Koh Phangan is famous as the party island of Thailand and although this beautiful place offers a lot more, it seems to remain that the hedonistic ways of the night-long into the morning party scene on Phangan has many years in it yet!
As the Phangan party scene grows and becomes more reputable within the dance music culture and community this brings with it International DJs and Producers who keep the flow of tunes up to date and evolving.
There is also now much more choice when it comes to styles and genres so that it caters to every raver no matter their taste.
So what are the main genres you’ll find at the parties here on Koh Phangan? Let us explain…
Trance and Psy-Trance
We’ll begin with the first electronic dance music to hit the sands of the island. The Trance party scene was the dominant scene on Koh Phangan island for many years and although now there are other genres, the island still attracts the Trance family from all over the world.
Psy-Trance comes from Goa Trance which obviously comes from Goa in India, with Psy-Trace it gets more Trippy in feel hence the ‘Psy’ meaning Psychedelic.
Psy-Trance has a big global following and is more like a big culture than just a music genre. Expect lots of dreadlocks, fractal artwork, tribal looking people and crystals merged all into the Psy-Trance scene.
This music genre is not for the faint hearted and if you haven’t heard it before you may be a bit confused but then something will click and you might get it, or you might not.
As the name suggests, Psychedelic Trance may put you in a Trance like state and this music creates a very unique energy on the dancefloor, it is almost primitive in the way that dancers react and you can get lost in it and create your own journey when at a Psy-Trance party.
Psy-Trance parties on Koh Phangan would be Shiva Moon, Blackmoon, Half Moon and there is one stage at The Full Moon Party every month still playing it!
House Music
House music has grown on Koh Phangan over the last years and slowly took over Trance in being the main electronic dance music here. Today, most of the parties in Baan Tai (the main party area) and all over the island are choosing to play this style of music. Some of the main parties on the Island that used to play Trance before such as the Jungle Experience and the Pirates Bar are now playing Deep and Tech House.
House music has a four, four beat and a prominent kick drum, it’s probably the most accessible dance music for most people and there are many other different sub-genres that come under the ‘House’ umbrella. Deep House has nice soulful vibes and Tech House is more dark with elements of Techno.
Parties playing House music on Koh Phangan are Jungle Experience, Loi Lay, Hollystone, Guys Bar, Eden and Maya.
Techno
Going nicely alongside House Music with many parties here playing both genres in one night, Techno has crept into the Phangan Party scene offering a more hardcore feel to the dancefloors so serious ravers can continue full power until the morning light!
Techno is also a four, four beat but can be more repetitive than House with not so much melody and darker deeper flavours mixed in. Generally it can be described as heavier than House music.
You can find Techno at Jungle Experience, Guys Bar, Eden, sometimes Loi Lay and other underground independent parties on Koh Phangan.
EDM
The most mainstream of them all would be EDM however you will find that this music only rears its head properly here once a month at the Full Moon Party where it dominates like a monster.
EDM is music for the masses, often using remixes of commercial pop tunes to create a high energy music that everyone can dance to and pump their fists.
Expect a lot of sing-a-long anthems which are not so much melodic but more to get drunk and larey to with your mates and a bucket of sangsom and coke.
If you want EDM Music then head to the Full Moon Party or some of the Hostels for the warm-up parties.
Drum n Bass
As always the under-dog of the electronic dance music scene remains below the surface yet still present here on Koh Phangan. You used to be able to find a lot more DNB here but with its niche style, the clubs that did play it have slowly gone or changed genre.
Drum n Bass is on the off beat and so is harder to understand than a four four beat such as House, but for those who like to go off the beaten track, DNB will remain strong in their hearts and has a big following worldwide and a small cult one here on Phangan.
The island has hosted some big DNB names in the past such as Goldie who is based in Phuket, Fabio, LTJ Bukem and more. Nowadays however you’ll only find Drum n Bass at Sunrise Bar in Haad Rin for the Full Moon Party but it’s well worth the visit if you need your fix.
Enjoy the party scene responsibly!
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