Thailand's underground electronic music community is receiving support from the government in a new initiative aimed at helping shape the future of the genre.
Called Thaibeats, this is a new music development project by Bangkok cultural collective Dudesweet and supported by the Ministry of Culture. The initiative encourages Thai producers, DJs and musicians to incorporate elements of the country's rich musical heritage into contemporary electronic music.
In recent years, sounds from Thailand, particularly molam and regional folk traditions, have increasingly found their way into clubs, DJ sets and music festivals around the world. Yet while Thailand's underground electronic music scene has long been quietly thriving, it has only recently begun attracting broader international attention.
Thaibeats aims to change that. Through a nationwide open call, the project will select 12 tracks from across Thailand and support their creators through mentorship, track development, professional mastering, vinyl production and international promotion. The selected tracks will be compiled into a vinyl release under the Thaibeats name and distributed to DJs, clubs, record stores and music curators worldwide, with the goal of getting the music played in clubs, festivals and contemporary cultural spaces.
Among the project's mentors are Tul Waitoonkiet of Apartment Khunpa, DJ Maft Sai (Zudrangma Records) and Pascal Karier (Kerala Dust).
Application ends on July 20 and the 12 selected artists will be announced on Aug 10, with talks and showcase events to take place from Aug 20-22. The festival presentation will be held from November to January.
