Audium And Scientific Sound Asia Pop Up Charity Night

Event Details

This event took place at the former Tap Out - Eatery and Bar, 170 Cống Quỳnh, Phường Phạm Ngũ Lão, Quận 1, Ho Chi Minh City, from 9 PM on 2 November 2018 until 1 AM on 3 November 2018, with the original address retained for archive accuracy even though the venue has since closed. Audium and Scientific Sound Asia, working together with Tap Out - Eatery and Bar, organised the charity pop-up to raise support for an aid trip to Cổng Trời Village in Lâm Đồng province.

The fundraiser was created around Audium’s planned visit to members of the Cil-Koho community living in the mountainous areas outside Đà Lạt. According to the original event appeal, the community was facing severe hardship and required practical support with food, clothing, shelter, warmth and access to clean drinking water.

The organisers set a fundraising target of 18 million VND to help make the trip possible and provide supplies directly to the community. Donations, raffle entries, auction revenue and physical goods were all included as ways for people in Ho Chi Minh City to contribute.

The requested supplies were practical items intended for everyday use in colder mountain conditions. Warm jackets, rice, outdoor living equipment, food, blankets, sleeping bags, first aid kits, school books and educational supplies were all listed among the things the Audium team hoped to take with them.

This gave the fundraiser a clear purpose beyond simply collecting money at the door. Guests could contribute either financially or through useful goods, giving people several different ways to support the planned trip according to what they were able to provide.

Tap Out - Eatery and Bar hosted the event in central District 1 and provided the physical setting for the four-hour pop-up. The venue brought together fundraising activity, prizes, auctions, drinks and music without turning the night away from its central charitable purpose.

The programme ran from 9 PM until 1 AM, making it a relatively compact event compared with many of the all-night club sessions taking place elsewhere in Ho Chi Minh City at the time. That shorter format suited a community fundraiser where people could arrive, donate, take part in the raffle or auction and spend part of the evening supporting the campaign.

A live Scientific Sound Asia Radio broadcast began at 10 PM and carried part of the fundraiser beyond the people inside Tap Out. Broadcasting directly from the venue gave the charity appeal another audience while also documenting the event through the station’s wider underground music network.

DJ Psycho-UK represented Scientific Sound Asia behind the decks and brought a background rooted in East London music and underground club culture. His history includes Hip Hop, Jungle, Drum and Bass, House and rave music, alongside later work as a DJ, promoter and founder of Scientific Sound Asia in Ho Chi Minh City.

For this event, however, the music moved away from the heavier bass and rave styles associated with some of his other appearances. DJ Psycho-UK and Swing Master J instead focused on Old School Hip Hop, Funk and Soul, giving the fundraiser a warmer and more relaxed musical direction.

That choice suited a charity pop-up where conversation, auctions and participation mattered as much as the dancefloor. Familiar grooves and older records could support the social atmosphere without overwhelming the fundraising activity happening elsewhere in the venue.

Swing Master J shared the bill with DJ Psycho-UK and contributed to the Old School Hip Hop, Funk and Soul selection across the night. Together, the two DJs created a programme rooted in groove, rhythm and classic influences rather than a narrowly defined contemporary club genre.

The pairing also gave the event a different character from many of Scientific Sound Asia’s Techno, House and Drum and Bass nights from the same period. A charity fundraiser called for a broader and more accessible musical approach, while still staying connected with the selectors and communities around the organisation.

The raffle and auction gave guests additional opportunities to contribute beyond entry or direct donations. Prizes helped keep the atmosphere social and interactive while every successful bid or ticket purchase moved the fundraiser closer to its 18 million VND target.

The original event appeal described the planned charity trip as an opportunity for the Audium team to meet the Cil-Koho community directly rather than sending support through an anonymous campaign. This direct approach was important to the way the fundraiser was presented, with the requested supplies tied to the practical needs the organisers expected to encounter.

Warm clothing and sleeping equipment were particularly relevant to the mountain environment described in the original appeal. Food, rice, first aid materials and school supplies broadened the planned support beyond immediate warmth and shelter towards everyday living and education.

The event therefore combined several different forms of participation within one evening. Someone could donate money, bring supplies, buy a raffle ticket, bid in an auction, listen to the DJs or simply help spread awareness of the planned trip.

Scientific Sound Asia’s role extended beyond providing DJs, as the live radio broadcast helped connect the fundraiser with listeners outside the venue. The organisation’s current activities bring together its events, radio station, DJ agency and music news work across Asia and internationally.

Historical events such as this one show another side of that activity beyond conventional nightlife promotion. DJs, venues and radio could also be used to bring people together around local and regional fundraising projects while retaining the music and social character of an evening out.

Tap Out has since closed, but preserving its original address and the details of the fundraiser keeps an accurate record of where the event took place. The listing also documents a period when small independent venues in Ho Chi Minh City could host charity events that connected music communities with causes outside the city.

The Audium pop-up centred on a straightforward appeal to help the team reach Cổng Trời Village with useful supplies and financial support. With DJ Psycho-UK and Swing Master J providing Old School Hip Hop, Funk and Soul while the raffle, auction and donations continued around them, the night used music as a practical way to bring attention and resources to the planned charity trip.