City Nomads Radio: Hibiya Line
PUBLISHED April 15th, 2017 06:00 am | UPDATED May 18th, 2020 04:58 pm
For starters, Hibiya Line not Japanese. Behind the stage name, Dan is a Swiss-Vietnamese guy who started playing live acts mixing house and techno in his hometown of Lausanne, Switzerland in 2006.
In 2013, he founded The Observatory, an underground club that has gained a reputation in Vietnam and Southeast Asia for being dedicated to quality dance music. Hibiya Line’s involvement behind the scenes and in the DJ booth has allowed him to hone his skills and perceptions of the emotions and dynamics of the crowd.
Where are you from?
I was born and raised in Vevey Switzerland, 20km from Lausanne, by the Lake Léman that they use to call the Geneva Lake, but that not correct!
Describe your surroundings right now.
I’m now living in Ho Chi Minh City, South Vietnam. I run a nightclub called The Observatory that is focused on underground House, Techno and Disco music.
What was your earliest memory of music?
My first memory of music is related to these books you had when we were kids that came with an audio tape and you would have interludes in between the chapters. There were also music lessons at school, themes of animated kids’ television shows, and the first video games on the Nintendo NES.
Why do you call yourself Hibiya Line?
Previously my DJ name was just my real name Dan. When I arrived in HCMC, there was already a couple of DJs called Dan so it was confusing, I needed to choose a new name quickly. The first thing that came to my mind was one of my trip in Japan in 2003 when I was in that subway line called Hibiya Line. I was listening to music and suddenly had a lot of ideas and started to listen tracks I already knew in a new way. It’s also the deepest line of the subway system in Tokyo.
What’s the electronic scene like in Ho Chi Minh City?
The electronic music scene is pretty small here, if we’re talking about the underground side of it. It’s mostly run by foreigners and overseas Vietnamese, and there are only a few venues programming with this type of music. We see more locals getting interested, though the growth is quite slow. Over the last 3 years, there were a lot of improvements and more people became involved, so we’ve gradually started to have something that we can call a scene. Also, Hanoi had a lot of developments over the last years, with new venues and festivals.
How would you describe The Observatory to someone who has never been before?
You know what an observatory is, right? So if you want to travel into space, join us!
Is getting out from behind the booth and dancing on the floor still something you consider essential for the growth of DJs?
Of course! How do you want to make people dance if you yourself cannot dance?
What do you do to prevent the endless party loop from getting stale?
Keep on doing bookings that are a bit off tracks that excite people and letting to the Djs and the audience the most freedom we can.
[mixcloud https://www.mixcloud.com/citynomadsradio/city-nomads-radio-35-hibiya-line/ width=100% height=120 hide_cover=1 light=1]
Tell us more about this curated mixtape you’ve put together.
This mixtape was totally improvised, recorded live at the opening of an event at The Observatory. I most of the time starts a night with slow BPM. On that mix, I felt that I wanted to play tracks that normally are not easily to play in clubs. I let myself be guided by the atmosphere of each tracks to put the next one, and here is the results. Enjoy!
Any last words?
Don’t forget that you will never be too old to dance.
