Bradley Kaos moved to Bangkok last October, but the British selector with a passion for electro and techno beats has quickly built a name for himself thanks to plenty of demand for his deejaying and mixing skills. For example, he recently got the chance to team up with Rehab - the popular monthly electro club night at Bed Supperclub.

ThaiAsiaToday.com’s Youthapong Charoenpan headed over to Kaos’ cozy Langsuan apartment to learn more about his influences and what drives his passion for music.

Youthapong Charoenpan (YC): Could you tell our readers a bit about yourself and your life manning the decks around Bangkok?

Bradley Kaos (BK): Sure. I’m Bradley Kaos and I’ve been deejaying for about eight years. I’m English and back in London I got this name through deejaying at a club called Kaos.

YC: It seems like you’re heavily influenced by 1980s music. Are there any artists in particular from that era that have had a major influence on your music?

BK: That’s true, but it’s quite a tough question since there are just so many artists I could credit.

YC: Obviously Electro is another major musical influence. Where did Electro originate?

BK: Again, it’s quite hard to nail down – it’s such a broad term. Quite a bit of it originated in England and Germany.

YC: What approach do you use when deciding what to play?

BK: There’re really two factors. Firstly, I should pick tunes I like, which energize me. The other important thing is to pick up on what I think is going to work on the dancefloor.

YC: Do you prefer working with vinyl or CD?

BK: Well I grew up playing vinyl and I think many DJs of my generation did so. We’re kind of impressed with vinyl. There’s also a lot of emotion when it comes to vinyl, even when it comes to the feel.

It seems to me that people in Asia get a kick out of seeing a DJ work with real vinyl. Nevertheless, since I’ve been playing near the sea a lot, I shifted to CDs. And more recently, I’ve been using MP3s since they are very convenient and portable. The only problem with these more modern formats is that some members of the audience feel the deejay can easily lose touch with the crowd when browsing – it’s almost as if they’re busy checking on their email or something!

YC: What kind of challenges have you faced when deejaying in Bangkok clubs?

BK: For a start, the night always seems to end too soon given the strict 2 am closing time.

YC: And what do you like best about being a DJ?

BK: That’s easy – the pleasure of being able to make people dance. No matter how big the crowd is, it’s just great to spend time with a crowd that loves to dance.

YC: Could you tell our readers a bit about how you go about developing your live sets at home?

BK: I used to have about 7,000 records with me in London, but in the end I decided to leave them there. I ended up buying about another 500 records here in Bangkok. More recently, I also like to work with CDs and MP3s. It rather depends what mood I’m in. Either way, it’s easy for me to access more music being based in Bangkok.

YC: So what’s most important to you – living to make music or making music for a living?

BK: I’ve always been into living for the music – being a DJ for the money must be really miserable!

YC: So it’s more important to you to produce something of merit rather than doing something simply for the money?

BK: For sure. And, as a matter of fact, there are probably just a few hundred DJs worldwide at present who can make much money from deejaying. In that sense, it’s really important you love what you’re doing.

YC: What would be your ideal audience?

BK: To be perfectly honest, as long as I’m playing to a mixed crowd of mixed gender, sexuality, and background, then I’m happy.

YC: How would you rate the crowds in Bangkok?

BK: Well, Thais in general are very open to new music and different sounds. It’s always been really enjoyable to play here. I can say that Thai audiences are among the most receptive in the region, which means I can always try out different things.

YC: What projects are you currently working on?

BK: Unfortunately, I’m ‘twiddling my thumbs’ a bit since my regular night at the Neo Club on Silom Soi 2 has finished now the club has closed its doors.

I’m presently in discussions with a local promoter. It looks like I could be a DJ for their new club night called Mom at Luminous @ Silom Soi 4. It’s scheduled to be launched within the month, so I’m really hoping this comes together successfully.