A recollection of unexpected finds & slices of serendipity at Wonderfruit 2024

Another edition of Wonderfruit has come and gone, and for many, including myself, this felt like the most memorable one yet.

Was it the elevated food offerings, the finely curated music, the seamless production...perhaps a mix of everything? There was an undeniable energy in the air this year—something intangible yet widely felt among those I spoke to.

Much of the festival was spent moving between old friends, new acquaintances, colleagues, artists, and everything in between. But to truly capture the essence of this year’s edition, I did as much exploring, dragging friends along, solo wandering, and getting as lost as possible. I wanted to see and hear every inch, sound, and sight that this year's edition had to offer.

Of course, that would be impossible, but that didn't stop me (and the team) from trying.

With that in mind, here are a few standout moments and unexpected discoveries from the weekend, as experienced by myself and others at Mixmag Asia.

By no means is this a comprehensive list of every standout moment that happened across the weekend—just a handful of favourites we were lucky enough to experience.

Kudos to the festival curators for reforming The Quarry into a vast, deep cavern of soulful introspection. Veterans Cobblestone Jazz could not have been a better choice—their classic 'India in Me' was dropped early on and set the tone for the floor. Alas, Mathew Jonson is no newcomer to the festival—his debut was a memorable 'balls-off-the-walls' acid-laden techno set—a smooth delivery was received by new Quarry founders, aptly complimented by Human Spectrum’s impeccable lighting design.

When writing my pre-festival "who to see" list, there were several artists I was especially excited about but chose to hold off on mentioning, saving them for this follow-up. Kohra was definitely one of those names. His set felt like the perfect storm of energy, with everything aligning seamlessly amidst the chaos of the weekend, all underscored by his always masterful techno performance. There had been some talk beforehand that he might lean more towards a house-focused set to match the vibe of The Quarry's other acts, but thankfully, that wasn’t the case. As always, his performance was exceptional.

Danilo Plessow (fka Motor City Drum Ensemble) has been a longtime personal favourite, and judging by his set at Forbidden Fruit, he is one of everyone else's too. While sadly missing his sunrise set earlier in the week, this performance more than made up for it. It was a much more wholesome sound that a lot of the others I saw across the weekend, and the set wasn’t strictly focused on disco, as he’s often known for, but rather a mix of upbeat house, eclectic sounds, and pure, unfiltered energy. Felt like not a single person wasn’t grinning ear-to-ear here.

If anyone ever needed a quick five minutes to recharge, that hill outside FF was the go-to spot. It felt like a sanctuary—far enough from the speakers to catch your breath, but still close enough to enjoy the music without being in the thick of it. Perfect for overdue catch-ups with the many friends that fly in just for the festival.

Viral internet sensation Atsuo, also known as Pineapple Donkey (the namesake of his hostel brand, has come to be known as Japan's synth maverick. Bringing his marque of unabashed energy to one of the strongest dancefloors at the festival, he delivered the unexpected. Seamlessly, Pineapple Donkey navigated the complexities of layering live synths and drums and truly let himself go during his improvised set, dropping groovy to peak-time acid, wild breaks and a dash of je ne sais quoi.

While watching my good friend Gifted Fire perform at Moonlight, I caught up with various different friend groups from all over Asia, which was a heartwarming moment in itself. The real cherry on top came when I found out that one of my best mates got engaged. Felt like an incredibly serendipitous moment with unexpected wholesomeness coming from all angles.

Gonno is one of Asia’s most underrated talents. He’s one of those ‘your favourite DJ’s favourite DJ’ artists. While he certainly gets his flowers across the region, his talent deserves even more widespread acclaim. As always, he knocked it out of the park at 428, and being on the Thursday, he set the bar very high for the coming days.

I can’t even remember exactly who was playing, but the first time I stepped into the heart of Polygon LIVE instead of just lingering on the edge was unforgettable. After pushing through the sweat-drenched crow and reaching the centre, I was hit by that behemoth of a sound system—and what a system it is. Their one-of-a-kind 360° sound design, complimented by their synchronised lighting, leads to this immersive, jaw-dropping experience that sweeps across each and every person in that space, and is unlike anything else we’ve heard in Asia, maybe even the world. Being in this space felt like a full-circle moment—randomly bumping into at least four different groups of friends, many of whom I didn’t even know were at the festival, all whilst some wildly uplifting house music played in the background, and finally having the genius behind the system all click was a perfect moment. When the stage is used right, it’s in a league of its own, but I felt before that not everyone uses it to its full potential. This time, though, they nailed it.

There’s only so much we can say about Octave One that hasn’t already been said, with their peak performance undoubtedly one of the highlights of Polygon this year. The live set, paired with Polygon's impressive sound system, showcased the full potential of what the setup is capable of. It's clear that the performance itself was exceptional and made full use of it, truly delivering a standout set.

Although the sound quality was a bit lacking this year, the energy more than made up for it. Yung Singh and the Yeti Out takeover all both easy highlights for the stage. At one point during Yung Singh, there were probably more people on the stage than in the crowd, which itself was still overflowing with people. An unholy amount of gunfingers were on display at this stage from start to finish, which says it all.

Despite technical issues, stage stutters and problems that were out of her control, Rui Tang persevered and we’re thankful she did as it was easily one of the unsung standout sets of the entire festival. Just an expertly crafted listen from start to finish, and seeing Ziggurat that energetic was a sight to behold. We’re expecting to see her at many other festivals across the region after this one—2025 is shaping up to be a big one for the Bangkok staple.

At the same time as Rui, a veteran was commanding 428 with an incredibly juxtaposed, but equally powerful performance. As soon as 428 came into earshot, it was clear that Wata’s live set would be a force to reckon with, but nothing could fully prepare for the intensity. His wildly creative, gut-punching sound and abrasive textures enveloped the crowd into this trance thanks to this mindblowing listen. He really brought his A-game to this year's edition

I didn’t step foot inside this year, but every time I passed the Karaoke Tree, it was impossible to miss the off-key singing—some of the most delightfully chaotic renditions imaginable—followed by the loudest laughter. There’s something so wonderfully human about it, terrible Blink-182 covers and all. That said, ‘Unwritten’ by Natasha Bedingfield will never sound quite the same again.

Spent a lot of time at Creature Stage this year—a lot more than I was expecting. The calming serene field was where I and many others took refuge when needing a quick recharge and a laid-back sit-down, and Jordan Rakai was the pinnacle of all this. I've been a Jordan fan since back in the day, and hearing him play live was a full-circle moment. Wholesome crowd work, soothing songs and an entirely different style of music more than provided this charming, spirit-lifting oasis.

Known for their export quality jazz-infused live electronica, Batavia Collective set a vivid and monumental tone for Wonderfruit’s opening night with their set at the colossal Creature Stage. The Jakarta-based trio effortlessly laid down syncopated broken beats and hypnotic keys by the wild-minded Doni, all locked in by rolling, chunky basslines by Kenny Gabriel. Their energetic presence was by no means a surprise given that they were coming off strong from a three-day artist retreat The Gathering hosted by EMC and Mixmag Asia with 10 other artists at Karma Studios, just down the road from The Fields. We hear the trio have big things in store for 2025—we urge you to keep an ear out.

Returning to Wonderfruit and 428 after a strong finish last year, where he closed the Rural-run stage on Sunday night, Sunju Hargun's remarkable versatility was showcased during his debut live ambient session, perfectly synced to coincide with the fiery hues of Sunday’s sunset. For the soldiers who would march on through till Monday morning and attend his intimate set, we’re sure your tone for a “Wonderfru-ll” Sunday was set to a higher frequency.

A good four or five cups were lost over the weekend. Each time, the lovely staff handed me a new one for free. Small gesture, but a nice one. Definitely just got lucky as that should not be the case, but now one is used for morning coffee every day—a memento of my time in The Fields.

How else to describe DJ Masda's set besides "masterclass".

Another artist deserving of the "masterclass" description; nothing more to say.

Bouncing around the Fields with the Mixmag Asia team on Friday led to us interviewing some of the quirkiest characters Wonderfruit had to offer, getting people to explain why they love this festival so much. We spoke with cowboys in assless chaps, gals dressed as angels, goths, neon lovers, loud “Oi, oi, oi!” yellers, goblins, fiends, and face tattoo artists. Wonderfruit truly has it all, and we got just a small taste of it in Mengzy’s reel. Take a look for yourself.

Lion's Mane tea and Thai CBD chocolate are both things that I now always think of when reflecting on the calmer, more holistic side of life. Thanks, Wonderfruit, for opening up this door.

After extensive searching and inquiries, it became evident that this performance was a must-see from the start. At Solar Village, in the early hours of Friday (as I recall), we stumbled across this out-of-this-world ambient experimental performance. Mindbendingly strange, and made us even more lost than before, but Andrew Wasylyk was incredibly memorable.

Sitting on top of the bus at Molam World, listening to some remarkable Molam bands was a different, but very welcome, change of pace. A warm palette cleanser from electronic sounds, complete with the vivacity the Molam sound brings.

The sunrise on Monday, and the final moments of the festival were magic. It feels cheesy to say “magic”, but it's the best way to describe it. Once the night antics cooled off, most people left, leaving the core wanderers to head to the Neramit stage and watch the incredibly underrated maestro Mac Rattana lay down some smooth, minimal mastery.

Then a quick pitstop to the slope outside the music-less Solar Village to bounce between different groups of friends for some seemingly, but probably not, deep conversations, before watching the scarlet sunrise slowly emerge as Emel Rowe and Saint Guel lay down yet another fun-loving minimal set as the sun slowly rose that tipped off the weekend so perfectly.

Some thought it was a bit too soft, but I felt it was a perfect calm to reflect, enjoy and savour the final moments with all the last-standers, the all-nighters, the new and old friends, the die-hard fans and everyone in between.

To be honest, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what made the overall festival special. I think it’s mostly down to the intangibles: the atmosphere, the laid-back friendly demeanour 99% of attendees have, the lack of “we’re cooler than you” stereotypes…the tiny details meticulously crafted by the team there that, whilst often unnoticed, culminate together to result in this sensory overload around every corner.

There’s a distinct lack of pretentiousness often found at other events, replaced instead by a sense of community and genuine connection.

It doesn’t feel just like a festival; it’s a gathering for the region to meet up, to celebrate the end of yet another year and to celebrate what makes Asia, and its thriving scene, so special.

Browse through our entire gallery of images from Wonderfruit 2024 here.

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

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