Time Out meets Sunju Hargun

Born and raised in Bangkok, Sunju is a DJ and producer who has loved non-commercial music since he was young. The music lover has appeared behind the deck of several respected venues across the globe, including Locals District in India and Chi Wow Wah Town in Australia. He’s also a mainstay in the Bangkok club scene.

Sunju is also music director at infamous club Safe Room and one of the masterminds behind Karma Klique, a charity-minded event organizer that he co-founded with six other friends back in 2016. Karma Klique’s events, such as Karma Kruise and Karma Kastle, gained popularity in no time.

This esteemed talent avoids categorizing his music into a specific genre. "The thing that I always say to people is that I don't really know what I play now. Everyone thinks that I play techno, but through time, the music that I play becomes more unidentified,” he explains. “Like when you read a book, you don't really know what you're reading. You just have to go with the story. I like to think of my music like that. It's an open book, you never know what’s gonna come next."

Sunju Hargun 

What do you think of the scene now?

I've lived in Bangkok for so long that I feel like I've lived different chapters of Bangkok's nightlife. It's always gone up and down. New people, new DJs, new clubs. I don’t really like the word “scene.” I like to call it a community because I feel like we are the people that bring music together. The scene is our place, but the community is what drives it. So I think the community is really good now. 

Techno, tech-house, acid house and other subgenres within electronic music seem to be emerging from the underground in Bangkok. Why do you think that is?

Asia, for me, has a certain charm. For me, it's the way our religion is. Buddhism is all about freedom of expression. It's about soul, love, and passion, so I think this goes really well with the music. It's how we are as a people. We're very loving. We always wanna share. 

Also, I think it's because everyone feels that they’ve become a part of this. You know, when you're in the electronic music community, you really feel like you're part of the family. And that's a good thing. Because ten years ago, we couldn't do that. So now that we can, It's a blessing for us. But I still feel that the only way to make Bangkok grow is to clear out our political situation since the clubs have to close super early. That's the only problem.

Catch Sunju Hargun at Safe Room, Beam, and his Karma Klique events.