Richie Hawtin highlights regional talent with Prada Extends Bangkok

Following its previous outings in London, Tokyo and Miami, Richie Hawtin’s Prada Extends landed in Bangkok on June 29, spotlighting Thailand’s diverse selection of artists through electronic music and dialogue.

The series of live events celebrates not only the powerful force of music, but also its interchanges with culture and creative communities as a whole.

Created by Hawtin — who’s designed a series of original soundtracks for Prada’s runway shows — Prada Extends uses the unique yet universal connection of electronic music to unite different cultures and geographies in meaningful conversation.

‘Prada Extends Bangkok continued our journey uniting artists around the world in an evening of expression and expansion. The Bangkok edition celebrated the diversity and intensity of this vast metropolis, connecting the local creative community through an experience in sight and sound,” mentions Hawtin.

He adds, “For me, Bangkok resonates with a unique frequency attracting a distinctive collection of like-minded people from across Asia. The dancefloor bought together a true melting pot of ideas and inspiration.”

In a city where history and modernity clash and ultimately merge, Hawtin once again showcased his curatorial expertise through a special collaborative presentation of musicians and artists that bring out the distinct Thai flair in all art forms.

Underlining dialogue and exchanges as a key aspect in driving creativity, the event began with a conversation at the Prada ICONSIAM store, where Mixmag Asia Director, Arun Ramanathan, discussed with Hawtin about the conceptualisation of Prada Extends.

The roughly 30-minute conversation also touched on Hawtin’s take on the power of music in today’s world and Bangkok in particular; the cultural diversity and how it’s developed in the last few years.

“Bangkok has a certain heat,” Hawtin mentions, going on to say how he became enamoured by the balance of harmony and chaos, which ultimately coincides with his creative process; always looking for a harmonious point via music as an intersection between art, tech and culture.

He goes on to add how the electronic music culture has great importance in Southeast Asia, as can be seen in the boundless number of talents and sounds emerging from the region.

Afterwards, invitees were treated to a performance by More Rice Records DJ and music curator, Elaheh. Hawtin also stuck around to meet and greet the crowd, comprising of local artists and fashionistas.

In the evening, the event took over Warehouse Stadium in the Khlong Toei district, with a line-up comprising Vietnam-born DJ and former model BongBongQuayQuay who closed the night with powerful, driving techno, plus Elaheh and More Rice Records founder Sarayu, who were all handpicked by Hawtin for the event and presented their more off-kilter sensibilities.

The selection of DJs were definitely a strong representation of the level of talent here in Southeast Asia.

Accompanying their evocative sets were visual art, 3D, lighting and interactive installations by Chaiyapat Natt Plubsiri aka yellowtrash alongside the work of Supitchkran Sriprasert aka Footprints on Mars — an electronic DJ and visual artist whose work focuses on exploring the aesthetic possibilities at the intersection of music, art and technology.

Attended by many tastemakers of the country’s tastemakers, Prada Extends Bangkok was held as a celebration of the connection and interaction among different artistic communities, encouraging innovative ways of thinking, uniting like-minded creatives and establishing bonds between cultures and various forms of art.

Watch snippets from Prada Extends Bangkok in the video below.