From her humble beginnings as a rural country girl from Nakhon Ratchasima and working jobs in factories and IT to becoming one of Thailand's most prominent and leading female underground techno DJs today, Seephrai Mungphanklang, better known as Nakadia, was first exposed to the techno scene during her first trip to Europe in 2002, when she stepped inside a German club and saw German music producer Marusha perform. With a love for partying and techno music, it was this moment where her friend and manager Sebastian Lehmann encouraged her to become a DJ. She decided to learn the craft, buying vinyls and turntables, where she eventually started her career by DJ'ing at Koh Samui before moving to Berlin, Germany where she would ultimately perform all over the world to become the global sensation she is today. She previously performed for one night at Violett in Thong Lor back in May 25, and has recently been featured in Mixmag's latest episode of the Global Dancefloor documentary series, which focuses on three female DJs (Nakadia, Mendy Indigo and X0809) pushing the techno scene in Thailand. The techno queen is now set to embark on a European summer tour later this year which includes playing sets at world-famous gigs such as Elrow Ibiza and Tomorrowland, becoming the first Thailand DJ to play at the prestigious event.
Why the stage name Nakadia?
My real name is Seephrai Mungphanklang. When my friend and manager, Sebastian Lehmann, had the idea for me to become a DJ, he already wanted to start marketing me (laughs). He already wanted to make a website and had wanted call my site Lady Seephrai. I didn't want my site to be called ladyseephrai.com. And Seephrai for me, is a very old-school name. I wanted to stray away from my name. My mother didn't want me to change my name and I don't want to do that so the next best thing was that I started to play around with words while I was working at an internet cafe at the time. Somehow, I thought of 'dia' from the word 'dear' or 'my love' and the phrase 'na ka'. I played around with these words up and down until I ended up with Nakadia, like I would introduce myself as 'I am Love' (Dear, na ka or Nakadia, na ka) It's not important but I think it's a nice name and so far nobody has been complaining.
Why did you choose techno music? What is it about techno music that you like?
I chose techno music because I can get a feel for the music. I don't want my job as a DJ to become a job. It's a lifestyle, and I have to make my lifestyle happy and I have to play music however I like. I found techno to be all about the feeling, there's so much emotion and so much detail in the music that producers make. If you play mainstream music, you can play that for a few months and you will eventually get bored of it. I don't want to be a boring DJ, I want to have a happy and enjoyable lifestyle. I also wanted to be different. When I began to DJ here in Thailand, there weren't that many female DJs. Maybe they play in hotels or somewhere I don't know but for clubs there weren't that many male or female DJs playing techno at the time. I want to show that women can DJ, not because they are female but that they have real talent and skills to play music.
What do you think of the techno scene in Thailand then and now? Do you think more people are listening to techno music here now?
Now I feel Thai people are starting to listen to this kind of music but slowly. Back then, I played around Sukhumvit 23, in a club that housed only 300 people or so, there were people attending. The owner of the club didn't care about making money, he let the DJ play whatever kind of music they want. So I had my chance to show my skills and music style. I educate people to my style of music whether it's techno or underground tech house. Over time, I feel like the scene is improving as more and more people attend techno events. Most of the audience at first were farangs until eventually Thai. Last year, I played at Waterzonic, and it was a very big event for me because I had a chance to introduce techno to the Thai crowd. Some people get it and some don't but there was discussion about the genre. Whatever they talk about, I believe that people who don't get it, one day they will. I think as a scene in Thailand we are doing well. We don't need 10,000 people for every techno night. Now we have festivals like Kolour in the Park and venues like Violett where DJs can showcase underground music to a small crowd of 300-400 people. I'd think Thai people may not get in but I believe they are open-minded and they will get it one day. The scene is definitely growing. They may not know when to raise their hands during the right time of the music but in time they will know.
You've made multiple tracks throughout your career. Where do you find inspiration to create your music?
I think inspiration comes from everywhere I travel. I would say I'm lucky that I'm able to travel because other local artists begin their career by taking time to produce music and once they make a name for themselves they are able to tour around the world. For me I got to travel around the world, getting inspiration from every country and city I visit.
You travel a lot. Is there any gig or place or country that you have yet to play?
For me, my dream festival that I would love to perform in is the Awakenings Festival in Amsterdam and Time Warp Festival in Mannheim, Germany. Talking about the scene, the people I'm always looking forward to perform for them is the Eastern European crowd, especially Romania, they grew up with techno. Whatever generation they are from, you don't have to explain to them what techno is.
You are set to play at Tomorrowland, how do you feel about being the DJ to represent Thailand and for the techno scene as a whole?
I am really proud to be the one and the first and I hope future generations will be invited to play at such events and bring the Thai flag over there. I am very happy to put the Thai flag over there. It's like going on the moon and marking it for the Thai people. I saw a lot of people carrying the Thai flag on the dancefloor over there but now I get to bring the flag up there in the DJ booth.
Now that you have been featured in Mixmag's Global Dancefloor Documentary series, do you feel like more Thai people are into it more than ever or do you think it can still be improved?
I think the scene is already thriving before Mixmag's video, it's always growing step-by-step. Every time when I come back to play in Thailand, I see more Thai people come to the dancefloor each time because then I only saw farangs, I never saw any Thai faces at all. With the growing trend of social media, it's a lot easier now for people to discover new genres of electronic music so I think that helps.
For people who are inspired to take up DJ'ing as a successful profession, what do you have to say to them?
It is not difficult to become a DJ at all today. Back then you had to close your eyes and find the beat when playing with vinyls. But today, technology makes everything so easy, some DJs can just press play. I think the difficult part for DJs is how to find bookings and become recognised on an international scale. Not you only have to be a DJ, you have be a good producer too, and that takes a lot of time, a lot of years. You also have to have a good marketing team and agency, getting yourself out there and meeting people. You also have to decide what style of music you want to play so you can walk in the right path for your career to make a big success.
