IT MIGHT be hard to believe but Trance Music Lovers in Thailand, or TLT, the group of DJs, promoters, event organisers and artists that pioneered the trance music in Bangkok turns five this year and it’s celebrating its birthday tomorrow night with a party at Live RCA.
The grand celebration features three stages, 11 home-grown talents and international guest DJ Temple One from the UK. TLT residents will be manning the deck on the main stage and delivering some uplifting and euphoric trance, while the famed Psy Head community is set to deliver some psychedelic trance in the Studio Room. Pure Decibel takes care of the outdoor stage with plenty of progressive and classic trance.
We had a chat with TLT founder DJ Jonnie B about the trance scene in Bangkok and his plans for the future.
WHAT IS IT ABOUT TRANCE THAT APPEALS TO YOU SO MUCH?
The earliest trance materials I got my hands on were tracks by Paul Van Dyke and ATB. That was when I realised that unlike other genres of electronic music that are mainly about beats and rhythms, trance is also about feeling, about how you are drawn into a “state of trance” by various elements in the music. And there are several subgenres of trance that are vastly different in terms of style. You might find some subgenre pure head-banging fun and another incredibly relaxing and soothing. It’s a musical style that is very diverse and interesting.
HOW DID TLT START?
I’m actually in the real estate business by trade, but I’ve been DJ-ing for fun for about seven years – mostly at friend’s parties and some clubs. At first I was not that into trance and my repertoire cut across all genres of electronic music. Then five years ago I started falling in love with trance and decided to set up this group to build a community of trance music lovers.
WHAT WAS THE TRANCE SCENE LIKE |BACK THEN?
There weren’t any clubs in Bangkok doing pure trance nights. Some had trance fused into the set, or they picked up trance tracks that were commercially known. That was not enough for me, and being a fully-fledged trance DJ, I wanted to introduce other subgenres of trance to the city’s party people. Also there were, and still are, a lot of trance DJs without a platform on which to shine. The only way to achieve that was to build a community. Luckily I found more like-minded friends along the way, and we grew from there. Our group is still small, though. There are only five active members in our group plus several unofficial supporters.
WHAT WAS THE FIRST TLT PARTY LIKE?
The early TLT parties were pretty empty [laughs]. I was fortunate to find venues like Club Culture and Cafe Democ (now closed) that gave me the opportunity to play trance and only trance, whereas many other clubs I approached shook their heads. The first year was almost impossible, which was somehow expected because I started from zero with no experience in organising parties, no marketing ploy, sponsors or connections, but it got better with time and our community of trance music lovers gradually expanded.
HOW IS IT NOW, FIVE YEARS ON?
It’s still a struggle, but we don’t mind too much because we get to do what we love. Some parties are successful, others less so. It’s rewarding that we have been able to highlight some real talent who otherwise might have been overlooked because they were not ranked on some fancy lists or anything like that.
HOW DO YOU SEE THE SCENE NOW?
On the global scene trance has recently regained its popularity. In Bangkok, even though commercial “fast food” music is still dominating, trance has found a spot in the mix and more people have become interested in the genre. Thai electronic music listeners have become more exposed to better, more eclectic music and it’s likely that many will look for something more challenging, more musical and more substantial to enjoy. We’re heading in the right direction.
IT’S TIME WE HAD A TRANCE FESTIVAL THEN?
Definitely! We do have a plan for a trance festival in Bangkok in the near future. Stay tuned!
TLT’s fifth anniversary party is tomorrow at Live RCA starting from 8pm.
The Bt500 entry gets you a drink.
Call (087) 715 9290 or visit Facebook.com/OfficialTLT
This source first appeared on The Nation Life.