CONCRETE JUNGLE – SE Asia’s Very Own Hardcore Fest Is Now On the World Map of HC Fests

Holy shit…if you’ve seen any of the IG stories, reels, photos, youtube links, of this past weekend of the inaugural CONCRETE JUNGLE held in Bangkok, you KNOW the people behind the fest (Blacklisted Productions/Holding On Records/Slamman Booking/Loudly Prefer) have CLEARLY added a brand new go to hardcore fest on the worldwide map of hardcore fests. From USA’s Sound and Fury/LDB/Tied Down/This is Hardcore (and so many others) to the UK’s Outbreak Fest/Northern Unfest to Japan’s Bloodaxe Fest to Europe’s Revolution Calling (and so many others)…we now have one that SE Asia can call their own…muthafuckin’ CONCRETE JUNGLE.

As a massive fan and stan of Asian hardcore, what was incredible about this fest was not just the international names that were part of the show (Xibalba, Merauder and Kickback) but it was the fact that all the big territories of the SE Asian scene was represented as well. Bands traveled from the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia to be part of this massive night…

Sean of Blacklisted Productions was kind enough to give us the deets of how this came to play in the first place. “The idea for Concrete Jungle started from realising that we currently don’t have a hardcore fest celebrating the South East Asian scene. The idea was conceptualised by me, Nerd and Farza of Blacklisted Productions. We thought about how it would make sense logistically and financially for everyone and Bangkok was the perfect option. We wanted to pay homage to all the people and bands we’ve worked with over the past few years. This was a celebration of everyone’s friendship and love. All the bands that played are bands that we are friends with and bands of the promoters we have worked with. Literally, a celebration of our friendship.”

From all the photos and the amount of people who are still talking about the experience an entire week later, we would have to agree that one of the things that was celebrated was friendship. Friendship through hardcore lasts a lifetime…

“We set up a first aid corner! Hahahaha…We knew the fest was 3 days and so people were going to be exhausted plus, our pits in Bangkok get wild. The first day we had 4 cases of people being sent to the first aid corner, the next day was 24 cases and on the very last day we had 64 cases!” – Gap, Holding On Records

Gap of Holding On Records added, “Blacklisted Productions is the main organizer of the fest but because it was being held in Bangkok, we hopped on to help connect all the logisitics along with Loudly Prefer as well. For example, the day before the fest started I went back and forth to the airport collecting bands 4 times. It was an insanely busy weekend but who cares! We LOVED doing it!”

As mentioned above, a week has passed and the entire Asian hardcore scene is in the midst of reminiscing through tons of videos, photos and writeups. So what are the reflections from the organizers themselves?

Sean: “The shows turned out amazing and exactly what we hoped it would be. All the bands played amazing sets and all the headliners were bands that hc kids from our side of the world want to see.

Twist of Cain and Merauder kicked off Day 1 of the fest at a high and the bar only got higher as Skourge and Kickback played the next day and ended off with Whispers and Xibalba. Every set popped off from the jump, everyone was just excited to be there and getting to watch a lot of the bands for the first time. The biggest pop from the fest was from Whispers, as expected. Videos from the set has been making its rounds on the internet. If that doesn’t get you excited for SEA hardcore, then it’s probably not for you. This year was supposed to be the pilot for what would most likely be a yearly thing from now on.”

Gap: “We set up a first aid corner! Hahahaha…We knew the fest was 3 days and so people were going to be exhausted plus, our pits in Bangkok get wild. The first day we had 4 cases of people being sent to the first aid corner, the next day was 24 cases and on the very last day we had 64 cases! We definitely don’t want to freak anyone out – none of these were serious. People were just exhausted or had minor issues happen and needed a little time out. The cool thing is – after 3 days of HEAVY music, we had ZERO fights. Sure, the videos look violent as fuck – but at the end of every set and every song people would come back together and laugh, hug, smile and pat each other on the back. It was such a beautiful thing to witness!

And when it comes to bands – they were all good man. It’s impossible to choose who got the biggest reaction for me but I loved Shockpoint, Moneybag, Mystique, Defy, and Whispers set. But seriously, every minute of every band’s set the entire weekend was completely crazy. HUGE shout to the crowd for going off for every band. MAD respect!”

Huge thank you to STUPOR STUDIO who traveled to Bangkok from the Philippines to help document this historic night…check ’em out below. In regards to what they witnessed, they stated, “It truly felt like SEA hardcore has finally arrived. It’s the shortest way that I can describe the whole thing! I’m sure down the road, stories will be told about these past 3 days, how tough-as-nails Southeast Asians ran hardcore on a hot summer weekend of 2024 in Bangkok, Thailand. We were all unstoppable and that was when the world knew that our time has finally come. For me, stand out western bands were definitely Merauder and Kickback. Both unicorns and with a feeling of appreciation from a lot of people in the room, myself included, cos we probably would never have been able to see them in this lifetime if it wasn’t for this show. In terms of Asian acts, seeing Destiny, Moneybag1387, Zip, Mystique, and Shockpoint play live were eye-openers for a lot of other attendees. Surprise appearances from xDetesterx and Losing End were chef’s kiss. The pit was bonkers too, someone said that if you arrived as an A-rank mosher, you definitely coming home S+ haha!”

And of course, to wrap this bitch up, we had to know what was in store for next year!

Sean: “Huge shoutout to our big homies; Gap from Holding On Records, Jino from Slamman Booking and Pikky of Loudly Prefer for helping us with everything to make this festival be an absolute success we owe it all to them. Now that everyone from outside of South East Asia, knows how hard we go. Drop us an email. Concrete Jungle is For Us, By Us.”

Gap: “I think Blacklisted Productions are already scheming for next year right now so we’re looking forward to making this an annual thing just like Bloodaxe, Northern Unfest, etc! So if it indeed happens in Bangkok again next year, Holding On Records will be a part of it! See you all next year at Concrete Jungle Fest 2025!”

DAY 1

DAY 2

DAY 3

Multicam Footage by Palesights: