If I was to consider recent China Pride party, hosted in Hong Kong, on October 1st, as a preview to the up-coming fifth anniversary festivities of the Nation party in November, I am terrified... Terrified of having too much of a good time, that is. HX Production, the leading force behind the Hong Kong gay party scene and the organiser of China Pride, has once again delivered top notch quality sound, lights, crowd and music - even an hour's long break that was caused by the police checking licenses and IDs was just that - a break. As soon as the music went back on, so the dance-floor filled up again, as if the annoying interruption never took place, and with a buzz stronger than before!
When asked about the most prominent developments since the beginning of Nation in 2001, Stuart Koe, CEO of Fridae.com, said that this year's party is going to be the biggest ever not just by standards of Nation itself but the whole of Asia. For the first time, Nation will be held outside Singapore where it was been held annually since 2001, and co-hosted by a group of acclaimed party organisers from Malaysia, Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan.
"A project of this magnitude has never been done in the region and it's the first time we are organising a set of nine parties over three days in the hospitable Thai resort town of Phuket," said Dr Koe.
More than 150 people and the Fridae team will be working at the venue to ensure that the weekend goes without a hitch. A customer service centre will also be set up from Thursday to Monday at Crowne Plaza to help guests with Nation-related enquiries.
"Gays are perfectionists," Dr Koe said, so expect the best, "and, I don't mean just the organisers but the loyal following from all over Asia."
Each of the co-hosts will also be represented by their own best DJs in Phuket, assuring that the guests of Nation will get to sample crme-de-la-crme of their talent. Needless to say, every one of them is very excited about this unique opportunity to finally get together and get the party started.
But now, click on the next page to have a closer look at who's who in the group that makes Asia's dance floors rock!
4 Nov | 7PM - 1AM
DJs Sawa (Japan), Michael Hsu (Taiwan)
feat. Go Go Boys: Gun, Ichi, Koba, Takahiro, Tsuyoshi and Zen (Japan)
Dress Code: Team Uniforms and Sports Gear
Ageha appeared on Tokyo's gay party map almost three years ago with Paradise Ball at regular intervals until very recently. The parties enjoy a loyal following and typically attract some two thousand people. The Universe party, held in February this year, was held over four days and kept some five thousand people on their feet. Ageha is also proud of its history of A-list DJ visits, such as Victor Calderone, David Morales, Tom Stephan, among plenty of others, as well as giving a boost to Japan's local talents. While the parties' themes change, the mainstay of the parties is the sexy go-go boy shows and Nation partygoers can look forward to catching them live in Phuket!
Tokyo's largest dance club, Ageha features a summer-only swimming-pool area among several other distinct leisure zones at its bay-side venue. Paradise Ball has recently been rebranded "Shangri-La" which will be launched with The White Ball on 23 December 2005.
FollowMe (Taiwan): Locker Room Party
4 Nov | 1AM - 6PM
DJs Stone (Taiwan), Eric Huang (Taiwan)
Dress Code: To be announced
FollowMe started casually one night in the summer of 2003 as a group of music lovers and dance party enthusiasts got together at The One in Taipei. The parties were later held at DJ Station, TeXound, Face and now at AXD as it gathers momentum from followers across the city who appreciate its brand of music and energy. FollowMe now holds its parties every fourth Saturday of the month at AXD whose owner also ran the now-defunct TeXound which is fondly remembered as the legendary club that had hosted numerous unforgettable gay parties.
HX Production (Hong Kong): Sanctuary Pool Party
5 Nov | Noon - 6PM
DJs Rock G (Hong Kong), Kosuke (Japan), David S. (Taiwan)
Dress Code: Pool Party Chic
HX Production, which organises the wildly popular Decadence and Redemption parties in Hong Kong, was set up in 2002 by Rocky Foo (aka DJ Rock G) and his partner - by accident. Rocky told Fridae in an interview, "My partner and I celebrated our 10th anniversary with a dance party for over 800 people. Everyone including ourselves had so much fun so we thought we should keep it going." HX also organised the recent China Pride party held in Hong Kong over the 1 October weekend, attracting over 1,300 attendees. HX has been involved also in a few projects overseas, including collaboration with Ageha, G5, White Party in Manila and a number of Fridae events, the most recent being the Slurp post-party on Apr 16, 2005, in Bangkok.
Liquid (Kuala Lumpur): Insomnia
5 Nov | 1AM - 6AM
DJs Jason M (Malaysia)
Dress Code: To be announced
Started originally as a pizza and ice-cream parlour for gay men and lesbians over eight years ago, Liquid has now become one of most renowned gay dance clubs in Malaysia that religiously follows international music trends. It has since welcomed dance-floor heavyweights such as Michael Tagle, Ultra Nate and hordes of devotees through its doors. The inaugural Nation party was in fact Liquid's first foreign assignments which Jay, one of the owners, remembers with a big smile!
G5 and Wonderland (Taiwan): Closing Party
6 Nov | 7PM - 1AM
DJs Victor Cheng, Tiger, Eric Chang, David S (Taiwan)
G5 is run by Alan Hsia from theLOOP Production which has in five years established itself as one of the leading party organisers in Taipei. It's known for its large-scale parties which counts DJ Steve Lawler, Derrick Carter as its guest DJs as well as for promoting the Salvation Tour in Taipei. Its earlier parties held at 2/F reportedly hold the record of being the largest gay parties in the city. Last year, G5 has also hosted several very successful and well-attended parties at LUXY, a premier dance club. Wonderland now holds its parties at AXD club every second Saturday of the month; more information about Wonderland is unavailable at press time.
Cocktail (Hong Kong): The Morning Party
6 Nov | 1AM - 6AM
DJs Anil Ahuja, Yin (Hong Kong)
Cocktail's front man Peter has been organising regular party nights for about three years, covering most of Hong Kong's best party venues, be it regular club-nights or special events. The last of the big ones was at Sun Hung Kai Centre last Chinese New Year, which brought together over 900 partygoers. Cocktail was also part of the first local circuit event, Summer Splash, held at a famous floating restaurant in the middle of an old fishing port in Aberdeen. Cocktail has two locally known resident DJs but has also collaborated with DJs from Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. Nation.V is Peter's biggest project so far and he is confident that everyone will leave Phuket with the best of the memories!
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