Here Come The Drums

Event Details

Here Come The Drums took place at Lô 49, 8/13 Đường Số 49B, Thảo Điền, Quận 2, Ho Chi Minh City, from 9 PM on 15 April 2022 until 3 AM on 16 April 2022, with the original location retained for archive accuracy even though the venue has since closed. Scientific Sound Asia returned to dedicated bass music events with Here Come The Drums, bringing an all-star line-up of locally based selectors to the Thảo Điền venue after the long disruption caused by COVID-19.

The event represented a return to the dancefloor for a part of Ho Chi Minh City’s underground community that had been particularly affected by restrictions and venue closures. Rather than restarting cautiously with a mixed-genre programme, Scientific Sound Asia put Drum and Bass back at the centre with six DJs and six hours of heavy rhythms.

The music covered Jump Up, Jungle and Drum and Bass, giving the night room to move between several different approaches to bass music. Rolling drums, harder drops, darker material and dancefloor-focused selections all formed part of a programme designed to reconnect regular listeners with the sound after a long enforced break.

Guests were encouraged to arrive with a good smile, a good attitude and enough energy to get moving again. That simple message suited an event whose main purpose was to put people, DJs and loud bass music back into the same room after a period when that had repeatedly been impossible.

Lô 49 was still a relatively new underground venue in Thảo Điền at the time and had already begun hosting Scientific Sound Asia events. Its smaller independent setting made it a natural location for the return of dedicated Drum and Bass programming without relying on the scale or commercial structure of a larger nightclub.

Entry was priced at 50,000 VND, keeping the event accessible to regular followers of the local scene. The line-up featured DJ Psycho-UK, Skitty, Matt Abstrax, Darkus, 4 Paws and Halotype, combining experienced UK-rooted selectors with DJs connected to Ho Chi Minh City’s underground bass community.

DJ Psycho-UK, also known as Bearhead, brought one of the longest histories on the bill. He began DJing at the age of fourteen in East London with a pair of Soundlab DLP1 turntables and a four-track mixer, long before digital DJ systems became part of standard club equipment.

Hip Hop was one of the earliest influences on his DJing before House, Acid House and the developing UK rave scene widened his musical direction. Hardcore, Jungle and Drum and Bass later became part of that progression as British underground music moved through a rapid sequence of new styles during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

DJ Psycho-UK also played on London pirate radio stations including AXE FM and Fantasy FM. His activity extended into warehouse and squat-party networks associated with Outcry Syndicate, OTT and London Overground, placing him within the independent rave culture from which Jungle and Drum and Bass later developed.

For Here Come The Drums, that background came directly back into focus through raw Drum and Bass selections. His appearance linked the returning event with Scientific Sound Asia’s longer history of bass music promotion in Ho Chi Minh City and its earlier involvement with Rehab and other dedicated DnB nights.

His wider work with Scientific Sound Asia connected those physical events with the organisation’s radio station, events programme and DJ agency. That combination of broadcasting and live promotion helped maintain a connection with underground music during periods when regular club activity was interrupted.

Skitty brought heavyweight UK Drum and Bass experience to the line-up through a career rooted in Wolverhampton and the wider West Midlands scene. His production and DJ history is closely connected with Jungle, Drum and Bass and the darker, more uncompromising side of UK bass music.

His catalogue includes releases through labels such as Metalheadz, Renegade Hardware, Bassbin, Subtitles, Osiris, Dutty Audio and Trendkill. He also established Foundation X, giving him his own platform for material connected with harder Drum and Bass and raw Jungle influences.

Skitty became based in Ho Chi Minh City and developed a strong connection with Scientific Sound Asia and the city’s bass music community. His involvement with the Rehab series helped give Drum and Bass a recurring local platform rather than leaving the genre dependent on occasional touring bookings.

That history made his appearance at Here Come The Drums particularly appropriate after the pandemic interruption. Bringing Skitty back onto a local bill helped connect the new event with the earlier Drum and Bass nights that had operated before restrictions disrupted venues and regular programming.

Matt Abstrax appeared as another part of Ho Chi Minh City’s underground Drum and Bass network. His contribution added further rolling bass pressure to a line-up designed around several interpretations of the same broad musical culture.

Rather than presenting the event as a showcase for one headline artist, Scientific Sound Asia gave room to a wider group of DJs already active within the scene. Matt Abstrax’s inclusion strengthened that resident-led identity and helped make the night feel like a collective return rather than a single guest appearance.

Darkus brought a darker and heavier direction to the programme and was already connected with the Scientific Sound Asia Drum and Bass circle in Ho Chi Minh City. His selections suited an event covering Jungle and Jump Up alongside deeper and harder DnB material.

The darker side of Drum and Bass has always depended heavily on atmosphere, low-frequency pressure and tightly engineered percussion. Darkus added that dimension to the night and provided another contrast with more rolling or party-focused selections elsewhere on the bill.

4 Paws joined the line-up with another underground Drum and Bass selection aimed at strengthening the local support surrounding the event. His presence reinforced the idea that the scene could rebuild through a group of committed selectors rather than relying only on better-known international names.

That local focus mattered after such a long interruption because a sustainable return required regular DJs and audiences to reconnect. Here Come The Drums provided a platform where selectors already involved with the city could share the bill and rebuild some of the continuity lost during the pandemic period.

Halotype completed the published line-up and brought further bass weight and rhythmic pressure to the Lô 49 dancefloor. His set contributed to the event’s overall focus on heavy drums, energetic mixing and the physical impact of Drum and Bass in a club environment.

With six DJs involved, the night could move through different shades of the genre without abandoning its central identity. Jump Up could bring a more direct party edge, Jungle could reconnect the programme with older breakbeat foundations, and modern Drum and Bass could push the sound towards heavier contemporary production.

That range was important because Drum and Bass has never been a single uniform sound. The genre has developed through rolling, atmospheric, technical, dark, melodic and aggressively dancefloor-focused forms, all of which can exist within the same event when the selectors understand how to move between them.

The return of Jungle within the programme also connected the night with the musical foundations behind several members of the line-up. For DJs such as Psycho and Skitty, Jungle was not simply a revival style but part of the culture through which their relationship with Drum and Bass had originally developed.

The use of Jump Up added another energy entirely and gave the night a direct, crowd-focused element. Heavy basslines, rapid switches and recognisable drops could sit alongside darker selections and rolling rhythms as the event moved towards its 3 AM finish.

Lô 49’s role as a new Thảo Điền venue also gave the event symbolic value after several important underground spaces had disappeared from Ho Chi Minh City. Arcan had closed, other venues had changed direction, and the pandemic had accelerated the already constant turnover within the city’s nightlife landscape.

Bringing Here Come The Drums into Lô 49 showed how the scene adapted by moving into new spaces rather than allowing a former venue to define its future. The address may now also belong to a closed venue, but at the time it offered a fresh room where Drum and Bass could begin gathering momentum again.

Scientific Sound Asia’s event history includes earlier bass nights such as Rehab, Drum Save The Queen and international bookings connected with Jungle and Drum and Bass. Here Come The Drums extended that history into the post-lockdown period and demonstrated that the organisation remained committed to the genre after the long break.

That continuing connection can now be followed through Scientific Sound Asia’s music news, radio programming, events and current artist representation. The organisation’s agency still maintains direct links with Skitty and DJ Psycho-UK, preserving a connection between these historical events and the artists associated with the platform today.

Lô 49 has since closed, but retaining its original address, entry price, running time and complete line-up preserves an accurate record of the night. The event documents a moment when Ho Chi Minh City’s Drum and Bass community was reassembling after one of the longest disruptions it had experienced.

Here Come The Drums brought DJ Psycho-UK, Skitty, Matt Abstrax, Darkus, 4 Paws and Halotype together for six hours of Jump Up, Jungle and Drum and Bass in Thảo Điền. With 50,000 VND entry, heavy bass and a room full of people finally able to return to the dancefloor, the event marked a strong restart for Scientific Sound Asia’s dedicated bass music activity.

Music:

Jump Up

Jungle

Drum and Bass

Door entry: 50,000 VND

Venue:

Lô 49

8/13 Đường Số

49B Thảo Điền

Quận 2

Ho Chi Minh City

Vietnam

This archive page preserves the original event details for Scientific Sound Asia’s event history in Ho Chi Minh City.