Fiesta Latina

Hosted every other month by Latinos Sabotaje, this Latin food and music night does a national theme each time. This time around it’s Cuba, so expect traditional dishes, drinks and mixes of salsa, samba and more.

Bed Supperclub

Every Wed, Bed Supperclub gets serious about salsa dance tunes, mixed by DJ Josh Ezelle, Emmanuel, Eddy Frampton and with live percussionist Num T-Bone. 10pm-2am. B700 (2 drinks). Sukhumvit Soi 11, 02-651-3537. www.bedsupperclub.com

Dream Hotel

The decor here is more hip hop music video than salsa ballroom. And yet, Latinos Sabotage kick-start every weekend with sultry salsa and samba grooves provided by a rotating clan of local and international DJs. Every Fri, 9pm-late. Sukhumvit Soi 15, 02-254-8500. www.dreambkk.com

Xperience

Located on the second floor of the Thonglor Eight Building, the Xeperience offers you a daily themed party where on Wednesday the Latinos Sabotaje will host the Salsa night with the various mix of Latin tunes by international DJs. 2/F, Thonglor Eight Building, Sukhumvit Soi 55. 02-713-8363. Open daily 5pm-2am.

How did ZudRangMa begin?
From my own record collection. When I moved back to Thailand, I had a lot of records and never stopped looking for new ones. I had more than one copy of some, so I thought about having a shop where I could trade with other collectors.

What kind of music do you sell?
Most of it is world music—Jamaican, African, molam, look thung, funk, soul, reggae and many rare grooves that come from the same root.

Where did you find these records?
I find record shops and learn what they have, what their highlights are and what are not. Then I choose the ones that are not highlights and get a cheap price. I keep doing this everywhere I travel.

Who are your customers?
There is a wide range of customers, actually. Most of them are foreign collectors, though—not many Thais.

Can you give us tips about buying the right records?
Buying a record in the shop is different from downloading from the internet, where you can listen to it first and then decide whether to buy it or not. At a record shop, even if you can test that the record works, you have to buy it right away, or else it’ll be gone by the time you come back.

How did your love for vintage start?
Like everybody else, my preference changes over time, until one day [about four years ago] I became obsessed with clothes made in the USA, and started collecting ever since. I believe that apparel that has lasted this long and is still wearable is truly high quality. Most brands have stopped doing their own production and have products that are made elsewhere. The result is that they’ve become too profit-oriented and there’s less concern for quality.

What are the coolest items you’ve ever bought?
I once got a chance to go to New York and buy this antique aluminum chair from the famous John Gluckow’s warehouse and a 1900 toilet banner from another collector. I’m kind of proud to own those.

Don’t you feel weird that your stuff has been worn by other people?
I don’t care about that. I think it’s pretty cool that these things have come a long way, and that they’re from a specific time in history.

Any tips for newbie vintage addicts?
Let your character show in your style—don’t copy anyone. A bit of research and study will save you from being tricked into buying low quality products.

We hear you’re starting your own brand.
Since I’ve been seriouslystudying, wearing and collecting clothes, I have learned about mistakes made by other brands. I want to make clothes that are like what I’m looking for, especially in terms of style and material. My partner and I named it Flagman & Fellowship. The concept is classic daily wear and I’m definitely going to use materials that will make my products last really long. Who knows, maybe one day, in fifty years, my clothes might become rare vintage finds that make every collector drool.

What did you do before Bangklyn Project?
I graduated from engineering school, worked for the BTS for five years, then fled to New York and became a chef. After six years, I moved back to Bangkok and started selling my products at Manga (once at CentralWorld). When that shop closed down, I decided to open my own. It’s been four years now.

What’s the concept?
Contemporary vintage. I reuse real vintage fabrics from New York and do my own design. The name comes from Bangkok and Brooklyn.

The style?
I fully support minimalism. Things should be super normal, nothing fancy and the main concern is the quality. I prefer welcoming customers who really get what I’m talking about. I don’t support products made in China, and I don’t speak to people who walk into the shop wearing a brand new Hermes belt. And I don’t mind if you call me arrogant either.

Can you give us a few tips?
Styles and tones depend on individual preferences and backgrounds, but whatever it is, clothes should perfectly fit your body; not too big nor too small—and they should last a decade.

How did you guys first form Gravity?
Joke: We’ve been friends since we were kids at school. We learned to play guitar together. At first, all the members in the band were guitarists. Then we tried to figure out who should play what. For example, Meng also knew how to play keyboards, so he became our keyboard players.

What have you guys been doing for the last seven years?
Joke: We’ve spent most most of the time doing songs for other people.

How did you get a contract from a record label?
Joke: We released our music on YouTube and one of Sony Music’s producers heard our stuff. And they called us to sign a contract. We’ve now released two singles, “Mai Roo Ja Reurm Yang Ngai” and “Na Chiang Mai” which tells people to vacation in Chiang Mai, since we talk about a lot of the city’s hot spots.

So what’s cool in Chiang Mai?
Joke: Well, all the places we mention in the song. But I especially want to point out the elephant farm Patara. It’s different from other elephant farms which only do shows like elephant painting. At Patara, you learn how to take care of the elephants and get close to them. You can touch a real live elephant.
Fai: Less pollution!

What inspires you to make music these days?
Meng: Every view and like on our music videos on YouTube. It’s great to see those views increasing.

How’s your promotion coming along?
Meng: There was a TV show that wanted to come visit us. The appointment was at 2pm, and they called us about ten times to tell us they were on their way. And guess what? No one answered the phone. We were asleep! The night before, we had spent hours rearranging stuff in our house so it would look good for the shoot. We went to the market so we could cook for the crew and prepared everything to welcome them. The next day, when they arrived, we hadn’t even showered. Joke was still in his pajamas preparing food in the kitchen, and that’s when the cameraman came in.

What would you do if you were governor of Chiang Mai?
Joke: I’d get rid of all the ugly buildings. Also, I’d arrange an annual carnival and music festival. I want to transform Chiang Mai into the official capital of arts and music. But I have to save money first. Interview by Nat Tantisukrit