Fridae

One of my fondest memories of Nation.04 was the gay and lesbian party crowd screaming in transcendental bliss as waves after waves of mind-melting music washed over them.

The way everyone was shouting their throats hoarse and jumping up and down excitedly that night, one could be forgiven for thinking that the Korean Heavenly Kings were masturbating on stage.

Since its inception in 2001, the Nation parties have become a jewel in the international circuit crown - raising the bar on circuit partying in Asia and attracting gay men and women from all over the world.

The reason is simple.

As Circuit Queens worth their party cred would tell you, the main ingredients for a successful circuit party can be distilled down to the celestial bodies on display and the music that moves those bodies.

For the upcoming Nation.V party which features nine parties adding up to a non-stop dusk to dawn clubbing experience, Fridae has decided to up the sonic ante with its stellar line-up of international DJs and a party play-list boasting a spectacular spectrum of sounds.

Stretching over an unprecedented three days, Nation.V kicks off on Nov 4 with a Welcome Reception afternoon pool party at host hotel Crown Plaza which promises poolside frolicking and splendid sights of sun-kissed hunks and babes in swimwear.

The DJs spinning at the opening and closing pool parties are Fred Jungo (Thailand) who has a weekend residency at the ultra-chic Bed Supperclub; and superstar DJ David Knapp (USA) who played at Miami's legendary White Party and headlined the signature Sunday night party at Vizcaya.

In between, there's the Sanctuary Pool Party commandeered by a trio of swoon-worthy DJs: Rock G (Hong Kong), a regular at HX's monthly Decadence parties and Fridae's Slurp Party at Bangkok; David S (Taiwan), Nation and Paradise Ball@Ageha veteran (and cutie); and my personal favourite Kosuke (Japan) who played at Paradise Ball's after hour party and is making his debut at Nation.V.

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The pool parties lead up to Nation.V's major parties - G.Y.M. Welcome Party and Nation.V. The G.Y.M. Welcome Party features two of the biggest names in the Asian club circuit - Michael Hsu (Taiwan) who has a huge gay following from his stints at Taiwanese gay club Funky, and Sawa (Japan) who played at Nation.04's opening party and is the resident DJ to Tokyo's Paradise Ball@Ageha.

This year's main Nation.V party to be held on Nov 5 kicks it up a notch with two international DJs: the energetic Kate Monroe (Australia) - one of Australia's top DJs; and the incomparable Manny Lehman (USA) - one of the most in demand circuit party DJs who headlined nearly every major event in the gay party calendar including Montreal's Black and Blue, Chicago's Fireball, DC's Cherry Ball, Philadelphia's Blue Ball and more recently, San Diego's Pride.

On the final night, Nation.V winds down with The Closing Party on Nov 6 which serves up a mixture of progressive beats and blissed-out house courtesy of four leading purveyors of the Taiwan club scene: Victor Cheng, Tiger, David S and Eric Chang.

However, party-goers should save some energy for the post-party parties at the Crown Plaza Ballroom which include the Locker Room Party on the first night by Stone (Taiwan) and Eric Huang (Taiwan); Insomnia on the second night by Liquid's resident DJ Jason M (Malaysia); and The Morning Party on the final night by Anil Ahuja (Hong Kong) and DJ Yin (Hong Kong).

Having shared Nation.V's line-up of the best circuit DJs from Asia and around the world, gay and lesbian clubbers can rest assured that they will never have to clutch their pearls in frustration or stamp their feet in exasperation just because the music fails to live up to expectations.

With minds at ease, they can now focus on refining their dance moves, work at getting a tan, stock up on their Red Bulls and most importantly, catch up on their disco naps in preparation for the demandingly delightful dance-a-thon that is Nation.V.

Nation.V host hotel Crowne Plaza is sold out! New supporting hotels: Andaman Seaview Hotel, Baan Karonburi Resort, C. C. Bloom's Hotel, Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort & Spa, Karona Resort & Spa, Karon Sea Sands Resort & Spa, The Old Phuket and the Woraburi Phuket Resort & Spa are now available! Please click here for more info on hotels and ticketing.