Phanganist's good friend Naq is a frequent visitor here at HQ. He is always working very hard helping others and promoting anyone or anything good for Koh Phangan. We managed to get him to stay a little longer today to have a real good catch up so that we can show you guys what this awesome dude gets up to. So, with our nice cold cans of lemonade that Naq has brought round we present to you, Naq - I freak da Rhytme...
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What is your koh Phangan story?
I started coming to Koh Phangan as I was being booked and played at Fusion on Koh Samui so I would come over and play at parties here also. Then last year I moved here permanently. I love the people that come here for the parties, music and everything. In samui it is more like a big city, like other big cities in Thailand and more commercial, this island is more underground which I prefer.
Tell us about your involvement with Jungle Experience?
I have played in jungle for more than 4 years now and have had some crazy experiences. Last year when I came back I went to see Pi Chi and Georgia, I told them I had moved to Phangan and that I wanted to work with Jungle Experience and they really opened the door for me, I now work for Jungle full time. All my life I have loved music and everything that goes with it like setting up the party's, organising the Dj’s etc. At Jungle this is what I do, I take care of the acts, meet them at the port, anything they want I will take care of. I make sure that equipment is set up correctly and is ready and check the Dj’s don’t get disturbed when they play. When there is no party I take care of all of the artists, help with building stuff, painting and even carrying stuff around site. I like to help the Thai and Burmese workers, I am always on site helping. I like to help and be involved with everything, posters, tickets, collecting stuff and I do promotion for Jungle on the internet which takes a lot of time.
Tell us about your company island entertainment?
It is a service for all, for resorts and venues e.g. places like Slip n Fly, to promote all the events and sell tickets for all of the parties in Phangan. It has been going for just under one year, the progress is nice, slowly slowly, as I am just getting on my feet, these things take time plus I am always busy with jungle, Dj’s and my music etc.
Where on Koh Phangan have you played and apart from Jungle experience, which parties are your favourite?
I have played at most of the parties on Phangan at one point or another but I particularly like the vibe at Merkaba, Lighthouse and of course Loilay.
What do you think about the Koh Phangan music and party scene?
For me it is very good, you can find anything you like from progressive to tech and deep house. You also have the Full Moon for commercial music. There are lots of different genres and venues and Koh Phangan is going up and up with its reputation especially with the airport coming.
What genres of music do you play?
It depends what time and which party, it can be from deep to tech house and some techno.
What are your current and future projects?
My main project for the moment is to work with Jungle Experience, to work with all of the artists which is harder than it sounds because you have a lot of strong characters and egos to control. I am also working on a video, collaborating with Djs like Rob Gritton, James Trystan, Rory Gallagher and myself, our music track is number 5 for the jungle video which has all the artists in it. I am promoting the video outside of Phangan but that’s a future story! I’m going to continue my collaborations with the Djs coming to the Jungle and I want to try to work with all the people who come! I have music projects with Miguel Matoz, Rob Gritton and Geoffrey Cravotta and am working on my own record label which should be ready in a few months. And of course I will continue collaborating with Phanganist.
What do you feel you have brought to the Phangan scene?
A Belgian flower of peace n love.
How do you spend you free time on the island?
I go everywhere. I visit friends, go to the beach, pool or the mountains. A lot of my time is spent on music, I don’t generally have a lot of time for myself because of my work for Jungle.
How did you get to where you are today?
Working hard at what I want to do, I made my name in Belgium then started to get booked in different countries so I am lucky that my music has let me travel, I feel lucky to have played in the countries I have.I have to work hard as there is a lot of competition in the industry, I am still old skool about the music and have already gone from vinyl to cd. If there is something else I can do then I will do it, I just really love to collaborate and work with other people.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
When I see life in europe, I don’t want to go back. I love Koh Phangan and any time I am away I always look forward to returning. There is something special here, people need to come and check out the atmosphere and energy of this island. There will be and already is many new artists for me to take care of, the younger ones. Because I have travelled a lot with my own Djing I have a lot of contacts so I can help these new artist’s. I want to put the name of Jungle Experience everywhere I play, I am going to do a road tour next year from June to July and promote jungle.
What is your life philosophy?
Life can go up n down, it’s life, especially for an artist. But for me music is life.
I live with music and I am happy.
My flip flops and my music.
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