The music blaring from monastic loudspeakers on any given dawn is traditional, and comfortable, and a deeply-ingrained component of Myanmar culture.





But the music blaring from One Entertainment Park at the December 10-11 808 Music Festival will be anything but – a sign of changing tastes in Myanmar, where electronic dance music (EDM) is catching fire.

By the time 2016 comes to a close, Yangon alone will have hosted 4 big-name EDM DJs, including this weekend’s festival headliner: Hardwell, the No 3 jockey in the world according to DJ Mag. Before him, five-time No 1 Armin Van Buuren delivered a blistering set at the We Are Connected music festival on November 23, and before him, frequent Tomorrowland and Coachella-headliner Afrojack – who regularly ranks in the world top 10 – paid a visit for the Golden Land Music Festival in October.

This year’s DJ Mag No 1, Martin Garrix, drops in on New Year’s Eve, rounding out an astonishing cast of A-list performers who appear to be using Yangon as a stop on the international circuit. It’s a stark shift from just a few years ago, when the pulsing violence of local spinners represented the pinnacle in available DJ culture.

Ko Nay Min Kyaw, the CEO of RoadRunerz Entertainment who brought Afrojack to Yangon, thinks the biggest reason for EDM’s exponential rise in popularity is improving technology access.

“I think Myanmar people love EDM music because it’s trendy all over the world,” he says. “We hear it and see it in daily life through almost all our [entertainment] platforms.”

He remembers listening to the UK’s dance-gnash group The Prodigy in the 1990s. Though uncertain how old he was when he first encountered the group, he does remember the medium that introduced him to their music.

“I was watching through satellite TV,” he says.





‘What they crave’

Today, it seems a new wave of fans is watching through their phone screens. But while the sudden availability of sim cards and WiFi is an obvious conduit for EDM fever, internet can only get you so close to the action. Seeing DJs live is the only way for many fans to get their fix, and Myanmar’s new middle class is shelling out relatively high ticket prices.

In a country where minimum wage stands at K3600 (US$2.80) per day, fans shelled out K35,000 ($27) for entrance to Van Buuren’s show last month, and this weekend’s Hardwell tickets will sell for the same amount.

Ko Sithu Pe Myint, whose Zeekwat Collective helped organize the We Are Connected festival, says that despite the cost, today’s generation are willing to pay higher prices because the DJs are oftentimes their age.

“The nature of EDM is in line with the nature of today’s generation,” he says, listing off a definition of “peace, love and dedication”.

“And most of the world’s top DJs are aged between 20 and 30. They show the millennial generation that everyone should pursue their dreams.”

For local DJ Kendrick, who regularly performs at the large Yangon festivals, Myanmar’s newfound love for EDM is about more than just a generational gap. He believes the genre strikes a chord with the national identity.

“I think most Myanmar people are stressed out,” he said. “Dancing and breaking free are what they crave. EDM gives them an outlet to lose themselves into and forget about what they’re facing for a moment of time.”

But with the urge to lose oneself often comes the temptation to abuse oneself, particularly with illegal substances: EDM festivals from Miami to Ibiza are notorious for drug use. At the 2014 Ultra festival in Miami, Florida, 72 percent of surveyed respondents admitting to consuming marijuana, cocaine, molly or ecstasy during the past week.

According to several anonymous sources Weekend interviewed, the seedier side of EDM culture is also seeping into Myanmar. One source said they had used ecstasy at a recent festival. Though expensive –about $75 per tablet – and hard to get, the source said “e” holds some appeal for a small class of wealthy festival-goers.

“You feel every detail of the beat,” the source said.

Most fans, however, are happy enough to be catching up with the rest of the music world in their quest for EDM. Already some are calling for a bigger, more elaborate festival with more DJs and stages.

“It’s good that so many EDM festivals are now coming to Myanmar, but I wish someone could collect all of the DJs into one festival – like ZoukOut or Ultra,” Myat Noe Oo said.