General Levy Live in Saigon – Jungle & DnB Special

Event Details

This event took place at Úm Ba La, above Bardo Cocktails & Arts, 14 Đường Số 11, Thảo Điền, Quận 2, Ho Chi Minh City, from 9 PM on 6 April 2025 until 4 AM on 7 April 2025. Scientific Sound Asia presented General Levy for a special night of Jungle, Drum and Bass, Reggae, Dancehall and UK sound-system culture on the eve of a public holiday.

General Levy has been active since the late 1980s and became one of the recognisable vocal figures connecting British Reggae and Dancehall with the emergence of Jungle. His rapid lyrical delivery, sound-system background and ability to work across different tempos helped him move naturally into the developing Jungle and Drum and Bass scenes during the 1990s.

He is particularly associated with Incredible, the Jungle anthem created with M-Beat that became one of the defining crossover records of the era. The track helped take the energy of UK sound-system MCing into a wider audience while retaining the vocal speed and rhythmic attack that had already defined Levy’s performances.

His career has continued across clubs, festivals and sound-system events internationally, with performances built around direct interaction with the crowd. Reggae and Dancehall remain central to his identity, but Jungle and Drum and Bass provide the faster framework that made him such a natural fit for Scientific Sound Asia’s bass programme.

The Ho Chi Minh City appearance brought that history into a relatively intimate Thảo Điền setting rather than a large festival stage. Úm Ba La gave the event a close, club-focused atmosphere where Levy’s vocals could sit directly over breaks, basslines and rolling Drum and Bass selections.

Support came from DJ Psycho-UK, Throe, Skitty and Dobbo. Together, they connected General Levy’s UK sound-system heritage with selectors already involved in Scientific Sound Asia’s local and locally based Drum and Bass network.

DJ Psycho-UK brought an East London background shaped by Hip Hop, Hardcore, Jungle and Drum and Bass, while Skitty added direct UK label history through Metalheadz, Renegade Hardware, Subtitles and Foundation X. Throe and Dobbo completed the support programme with rolling rhythms, darker bass pressure and underground selections suited to the faster end of the night.

The event followed 35 Years of Formation Records with Grooverider and DJ SS in January 2025, which had marked Scientific Sound Asia’s return to major international Drum and Bass bookings. That night connected the programme with formative Jungle and Drum and Bass history, while General Levy brought another essential strand through MC culture, Reggae and sound-system influence.

A few weeks earlier, Sublow Hz live in Ho Chi Minh City had added a more contemporary bass direction to the same developing programme. General Levy therefore arrived within a run of events deliberately showing different generations and interpretations of Jungle and Drum and Bass rather than repeating the same style of booking.

Tickets were sold in three advance tiers, beginning at 300,000 VND for Super Early Bird, followed by 400,000 VND Late Early Bird and 500,000 VND Standard Entry. The seven-hour running time gave the support DJs space to build the room before General Levy’s appearance while keeping the night focused entirely on bass-driven music.

The event also formed part of a broader Scientific Sound Asia programme that later included Buunshin, Dave Owen and other international Drum and Bass artists in Ho Chi Minh City. Those bookings sat alongside the organisation’s radio station, DJ agency, events programme and music news, connecting live performances with its wider underground activity.

General Levy’s appearance ultimately brought together several strands of UK bass culture in one Thảo Điền night. Jungle breaks, Drum and Bass pressure, Reggae foundations and Dancehall vocals met Scientific Sound Asia’s local support network for a seven-hour session built around one of the most recognisable voices to emerge from the British Jungle era.

Super Early Bird: 300,000 VND

Late Early Bird: 400,000 VND

Standard Entry: 500,000 VND