Anonymous Z presented Not So Anonymous episode 37 on Scientific Sound Asia. Scientific Sound Asia is an Asian electronic music radio station, promoter, DJ agency and music-news platform connecting audiences across Asia and internationally.
Anonymous Z is well regarded in Saigon, Vietnam, as a pioneer of Mad Circus parties. He was the organiser of Bahrain's first underground DJ collective, Glassroom, and promoted mayhem for the soul.
At the head of a multinational group of misfits, he organised legal and sometimes renegade parties and after-parties that local nightlife remembers as folklore. His motto at the time was "They tried to bury us, but they forgot we were seeds".
As part of the Banana Hustle crew's tropical events in Ho Chi Minh City, he helped develop their distinctive vibe. Originally a Techno head, he developed a taste for digging out unusual Afro, House, Disco and Funk records.
His selections bring together hand-picked Techno and up-to-date Indie Dance. His skills as a disc jockey opened the doors to prominent Vietnamese underground venues, including Arcan, The Lighthouse, Broma and Vitamin D after-parties.
His non-linear sets are often improvised in response to the crowd, crossing several musical styles through tense, groovy bass lines and melodic storytelling. He explores world music and the older reaches of electro as part of an artistic identity developed over time.
His sets can turn towards trippy, dark downtempo with tribal and South American influences, or towards groovier but darker Leftfield Electro. Nu Disco, Electroclash, Wave, New Beat and Dark Disco also appear within that broad selection.
Anonymous Z's Not So Anonymous episode 37 opens with Xaver Von Treyer's We Are Alien on Supersoul Recordings, introducing a measured Dance Music pulse. Veslemes follows with I Know Where You Live Vangelis!, whose Spooky-J rework on Byrd Out brings in Electronica.
Street Fever's La Corde precedes Marcello Giordani's Modus, released by Slow Motion, as the programme settles into darker club material. Arvin Fajar's In The Shadows on Ombra International develops the Indie Dance thread.
DJ Abouzar and Alex Goldsmith's Octopus Dream gives way to Roswell Brothers' U.A.P and Cannibal Ink's Le Petit Prince, both from Nein Records. Duncan Gray's Amevicious remix of The Twelfth Day on Play Pal Music keeps the mood taut without breaking the set's established direction.
James Rod's Helene, in its Sweet Slow Epic Disco Rework for Golden Soul Records, leads to Rayko's Last Train To 80's on Rare Wiri Records and its Nu-Disco character. Cosmonauts' Ilya Santana remix of Disco Biscuit, Hall & Oates' I Can't Go For That (No Can Do) and Ilya Santana's Julian Sansa remix of Instrumental Odyssey keep the middle passage focused on retro-minded electronic textures.
D.Y.O.R.'s Cabaret Nocturne remix of Devil's Way and Class B Band's Theus Mago and Moisees remix of Repli-can draw from Rotten City Files. Dionigi's Alvaro Cabana and Silicodisco remix of Listen To My Beat, also on Rotten City Files, sits before Daniel Monaco's Hide.
Dor Danino's Melomad returns to Nein Records before Equitant's Tkuz remix of Dynamique on Black Montanas introduces Techno pressure. Billyonair's Intergalactic Tricksters on Panorgasmic Records and Clive, Alfrenk and Proone79's Barko remix of Give Me The Funk close the programme with a suitably off-centre club finish.
Not So Anonymous episode 37
Xaver Von Treyer - We Are Alien (Original Mix)
Veslemes - I Know Where You Live Vangelis! (Spooky-J Anti-Disco Rework)
Street Fever - La Corde (Original Mix)
Marcello Giordani - Modus (Original Mix)
Arvin Fajar - In The Shadows (Original Mix)
DJ Abouzar, Alex Goldsmith - Octopus Dream (Original Mix)
Roswell Brothers - U.A.P (Original Mix)
Cannibal Ink - Le Petit Prince (Original Mix)
Duncan Gray - The Twelfth Day (Amevicious Remix)
James Rod - Helene (Sweet Slow Epic Disco Rework)
Rayko - Last Train To 80’s (Original Mix)
Cosmonauts - Disco Biscuit (Ilya Santana Remix)
Hall & Oates - I Can't Go For That (No Can Do) (Jo Manji's Italo Disco Mix) [Not On Label]
Ilya Santana - Instrumental Odyssey (Julian Sansa Remix)
D.Y.O.R. - Devil's Way (Cabaret Nocturne Remix)
Class B Band - Repli-can (Theus Mago & Moisees Remix)
Dionigi - Listen To My Beat (Alvaro Cabana & Silicodisco Remix)
Daniel Monaco - Hide (Original Mix)
Dor Danino - Melomad (Original Mix)
Equitant - Dynamique (Tkuz Remix)
Billyonair - Intergalactic Tricksters (Original Mix)
Clive, Alfrenk, Proone79 - Give Me The Funk (Barko Remix)
Listen on Mixcloud here.