Mixmag Asia Radio: Studio Adventure NYE with Mogwaa, Stones Taro & Klaytron

When it comes to raving in Asia, Phú Quốc hasn’t exactly been top of mind—until now.

This Vietnamese island is quickly making a name for itself in the festival circuit, especially over the past New Year with two major events taking the spotlight—one of which being the always-ambitious Studio Adventure with their fifth Odyssey NYE festival.

With a plethora of artists, collaborators, enthusiasts and more, Odyssey has become a cultural hub over the years, annually uniting over 30 creatives each year across a spectrum of artistic disciplines and mediums, including DJs, visual artists, performers, and designers.

Heavy hitters like Jesse You, Mr. Ho, Wada Yosuke, Soju, Hanoi’s Unmute residents, and collectives like V2X, Strange Weather, and Klasse Wrecks have all graced its stage in past events, underscoring Odyssey’s commitment to spotlighting leading names across the continent whilst staying true to their sound.

But it’s not just about internationals; Odyssey highlights homegrown talent, booking over 30 Vietnamese artists annually, giving them a platform to debut, refine their craft, and collaborate, making the festival a melting pot of inspiration.

For this edition of Mixmag Asia Radio, we bring you three of our standout sets by three artists who performed at Odyssey NYE: Korea’s Mogwaa, Japan’s Stones Taro, and Vietnam’s Klaytron.

Take a listen and read about their thoughts on the festival, their local scenes, favourite labels, artists, and much more.

Firstly, how was the festival?

Klaytron: Studio was top-notch, per usual. A perfect balance of taste & effort, surprisingly sick artist bookings, great visuals & sound system tuning, great vibe in the crowd — the whole package.

Mogwaa: It was such a special festival. I’ve never spent NYE in warm weather but obviously Phú Quốc is a beautiful island with warm weather, making it even more special for me.

Stones Taro: It was an incredible festival with beautiful scenery, amazing sound, wonderful people, and great music. I played a good set myself, so it was an unforgettable experience.


How did you find it compared to other festivals? What makes it special/unique?

Klaytron: One thing that Studio Adventure always has a leg up on other big parties in Vietnam is their attention to sound quality. Listening to loud music is the main reason that we all go out to most of these parties, so it should be the #1 priority of the organisers. I’m a believer that bigger is not always better when it comes to sound systems. It doesn’t matter how many Funktion One speakers you stack on top of each other; if you don’t have an experienced sound guy on your team, the music is never going to hit the listener in a pleasurable way. I’m always happy to play at Studio Adventure because they make high-quality sound a top priority. Shout out to Sancho (the very experienced sound guy) who always impresses me with the Studio Adventure sound system arrangements.

Mogwaa: It was really intimate. I definitely could feel that every audience was in the same mood. It was more like a gathering of friends, who all share the same feelings and attitude toward music.

Stones Taro: I think the location, Phú Quốc, which is a beautiful and tranquil paradise, and the lineup focused on DJs from the Asian region, make this festival wildly special and one-of-a-kind.


Any other standout sets you saw at the festival?

Klaytron: I caught the very end of my buddy Hari Nayla’s set who was killing it. I think it was Mullen who was playing some totally bananas speed garage house-y stuff shortly after the big midnight fireworks moment…and I also remember the Hanoi homies, E.Motep and Kenno, had a really smooth synergy thing going on in the morning at the beach stage which was choice.

Mogwaa: It’s really hard to pick but Jesse You’s set was really amazing and the surprise four-hour b2b between Mr. Ho and Wada Yosuke was such an experience.

Stones Taro: Mullen's set was very energetic and perfect for the New Year's celebration. From there, the way he created a deep mood to match my style for the next set was masterful.

What do you think is different between a festival set and a club set?

Klaytron: I put more thought into preparing a festival set than I normally do for a club set, especially considering the time slot. For this NYE I played the opening slot on the mainstage from 6:30pm-8pm, which is a very different style compared to what I might play in the middle of the night, or in the morning. When I DJ in clubs I just show up with whichever records I’ve packed, read the room, and go from there. More instinct, less intention.

Mogwaa: For me, I don’t feel the difference between a festival set and a club set that much. It’s always about telling my story to the dancefloor and making them comprehend my story.

Stones Taro: I changed my set a little bit for outdoor festivals. I tend to play more danceable music with an emphasis on percussion to match the vibe of people who want a celebration.


Tell us a bit about your mix.

Klaytron: This mix starts off with this kind of philosophically charged conversation between two people contemplating the human experience, dream consciousness, reincarnation, collective memory etc. I have a lot of vocal samples which I like to play around with in my mixes; an opening set like this one is a great place to start with some of it. Eventually, the vibe turns from ambient to more playful and sexy. There’s a bunch of songs about love which is something I’ve been rather stoked on recently. The set takes some emotional turns and then sort of just escalates up into cruise-control party mode, lots of minimal-but-still-fun dancefloor soupy tunes, cough-syrup tech-house favourites, anthem-jams that will always have a sweet spot in my heart.

Mogwaa: Since it was an NYE event, I simply wanted to make the audience delighted.

Stones Taro: In the beginning, I tried to make it so everyone could enjoy the UK bass vibe that Mullen created. From the middle, I selected songs so that there would be alternating periods of immersive zone and banging time. I did the mix style because everyone enjoyed this style when I played at Studio Adventure's event at Unmute in Hanoi before. Also, I actually lowered the BPM from 140 to 130 over the two hours of my set as I wanted to match the tempo to Jesse You's zone.


Different because it was NYE? Or just another set?

Klaytron: Every set is different isn’t it? For me, this one was about love. It feels really good, using a well-oiled sound system to express a wonderful feeling like love, on a night where love and happiness is clearly in the air around you.

Thoughts on Phú Quốc Island? Some cool events happening there at the moment...

Klaytron: Phú Quốc during NYE has always been a bit of a hectic scene. The first NYE I spent in Phú Quốc was from 2019 into 2020 for Epizode festival, which was 11 days of the most insane underground international DJ bookings. Honestly it’s hard to believe some of the stuff I witnessed there. Anyways, during COVID-19, Epizode relocated to Albania. Since then, there’s been a sort of party-business void that is being competed over by different party collectives, which is how it’s been these last few years.

Mogwaa: Actually, I lived in Vietnam for two years like a decade ago, but had never been to Phú Quốc. I deeply regret that I hadn’t been there while I lived in Vietnam as it’s such a beautiful island.

Stones Taro: Actually, I didn't know about Phú Quốc until I was confirmed for this festival. I did some research and thought I had to bring my wife and children to this beautiful island. When I finally went there, it was truly amazing. The scenery, temperature, food, people, everything was beautiful and comfortable, perfect for my family. Next time I come, I want to enjoy other music events as well.


What’s 2025 looking like for you?

Klaytron: I’m actually back stateside for the time being; been following that feeling of love and going to reunite with an old DJ mate from college to bring our OG b2b alias Spliff Politics back to life. We’ll be “running the campaign trail” along the west coast of the USA this Spring. Full campaign tour details TBA.

Mogwaa: It’s been pretty hectic last year so couldn’t really work on music much. So I’m really looking forward to working on more music and introducing it to listeners.

Stones Taro: I'm very grateful that the albums and EPs I released last year have been well received, and I'll be playing in various countries around the world this year. I really enjoy visiting Asian countries I've never been to before and enjoying the food and culture, so it's going to be a very happy year for me.


Your favourite dancefloor in Asia?

Klaytron: Savage Hanoi, Gatosano Da Nang, and The Observatory Saigon.

Mogwaa: Modeci is always my favourite. And I really love 宀; I’ve always had the best experience whenever I’ve played there.

Stones Taro: Rainbow Disco Club in Shizuoka, Japan, is my favourite festival. You can spend a comfortable time in beautiful nature, and enjoy long sets by great selectors on two enormous stages.


What’s your favourite thing about the music scene in the city you live in?

Klaytron: My favourite things about the music scene in Vietnam are the friends that I’ve made. From totally different corners of reality, expats and locals meet in this specific slice of time and space, bonding over commonalities in music tastes and a shared willingness to explore.

Stones Taro: My home venue, West Harlem, in Kyoto. It's not big, but it has very talented DJs and producers, and a truly music-loving audience that gathers there. No matter how famous a DJ is playing, if the set isn't good, people will leave. Haha! As a DJ, I'm being raised on a floor that is strict about music.


Something the world doesn’t know about your local scene?

Klaytron: You won’t understand anything about the Vietnam rave scene until you go and check it out for yourself. In many ways, it feels like the most “freedom-oriented” place that I’ve partied in. It’s hard to explain. You should definitely go see what’s happening!


Are there any producers, DJs, venues or labels in Asia that have recently caught your attention?

Klaytron:
1. Ring in Seoul; the top of my list of clubs to visit and/or DJ at in Asia.
2. Vina Groove; a record shop in Saigon that has tons of great tunes. I always find something sweet and have a lovely customer experience (It’s extremely rare to find a good shop to dig in in Vietnam!).
3. Bangkok's Jirus; a top-notch human, sick DJ, vibe lord, great taste, supports the scene from every direction.

Mogwaa: White Lunar Music from Seoul, Korea which was founded by Oho and Lumina just last year. They just released their first compilation a few months ago and better check out that one. One of the label founders, Oho, also produces music and he knows what he’s doing. So better check out his productions as well.

Stones Taro: Knopha. He's a DJ/producer based in Shanghai I met when I played at Heim in Shanghai last year (Ah, I miss Heim!). The sound design of his tracks is amazing, sophisticated, and magical.

Any recent trends or sounds you’re especially into at the moment?

Stones Taro: I'm into playing dubstep and dub techno. It's hard to say why, but when I put deep dubstep or dub techno in my DJ set recently, the floor that was getting bored with my set, often picks up again.


Who's one DJ you’d love to b2b with?

Mogwaa: Mr. Ho maybe? It’s always fun whenever I’ve played back-to-back with him.

Stones Taro: Mr. Ho. His sets always make me realise something. In his set at Rainbow Disco Club last year, I rediscovered the comfort and dopeness of breakbeats in the 120 BPM range.


Where can we hear you playing next?

Mogwaa: I’ll play at Modeci with Tapes on Valentine’s Day. Then in April, I’ll play at Bar Temp in Bangkok and Sunda Festival in Singapore.

Stones Taro: I'm going on a three-week tour of Australia in February. It's the biggest tour for me so far, so I'm really looking forward to it.

Klaytron:
February 19 - Oceanside, CA @ Sounds by the Sea
February 23 - Los Angeles, CA @ Sunday Sessions
March 01 - Santa Barbara, CA @ EOS
March 29 - San Francisco, CA @ Phonobar
April 05 - Ojai, CA @ Private event
April 17 - Portland, OR @ Process PDX *w/ Liquid Earth
April 19 - Seattle, WA @ Selectors Record Shop
more dates TBA…

Listen to Mogwaa’s, Stones Taro’s and Klaytron’s sets from Studio Adventure Odyssey on Mixmag Asia’s SoundCloud.

Images via Julz Cruz

Henry Cooper is a Writer at Mixmag Asia. Follow him on Instagram.

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