Music festival and conference «Airtime Asia»

   For four days the underground radio stations of Asia move into one stretch of the Vietnamese coast. More than 20 events run across more than 15 venues in Da Nang and Hoi An — cafés, beaches, a rice paddy, a cave-like arts centre. If you have wanted to hear what the continent actually sounds like right now, this is the shortest way to do it.

   Airtime describes itself as an independent, decentralised festival and music conference, built to bring Asia's underground radio platforms together for the first time. The organisers list more than 40 artists, broadcasters, labels and cultural practitioners from across the region.

   The platforms taking part have been announced:

   — Bangkok Community Radio, Cambodia Community Radio, Da Nang Community Radio;

   — Hong Kong Community Radio, Manila Community Radio, Seoul Community Radio, Ulaanbaatar Community Radio;

   — Enthusiast Place, Paradise Under the Sun, Room 303, The Shelter and Wild Pearl.

   Each day has a different shape. Daytime means talks and workshops, beachside label showcases, listening sessions in local cafés and shared meals in restaurants you would not find on your own. On Friday night the centre of Da Nang's nightlife district becomes a walkable circuit of eight club pavilions, each one programmed by a different Asian radio platform. On Saturday the whole festival moves 30 minutes south to Hoi An for workshops, a locally sourced dinner and live music in the middle of the rice fields. Sunday closes at a riverside community arts centre built into a cave-like structure, with showcases and a farewell cocktail hour at sunset.

   Saturday night is the peak. Ken Ishii, widely called the founding father of Japanese techno, plays Vietnam for the first time, alongside Red Pig Flower from Korea — also a Vietnam debut. In the second room, Linh Ku, the biggest name in homegrown Vinahouse, leads a drum and bass and deep house bill.

   The wider line-up includes Ocean Lam, Julie Marghilano, UN!X, DJ Bowlcut, Leland, Brent Burns, Holu, MJMA, YUMU, Jenn Chunes, Sacre, Rabbitdisco, SOS, Special T, JKIND, ANNSOLO, DJ Lawson and Sara ∞.

   This is aimed at people who follow electronic music closely, at people who work in it — DJs, broadcasters, promoters, label staff — and at anyone curious about where independent music in Asia is heading. The daytime programme argues the case; the nights let you dance on it.

   On tickets: you can buy a pass for the whole festival or pick individual events. The pass currently on sale is the Peak Overload tier at 1,900,000 ₫, available until 12 August. Single events cost far less — the «Dialogues in the Rice Fields» afternoon outside Hoi An is 150,000 ₫, and the closing rave in Hoi An is 350,000 ₫. Events are spread across two cities roughly half an hour apart, so check the schedule and plan your transport before you commit.

   Entry is for over-18s.

   Four days, two cities and a continent's worth of radio in one place — if you only take one music trip in Vietnam this year, this is the one with the most to show you. Get tickets