While bars and nightclubs remain closed, a special monthly livestream series starting tomorrow will give those of us in Vietnam the chance to experience nightlife without leaving the house.
Nocturnal Animals has brought together dozens of venues, communities, record lables and artists from across the country to support the underground music scene, which has suffered tremendously over the last few months.
Daniel Le, the founder of the Nocturnal Animals Lifestyle Community, was driven to create the series through his passion for music, especially electronic music, as well as festivals and art performances and exhibitions.
"Our main goal is to spread music related to the electronic music scene, become the voice of local artists, help them to grow, and put Vietnam on the map of the electronic music industry," Le says in an email. "It is very important for us to show that this music is not only associated with dark, closed warehouses, as our own events are actually proof that we can be luxurious."
The livestream series begins tomorrow, October 15, at 12pm and runs until 1am, featuring performances from 14 DJs located throughout Vietnam and beyond, with one based in Ko Pha Ngan, Thailand. It also brings together venues in Nha Trang, Hanoi, Da Nang and Saigon that have been closed for months due to social distancing regulations, giving them a chance to reconnect with fans — albeit online.
"This lockdown hit many of us hard," Le shared. "Many fell into depression, lost business, lost jobs, and don't know what to do. We have said too many goodbyes to friends who left Vietnam, and even those who passed away. We couldn't wait any longer, and we want to give something back to the country and support the music scene in Vietnam."
To that end, Nocturnal Animals is now accepting donations, with 40% of all funds going towards artists and their families who are in need, and the remaining 60% going towards Saigon Children, the charity organization currently providing much-needed aid to disadvantaged people across southern Vietnam.
Donations can be made here, and are being accepted until October 17, before the next round of donations begins for the second in the livestream series.
"We were inspired by other communities who did a livestream to raise money for charity, and it worked," Le explained. "So we decided to unite different groups, communities, nightclubs, and record labels and create a series of livestreams each month so that we could generate at least some sort of help for people in need in the industry, as well as for our charity partner, Saigon Children."
Le is proud of the fact that this series brings together venues which would normally see each other as competition, as well as artists from across genres, creating a diverse, unique event, all in the name of a good cause.
The lineup for tomorrow includes DJ Twonoz, VSpliff, Weedie, Drasta, UncleBoo, Ernest Kalinin, DJ 74, G Nomad, Ryan Kivi, Phatbeatz, MANNY, Alan Ritchie, Ro-TUNE, ELEK, and Thai Nikotin.
In the end, Le hopes that Nocturnal Animals can show "we need to unite during hard times, even with our competition, that there is no shame in asking for help, and when we unite, we can achieve the impossible."
For more details, visit the event page here, and the livestream page here.
Saigoneer is a media partner of Nocturnal Animals.
