Vell and Chalo talk the origins of Boiled Wonderland, Bangkok’s music scene, and their latest project Made From Moss.
9,440 km from the UK, nestled in the heart of Southeast Asia, lies the paradisiacal Thailand, whose music scene has evolved dramatically over recent years. Thailand’s dance music scene initially offered the typical mainstream EDM experience, focusing on grandiose events and international headliners. However, the pandemic-induced lockdown shifted focus inward, prompting a surge of local labels and venues determined to sustain and redefine the scene in their own way.
Thailand’s creative community responded to this with collaboration and solidarity, fostering a vibrant ecosystem of events and record labels aimed at nurturing the next wave of electronic musicians. Among these is Bangkok’s Boiled Wonderland, a label that encapsulates the city’s DIY spirit. Co-founded by British artist Vell, a prominent figure in Bangkok’s music scene, Boiled Wonderland has emerged as a hub for local talent, aiming to connect the city’s artists and thrust Bangkok into the global music conversation.
Since 2020, the label has showcased music from predominantly local talent, with artists such as Chalo, DOTT, and More Rice Records label head Sarayu. They have also welcomed guests from outside of Bangkok’s music scene, such as the UK’s Boulderhead, Pakistani DJ Rudoh, and seminal Belgian producer Locked Groove for the occasional remix. Their latest offering “Made From Moss” is the first in a new series of releases from the label. Featuring four club-ready tracks from label head Vell, Chalo, and MetalMetal, its a fun-filled record sitting between techno and deep house and comes with squelchy acid basslines, uplifting organ riffs, and trance-inspired hooks that are sure to find a home in any headline slot.
I’m curious to learn about the origins of the label. How was the label born and what role do you want it to fill in the current Bangkok scene?
Vell // The label was founded by myself and my friend Max. We both spent a considerable amount of time in our twenties in Southeast Asia—myself in Hong Kong and Cambodia, and Max in Vietnam. The label’s namesake comes from a Haruki Murakami novel, which resonated with us. The book’s story of magic realism, with its complex and imaginative plot, struck a chord. It blurs the lines between the protagonist’s mind and reality. Our label is based in Bangkok, where almost all our artists and music originate. For me, Boiled Wonderland plays a supportive role in the Thai electronic music landscape. We highlight some of the best Thai musicians while also connecting Asian artists with European and American musicians and clubs.
In 5-10 years, I hope to look back on the blossoming Bangkok music scene and see that Boiled Wonderland played a role in showcasing talent and driving opportunities and change in Bangkok and beyond.
Can you describe the scene in Bangkok? What are some of its pros and cons?
Vell // The scene in Bangkok is growing and on a journey. Whilst Bangkok as a city is a large metropolis 10M people the scene itself reflects that of a smaller European city which is both good and bad. It has an amazing community of artists, promoters and DJ’s etc and if you are open to contributing and giving back to the space people will help you give back to the city. On the other hand because of the scene’s size there are certainly some limitations to what you can do. This is also made worse by the often unstable regulation around nightlife and venues, which means that clubs often last for a few years before being put under pressure to close.
Almost every city either has or has its own sound. What is Bangkok’s signature sound?
Vell // I think this question is quite hard to answer. The city’s sound is both developing and changing. Today there is much more breadth and variety than a few years ago in the city. There are pockets of scenes in the city playing everything from Deep Techno, Balearic, Queer Rave – all which have their own following scene and successful event series and DJ’s. If I had to settle on a single sound, probably the most commonly heard set of music in nightclubs by Thai artists is something that sits around minimal techno / tech house space, the likes which DOTT and MoreRice founder Sarayu have pushed since the birth of their label. However as mentioned it’s a hard question to truly answer and I would say at some level the sound is still really being developed, put together and explored by each of the scene and musicians within Bangkok.
You are about to launch the new series Made From Moss. What was the motivation behind the project?
Chalo // Making the world a better place with our music.
A double release on digital and vinyl is interesting. In Europe, vinyl has become an expensive and unfeasible format for some. What were your reasons for releasing this way?
Chalo // We feel that music in one way is an art form like any other craft. The thing with music nowadays is that so many people just take music for granted as the most common way to consume music nowadays is streaming. This might sound cliche but it has lost its tangibility that the sense of value might be lost. We’re doing vinyl releases for the love of the music to deliver not only the sound but also the sense of collecting an art piece in the form of sound.
Doesn’t it feel great to take out the records from the sleeve and place that stylus to make love with that groove? 🙂
And also I work as a mastering engineer specialized in mastering for vinyl at the Resurrec, the first and only pressing plant in Thailand in many decades. The team behind Resurrec also has the quality first mind-set and those guys are pretty serious about taking their pressing to the next level. So it’s a perfect timing to do more vinyl releases for us as well to also help support vinyl production in this country.
The record features another Thailand creative MetalMetal. How did she become involved in the project, and do you plan on including more creatives from the area in future works?
Chalo // Well she’s a friend of my friend who’s from a creative family as well. Her dad was once a rockstar in Thailand. Her husband is also an artist so she has all these innate music influences which matched well to my recent production style.
What can you envision for the future of Bangkok’s music scene?
Chalo // Now we feel that we’re having more and more producers emerging in the scene and collaborations are on the gradual rise. Sooner or later Bangkok is on the verge of developing its sound through its artists working and influencing each other (both consciously and unconsciously) to shape the sound of the whole scene. This is what we feel is happening and there’s the term called scenious that Brian Eno has coined or at least has mentioned when he was talking about how the sound of each music scene emerges.
What’s next for Boiled Wonderland?
Vell // After the end of the Made From Moss series we’ll be working through a new set of releases focusing on exploring artists regionally and those outside of Bangkok. We plan to diversify outside of only vinyl to explore a new set of sound and ideas, increasing the number of releases as digital only, but still showcasing vinyl for when we find something that really works.