Phreaktion, Shanghai's leading drum 'n' bass party, is celebrating its two-year anniversary at bonbon tonight. Here is a short interview with its founder DJ Siesta who introduced drum 'n' bass to the city and has since brought in such big names like Goldie, LTJ Bukem, and Pendulum. She talks about Phreaktion and Shanghai's underground partying scene.

SH: Unlike other indie parties in town, Phreaktion brings in international names on a regular basis. Why's that? Do you consider these gigs successful?

Siesta: Yes I do. Timing and opportunity played a big part in our success. Unlike other underground promoters, we don't have a large DJ/MC crew. To keep the nights fresh and showcase what dnb truly is about, I feel it is necessary to bring the leading dnb names into China. Not only have we got a lot of the local punters interested, Phreaktion is now internationally recognized as one of Asia's leading dnb networks because of that.

SH: What difficulties have you encountered building up Phreaktion?

Siesta: I started promoting back in 1999 in Hong Kong. The biggest difficulty was the funding. Also, finding the right people to work with. Fortunately the situation is much better here in Shanghai, I have a very close crew. But I still need people with "special talents" - I can't do everything on my own!

SH: When you moved Phreaktion to bonbon, many questioned if it was a sell-out. What's your defense?

Siesta: The whole reason for me to promote dnb, is to expose the music to a larger audience. Locals especially. Bonbon provided the platform for me to do all that: The sound system, the punters, the funding. I need to give Bonbon props for taking a chance on a non-commercial genre of music. As long as I'm converting a few people each step of the way, I'm happy.
 
SH: Can you recall any independent parties that have failed and died in the past? And what were the reasons?

Siesta: Parties and promoters have gone defunct for a number of reasons, but I won't say they died because they failed. Reasons could be some of them had to leave China, or had other career priorities. I think all parties will live on as long as the promoters keep their heads down and do what they're doing without doing anything financially catastrophic (I speak from experience!).