're a club culture enthusiast, there's probably a moment of truth every...
30% Hentai, 70% Sweetness, Hong Kong Underground Idol QQBBG uses music to express the things she’s afraid to say
Born and raised in the high-rising materialistic cyber city that is Hong Kong, and immersed in the Japanese idols and animation culture since childhood, QQBBG is an authentic E-GIRL in every aspect...
New Video – Gabber Modus Operandi:Hardcore Folklore for the Indonesian Club Scene
Last winter, we became friends with the Indonesian DJ-Duo Gabber Modus Operandi. In Jakarta, we experienced their crazy live shows, in Bali we had traditional food together and talked a lot about...
Indonesia’s DIY Extreme Vespa Scene Brought To Life by “Rebel Riders”
<Rebel Riders>, is a film by Dutch cinematographer Marc Aziz Ressang, who has been living in Asia for 8 years. It’s a documentary about Vespa Ekstrim, an Indonesian community where people...
In Her New Single Cambodian Rock Feminist Vartey Ganiva Celebrates The Higher Meaning Of Love
VARTEY GANIVA, our good friend from Cambodia just released her catchy new single "Chob Chur" (Stop Hurt), along with a fascinating music video. Chob Chur is translated in a metaphorical sense “stop...
A Slumdog Metal Fairytale: Cambodian Street Kids Chasing Their Dream in Wacken
It was a one-in-a-lifetime-chance for Doch Chkae, a band of young orphans from the slums of Phnom Penh: In 2018 they were invited to play at Wacken, the worlds biggest metal festival. But first...
RESOUND EP3: SENYAWA’S ENDEAVORS OF BEYOND ROCK & ROLL
During the shooting of RESOUND in Jogja, Subtropical Asia was fortunate enough to interview SENYAWA. As a band they’ve become something of an national treasure in Indonesia. They combine the...
TRAILER | SLUMDOGS AT WACKEN: A TRUE METAL FAIRYTALE | New Doch Chkae documenatry
This summer, the slumdog kids of Doch Chkae left Asia for the first time in their life to play at Wacken Open Air, the world's largest heavy metal festival. Their energetic show in front of a huge...
RESOUND EP2: YES NO WAVE – A FREE MUSIC MODEL AGAINST THE CAPITALISTIC WORLD
Based in Jogja, YES NO WAVE MUSIC is a legendary nonprofit music label which is responsible for some of the earliest releases of some of the biggest indie bands in Indonesia, such as Senyawa and...
RESOUND EP1: CAT JUNK NOISE
Meet Mahamboro, an experimental music nerd, a sound explorer based in Jogja, Indonesia. Inspired by the Javanese instrument siter, He turned a trash bin into a sound weapon. RESOUND is a documentary...
Trailer | RESOUND–Innovation of the Jogja Music Scene
This month, we will release RESOUND, a short documentary series about the innovation of the Jogja music scene. Jogja is the cultural center of Indonesia and an important subculture hub in Asia. The...