Hi! Who are you?
Feed the Dragon! The founding crew is Mengzy, DJ Fu, Hocknell, and Justin Lim but we have a wider family that make up FTD, like our resident photographer Jake Aaron Morton and resident DJs, like MMEE, the producer who made ‘Headtop’, the first release on the label.
What’s your ethos?
Building community and infrastructure. The bass scene here took off during Covid because the borders were basically shut but we had minimal lockdowns internally. A whole new generation got involved. Feed the Dragon came out from that really exciting period. Post-Covid, we want to harness that momentum – help protect it and build an infrastructure that inspires people to get involved in the culture: DJ, make tunes, art…
Also, we want to rep Asia in a way that feels authentic to people from or with a connection to this part of the world, which is why our visuals nod to the Asian video game culture that we grew up with. That’s also one of the reasons why we’ve got a mascot for our logo. Mascots, especially cute ones, are deeply embedded in Asian visual culture and branding.
Tell us your origin story?
We launched Feed the Dragon in January 2023 and about a year in we floated the idea of starting a label after being inspired by tunes we’d heard from producers in Hong Kong and around the region. Back to the idea of building infrastructure, starting a label felt like a really powerful way for us to walk the walk of our ethos and vision.
Tell us about your local scene…
We’re based in Hong Kong. Although the scene is small compared to a city like London, there’s a lot of diversity here when it comes to the dance music scene and a lot of amazing, really motivated crews. Just bass-wise, there’s nights like Magnetic Soul, Dark Metaz, Slimefest, Sticky Fried Vibes, S2, Umami, 0159, Yee, and more!
Another great thing about being based here is being able to connect with bass crews in other Asian cities, like our first international collab which was with Planet Turbo in Seoul. There’s a kind of community vibe on a regional scale when it comes to collaboration and exchange which is sick.
Do you have a specific sound or vibe?
Our nights span the full bass spectrum from UKG to breaks, 140, dubstep, jungle, drum & bass… and we usually programme things to kick off at around 130 bpm and work their way up throughout the night. With the label, we’re gonna have the same approach with covering a wide range of styles that we vibe with.
Do you have a regular artist roster – who can we see releasing with you?
Since we’re a new label, we don’t have a regular roster yet but we’re really excited about developing MMEE, who produced our first single ‘Headtop’ featuring Killa P.
With FTD002 we’re bringing in Azumai and Vecsille who are two up and coming Japanese producers. Azumai previously released with Critical and RAM’s sister label ProgRAM, and we’re also buzzing to be working with Vecsille as this is his first official release.
We’ve had our eye on Vecsille for a while because he’s been making waves in the Tokyo underground where his sets have been smashing it. So, being a part of his journey as his first label means a lot to us!
Tell us about your A&R process…
So far it’s been really organic; working with people we know and who are in our network. We’re keen to work with people in Asia and also the Asian diaspora – so if you’re reading this and that’s you, get in touch!
What makes you different from other labels?
Ultimately, the genres that we’re passionate about are UK in origin and the music on the label will resonate to bass heads regardless of where they’re listening in the world. What makes us different boils down to our mission and POV of being based in Hong Kong and having a multicultural crew (Chinese, British, Singaporean, Dutch, Malaysian…) that guides our decisions on a DNA-basis.
What does it take to run a bass music label in 2025?
Caffeine, blood, sweat, and tears.
What have you got coming up we should look out for?
In April, we’re doing the official Hong Kong launch party for Outlook Festival for the third year in a row. And, of course, FTD002 and FTD003 which we’ll be rolling out over the rest of this year!
