Wanna be 90’s: A Throwback Party Series Where 90’s Kids Can Rejoice The Return of 90’s Dance Hits
This 90’s themed party is back to spread more love and joy with music that every 90’s kids will light up as soon and the intro starts to play. The Wanna be 90’s team aims to bring back the good old times get the 90’s kids to relive their golden years through a collaboration between DJ Crybaby, DJ Mike, and DJ Nui.
Siam2nite had a chance to sit down with Mr. Parkin Wattanavekin (DJ Crybaby) and the Wanna be 90’s team to get to know them a little better. After reading this, you might start to feel pumped up to throw on your best 90’s outfit to their next party.
Tell us a little bit about what each of you were doing before the Wanna be 90’s collaboration.
CRYBABY : I DJ for various events including weddings and private parties. I’m also a consultant in Branding and Marketing and a travel and food blogger in my free time.
DJ Mike : I used to open a braised chicken noodle shop in RCA. A few friends of mine that owns clubs and bars in Thonglor-Ekkamai will always ask me to help out with DJing and work that involves music. I do that full-time and also take up some gigs for events.
DJ Nui : I pick up gigs to DJ for events, parties, and weddings
Tell us a little bit about your journey as a DJ from the start up until today
CRYBABY : I loved to listen to music since I was a child and always collected tapes and CDs. I had a chance to open a restaurant when I was studying at ABAC, so I took the opportunity to buy DJ equipment to play for my friends and customers of the restaurant. One day I had the opportunity to become a professional club DJ for Escudo in 1999 and Song Saluang restaurant. After that I continued to take up gigs as a guest DJ for various events and parties.
DJ Mike : It started when one of my university buddy opened a bar near Khok Wua intersection called ‘Song Muay’ and invited me to help out. I did everything from washing dishes all the way to playing music and after the bar closed down I got an offer from an executive from Buddy Group to be a DJ for Austin Bar, one of the company’s subsidiaries. After the company expanded and opened more pubs, restaurants, and hotels, I had the chance to join the management team ad the manager of Austin Bar and also the head of the DJ department. I was responsible for head hunting talented musicians and shaped the musical direction to be in-line with the company’s concept. Fast forward to today, the one of the music style I made is widely excepted by party-goers and fellow DJs as “Kao Sarn Style”.
DJ Nui : I started off DJing for a pub in Soi Sukhumvit 24 during the late 90’s and I was also a student at that time. After that I started to work as a DJ at popular clubs around Thonglor like Booze and Santika.
Talking about your own mixes, what one song will you pick that represents yourself the most?
CRYBABY : I actually listen to various styles of music from quite a number of ages. There’s Rock, Soul, R&B, Funk, and Jazz, but if we’re talking about groovy music I like Daft Punk, Chromeo, Modjo, and Jamiroquai. As for a song I made that I really liked I must pick Umbrella by Cookie Master, an Electronic Pop song I made with DJ Nui.
DJ Nui : The song Umbrella by Cookie Master.
How would you explain the concept of Wanna be 90’s to those who doesn’t know about it.
CRYBABY : We’re a group of DJs that can play for at your parties, offer consultancy for event organizers about anything ranging from party concept, flyer design, and activities planning, and also organize our own events as well.
How did you guys decide to collaborate?
CRYBABY : Towards the end of 2016, EDM music became the staple genre for clubs, parties, and festivals in Thailand. Since there were countless options for EDM we wanted to do something different and explored an option that I personally enjoyed and felt like many people are missing as well. So I hit up a couple of friends and threw the first party called “Wanna be 90’s” that was the start of it all.
What was the inspiration behind the idea of throwing a 90’s themed party?
CRYBABY : I’d have to say it was entirely due to our personal liking. We used to throw a 90’s themed party before, but it wasn’t as popular as today. When the first event made a spark among the audience, we felt like if we made our brand more clear we’d gain a lot more followers of the same interest.
When you started off, did you the expect that your parties will be as successful as today? Because your page now has more than 170,000 likes!
CRYBABY : After the overwhelming success of the first party on June 4, 2016, we received countless requests for a second one right away. I had a little argument about how people will get bored if we throw it too often . But turns out that the more parties we throw, the more work and offers we got to expand to other provinces and venues. It exceeded all my expectations really.
In your opinion, what do you think makes 90’s songs so attractive?
CRYBABY : For those of us who grew up with it, it might be because of the familiarity and the sense of longing. But for those of that were born after and just decided to explore, they might’ve fell in love with the delicacy of the old-school lyrics that were written during the golden years of Thai music.
What do you think is the difference between the music of today and the 90’s
CRYBABY : There were various styles of dance music in the 90’s and I feel like it’s more real than today. Today’s dance music is mostly Electronic and made with synthesized sounds. If I were to compare this to food, I’d say they both taste good, just in a different way.
What songs would your all-time 90’s playlist consist of?
CRYBABY : Wherever I play I would include all the legends of the 90’s like J Jetrin, TK, Raptor, Anan Anwar with songs like ‘Talueng’, ‘Pah Shed Nar’, ‘Greng Jai’, and ‘Farg Lieng’ as well as international hits like Get Up, Barbie Girl, and Boom Boom Boom. Different events call for a different theme so my playlist will change slightly each time. Sometimes I will change the Thai-English song ratio depending on the audience and play around with various styles like Pop, Rock, and Hip-hop depending on the character of the theme I want to portray.
Which event would you consider as extremely successful for Wanna be 90’s?
CRYBABY : That’s really tough to choose. Last year we had over 40 events and each of them we good in a their own way. I’d have to say I’m impressed with every event, but if I really had to choose which event made me feel like we’ve made Wanna be 90’s a success, then all the event still had flaws that we must improve upon. I don’t want to be just a party that plays 90’s music so we must set higher goals for ourselves each time.
Why are Wanna be 90’s parties not just organized in Bangkok, but in other provinces as well?
CRYBABY : We believe that 90’s music is something everyone can enjoy. Whenever a venue from other provinces contacts us and we feel that their taste is the same as ours, we’ll accept right away. There are still a lot of places we want to go and fans that have requested us personally, but all three of us love to travel anyways so whenever we find a suitable venue be sure that we’ll be there.
Tell us what it’s like to collaborate with with some of the best artists from the 90’s like Dajim, T-skirt, Muzu, Triumphs Kingdom, etc.
CRYBABY : It was really awesome and unforgettable. Some of them are my idol from when I was a kid. For example, at the event ‘The Legend’ that we had a chance to work with Nuovo, Billy Ogan, Ampol Lampoon, and 6 other 90’s legends, I was really excited and nervous at the same time. Some of them, like Dajim, Moo Muzu, and Aof Dr. Kids, we’ve known beforehand and was easier to work with and the ladies like TK or T-Skirt we’ve admired since way back and you can probably guess how excited we were.
Does Wanna be 90’s have any plans to expand its parties and events to other countries?
CRYBABY : We’ve got a few talks going on, but we’re always open to new opportunities if they arise.
What’s the long-term plan for Wanna be 90’s? How do you see Wanna be 90’s in the future? Any expansion or plans for a larger scale event?
CRYBABY : For long-term plans, we’re looking to expand our team. This year we’ve got a few MC taking turns to join our team including Dear D Look and two lady MC/DJ Poon and York. We’re about to on board a few Dancers and the Cameraman and Account Executive have already joined. In terms of event, there’ll definitely be some larger scale parties, but we’ll keep it confidential for now.
Lastly, are there upcoming projects you want to let the fans of Wanna be 90’s know about?
CRYBABY : Be sure to follow our latest news and updates on our facebook page. Other than the parties and events that we are organizing, we’ve also got a few video clips that we made especially for all you 90’s kids to enjoy as well as some 90’s style pub/restaurant reviews and meetups with fans.
We’ve got to admit that the almost all songs from the 90’s, no matter if it’s Thai or English, can always effortlessly get us to sing and dance along. If you’re looking for some good old vibes and new friends that love the same type of music, then the parties from Wanna be 90’s is definitely something you can’t miss out!