This event took place at Arcan, 29 Điện Biên Phủ, Gia Định, Ho Chi Minh City, on 27 July 2018, with the original address retained for archive accuracy even though the venue has since closed. Drum Save The Queen returned for its July edition with its first international guests, bringing Arcan, Scientific Sound Asia and Unchained together for an eight-hour underground bass music session.
Running from 10 PM until 6 AM, the event was dedicated to Drum and Bass and the different styles operating within the wider genre. Liquid Drum and Bass, Neurofunk, Breaks and deeper underground selections all formed part of a night intended to connect Saigon with the international Drum and Bass circuit.
The fourth edition marked an important development for Drum Save The Queen by introducing international guests to the residency. Hong Kong-based Unchained members Immuno and Just Bee joined Scientific Sound Asia residents Skitty and DJ Psycho-UK alongside local support from Being.
The collaboration also connected three organisations involved with underground electronic music in the region. Arcan supplied the venue, Scientific Sound Asia brought its existing Saigon bass music network, and Unchained added a direct link with the Drum and Bass community developing in Hong Kong and southern China.
The intention behind Drum Save The Queen was to create a regular home for Drum and Bass in Ho Chi Minh City rather than relying only on occasional appearances within mixed-genre nights. International guests passing through Southeast Asia could then appear alongside residents already active within Vietnam, helping the series connect the local audience with artists working elsewhere in the region.
Nick Gavin, better known as Immuno, arrived from New Zealand, a country with a particularly active history of Drum and Bass events and artists. He began DJing at an early age and later became a finalist in New Zealand DJ competitions before supporting performers including Concord Dawn, Dose, Teknik and Need For Mirrors.
After moving to Hong Kong in 2014, Immuno became increasingly involved in the city’s bass music community. His appearances included King of Kowloon, Great Wall Festival, Hummingbird, Secret Island Party and Drum’n’Bassment, placing him within a network of events dedicated to heavier underground electronic sounds.
As a core member of Unchained, Immuno became known for energetic mixing and broad-spectrum Drum and Bass selections. His ability to work across three decks gave his performances additional scope for rapid transitions, layering and changes in intensity across a set.
More of his recorded DJ work can be heard through Immuno on SoundCloud, while his Facebook page documents another part of his activity within the scene. His appearance at Drum Save The Queen brought a direct connection between Hong Kong’s developing bass culture and the audience at Arcan.
Just Bee also arrived from Hong Kong’s underground Drum and Bass community as part of the Unchained contingent. Her entry into the scene followed early club experiences in Lan Kwai Fong and a particularly important encounter with Drum and Bass at Soul Healing in 2014.
Her musical influences included artists such as Noisia and Alix Perez alongside labels including Dispatch, Vision, Exit Records and CIA. Those references pointed towards a deeper and more technical side of Drum and Bass while retaining the bass pressure and rhythmic intensity needed for the dancefloor.
Just Bee’s sets combined her earlier interest in Dubstep with increasingly focused Drum and Bass selections. Tight mixing, deeper material and heavier bass music became central to her approach as she established herself within Hong Kong’s underground circuit.
Support came from crews and organisations including Heavy Hongkong, Ecstatic Bass and Bundodhi. Her appearances extended across events and venues including Outlook, Clockenflap, OIL, Drop, Club Sector, Basement, XXX, OMA and Social Room.
As part of Unchained, Just Bee became connected with one of Hong Kong’s active platforms for underground bass music. Her Resident Advisor profile and SoundCloud archive provide further material documenting her work as a DJ.
Her Drum Save The Queen appearance gave Saigon listeners an opportunity to hear another strand of Hong Kong and South China’s bass music culture. Together with Immuno, she expanded the night beyond its local resident base without moving away from its commitment to underground Drum and Bass.
Skitty, whose real name is Gavin Skitt, represented both Scientific Sound Asia and his Foundation X background. The Wolverhampton-born producer and DJ became involved with the West Midlands Jungle and Drum and Bass scene during the 1990s after discovering rave tape packs from events including Quest, Fantazia and Edge.
His production career later produced releases through some of the established labels associated with deeper and harder Drum and Bass. Metalheadz, Subtitles, Renegade Hardware, Osiris Music, Trendkill and his own Foundation X imprint all form part of a catalogue built around underground bass music.
Skitty launched Foundation X as an outlet for uncompromising Drum and Bass and Jungle, adding label ownership to his work as a producer and DJ. His Foundation X catalogue documents material associated with that project, while his Discogs discography provides a broader record of his releases.
After becoming based in Ho Chi Minh City, Skitty became closely involved with the city’s Drum and Bass community. His work included co-hosting Rehab with Scientific Sound Asia and performing at venues such as Piu Piu, Arcan and Basement as well as larger events including Cargo Remote Festival and Vibe Nation.
Listeners can explore more of his music through Skitty on SoundCloud and his Facebook page. His presence on the Drum Save The Queen bill connected the night directly with British Jungle and Drum and Bass history while also representing the growing local scene in Vietnam.
DJ Psycho-UK, whose real name is Tariq Azam, brought another British underground background to the line-up. Growing up in East London, his musical development moved through Hip Hop, Acid House, Hardcore, Jungle, Drum and Bass, House and the rave culture surrounding those styles.
He began DJing as a teenager and became involved with the underground party network operating around London. Connections with the Production House Records crew brought him into contact with artists including DMS, The House Crew and X-Static, while pirate radio appearances included AXE FM and Fantasy FM.
His background also included involvement around underground party organisations such as Outcry Syndicate, OTT and London Overground. Those experiences placed him within a period when rave, pirate radio, warehouse culture and emerging forms of Jungle and Hardcore were closely connected.
DJ Psycho-UK later performed internationally in the United Kingdom, the West Indies, Australia and Vietnam. In Ho Chi Minh City and elsewhere in Vietnam, his appearances included Piu Piu, Basement, Indika, Cargo Remote Beach Festival, Pogo Beach Club and Dragon Beach.
His recorded selections can be explored through DJ Psycho-UK on Mixcloud, while his Facebook page documents another side of his DJ and promotional activity. Through Scientific Sound Asia, he also became involved in organising and developing events intended to connect underground music in Vietnam with artists from elsewhere in Asia and beyond.
Being completed the DJ line-up and brought another local connection to the event. As one half of the team associated with the Colours events in Saigon, he was already involved with the city’s independent electronic music community.
His Drum and Bass selections were described as forward-thinking and groove-focused rather than tied exclusively to the hardest end of the genre. That approach gave the night another point of contrast alongside Immuno, Just Bee, Skitty and DJ Psycho-UK.
The combination of visiting artists and established local residents gave Drum Save The Queen #4 a broader regional identity. Instead of presenting international guests in isolation, the night placed them alongside DJs already working to develop a regular Drum and Bass audience in Ho Chi Minh City.
It also demonstrated how closely connected Southeast Asian underground scenes could become through touring and shared events. A crew from Hong Kong could join British-rooted DJs based in Vietnam and local Saigon selectors within one programme, creating links that extended beyond a single city.
Arcan provided a suitable setting for that approach because the venue had become associated with alternative and underground electronic music in Ho Chi Minh City. Its programme accommodated scenes that were less visible within the city’s commercial nightlife, including Drum and Bass, Techno, experimental electronic music and other independent sounds.
The 10 PM to 6 AM running time gave the DJs enough space to explore different parts of Drum and Bass rather than compressing the event into short appearances. Liquid selections could give way to deeper rollers, Neurofunk, Breaks and darker material as the night moved towards the early morning.
Scientific Sound Asia’s involvement in Drum Save The Queen formed part of its wider work promoting underground electronic music in Vietnam. That history now sits alongside the platform’s current events programme, radio station, DJ agency and music news coverage.
The current DJ agency also retains direct links with Skitty and DJ Psycho-UK, connecting this historical event with artists who remain part of Scientific Sound Asia’s wider activity. Their involvement in Drum Save The Queen documents an earlier stage of the organisation’s long-running relationship with Jungle, Drum and Bass and bass music in Ho Chi Minh City.
Although Arcan has since closed, the event remains part of the archive of venues and promoters that helped provide space for underground music in Saigon. Drum Save The Queen #4 brought Immuno and Just Bee from Unchained together with Skitty, DJ Psycho-UK and Being for a night that linked Hong Kong, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Vietnam through Drum and Bass.
The event’s original message was that Drum and Bass had found a home in Saigon, and the July edition represented a concrete step towards that aim. By combining international guests, residents and regional collaboration, Drum Save The Queen helped strengthen the foundations for the dedicated bass music events that would follow in Ho Chi Minh City.
ENTRANCE 50,000 VND before midnight 100,000 VND after midnight VENUE Arcan 29 Điện Biên Phủ Gia Định Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam
Date: Friday 27 July 2018, 12:00 AM