Technokracy W/ Nick Daniels

Event Details

This event took place at Arcan, 106/2 Điện Biên Phủ, Phường 17, Bình Thạnh, Ho Chi Minh City, from 11 PM on 7 September 2018 until 6 AM on 8 September 2018, with the original location retained for archive accuracy even though the venue has since closed. Technokracy was built around a simple idea, power to Techno and Techno with power, bringing Nick Daniels, Goss and Dezz together for a night dedicated to heavy underground electronic music.

The musical policy avoided unnecessary distractions and concentrated on Techno, tougher club selections and the different influences each DJ brought behind the decks. The event was also broadcast live through Scientific Sound Asia Radio, allowing listeners outside Ho Chi Minh City to hear music directly from the Arcan dancefloor.

Arcan had become an important space for alternative electronic music in Saigon, hosting nights that moved beyond the city’s more commercial club circuit. Technokracy fitted that direction with a programme centred on underground music, an extended late-night running time and DJs connected with scenes in South Africa, Malaysia and Vietnam.

South African DJ Nick Daniels had begun playing in 2013 and was developing his profile in Ho Chi Minh City by the time of this event. His selections could move from melodic Deep House into harder and more energetic progressive electronic music, giving him a wide base from which to approach a Techno-focused night.

A substantial record collection formed an important part of Nick’s development as a selector, with careful listening and music discovery shaping the way he constructed his sets. Rather than restricting himself to one narrow formula, he used that background to move between deeper material and stronger dancefloor records according to the setting.

Before relocating to Vietnam, Nick co-founded Deep Satisfaction in Cape Town, South Africa. The project became connected with the city’s First Thursday activity and developed around an attentive music policy and a strong relationship between the DJs and the people on the dancefloor.

By the period surrounding Technokracy, Nick was resident in Ho Chi Minh City and becoming increasingly involved with its electronic music community. His later recorded activity also documented a range extending through Deep House, House, Melodic House and Tech House, showing the broader musical foundation behind his appearance at Arcan.

Goss brought a considerably harder and more unpredictable musical background to the line-up. Trained through the HADRA Festival Association’s TRANCEMISSION programme in 2016, he played across Psytrance, Hardtek, Raggatek, Acidcore, Tech House and Techno.

His sets were characterised by forceful selections and the willingness to combine styles that were not always heard together in conventional club programming. That approach made him particularly suited to Technokracy, where the emphasis was on energetic underground music rather than maintaining a polished commercial formula.

Goss returned to Saigon in 2017 after previously studying in the city and began developing what would become Arcan with his brother Flo. At the same time, he was establishing himself as both a DJ and organiser within the local electronic music community.

Following two months of touring in Vietnam and Cambodia, he worked as a resident DJ and organiser for Spirit Of Nature at MÁY CÀY. His activity subsequently extended to venues around Ho Chi Minh City including Piu Piu, Last Call, Lighthouse and Broma, connecting him with several strands of the city’s underground nightlife.

Goss’s involvement with Arcan meant that his role extended beyond simply appearing behind the decks at the venue. The archived Arcan Facebook page documents part of the club’s activity, while Goss on Mixcloud preserves recorded material connected with his DJ work.

Malaysian DJ Dezz added another international connection to the Technokracy line-up and arrived with extensive experience across Kuala Lumpur’s electronic music scene. His interest in DJing developed from discovering turntables, mixers and record collecting before becoming increasingly involved with underground dance music.

Dezz developed an eclectic style that could adapt to different clubs and audiences rather than remaining fixed to one electronic genre. His selections moved through deeper, progressively melodic and Tech-driven sounds, with House and Techno providing important foundations for his work.

His appearances in Malaysia included Zouk, Velvet Underground, Maison, Nouvo, Sugar, Espanda, Pure Bar and Marketplace. He also performed at outdoor events such as the Transit 50-hour New Year party, adding large-scale events to his experience across the Malaysian club circuit.

Dezz’s activity subsequently extended beyond Malaysia through performances elsewhere in Asia and Australia. His international appearances included the Full Moon Party on Koh Phangan, events on Koh Samui, shows in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, and performances in Melbourne.

His broader career also included radio, with programmes presenting different sides of his musical identity to listeners beyond the clubs where he performed. That background made his Technokracy appearance another connection between the underground electronic music communities of Malaysia and Vietnam.

The combination of Nick Daniels, Goss and Dezz gave the night three different approaches to electronic music while retaining Techno as its central point. Nick brought melodic and progressive foundations, Goss supplied harder and more unconventional pressure, and Dezz contributed years of experience moving between House, Techno and deeper club music.

The visual environment was developed by Arcan together with HADRA France, extending the event beyond the music coming from the booth. This connection suited Goss’s background with the HADRA Festival Association and reinforced the more alternative character surrounding the night.

Admission was structured around the different stages of the event, with entry priced at 50,000 VND before midnight and 100,000 VND between midnight and 4 AM. The final two hours from 4 AM until the 6 AM finish were free, allowing late-night dancers to join the closing section of the session.

Broadcasting the event through Scientific Sound Asia also connected the physical party with an audience that could not be inside Arcan. The organisation’s current platform combines its radio station with events, a regional DJ agency and electronic music news.

Historical parties such as Technokracy form part of Scientific Sound Asia’s archive of underground electronic music activity in Ho Chi Minh City. They document a period when independent venues could connect resident DJs, regional visitors and international listeners through the combination of physical events and live radio broadcasting.

Arcan has since closed, but preserving its original address and the artists who performed there helps maintain an accurate record of Saigon’s underground nightlife during this period. Technokracy brought Nick Daniels, Goss and Dezz together for a night built without unnecessary complications, concentrating instead on powerful electronic music and an Arcan dancefloor running into the early morning.

The event’s original slogan summed up that intention without needing further explanation: power to Techno, Techno with power. For one night at Arcan, the focus remained firmly on heavy selections, underground club culture and the people prepared to keep dancing until sunrise.