Two dead after Thailand’s Wonderfruit Festival
At least two attendees of last weekend’s Wonderfruit Festival in Thailand have been reported dead, according to local reports.
Swiss national Guillaume Wyss, better known as Bangkok-based DJ Boogie G, was found unresponsive on the festival grounds on the morning of 16 December, with witnesses reporting that an associate attempted to wake him before resuscitation attempts from medics on the grounds failed.
Wyss, who played an early Friday morning set at the festival from midnight to 2 am, was taken to Bangkok Pattaya Hospital at 5 am and pronounced dead, according to Coconuts Bangkok.
“We’re devastated by the loss of our husband, father, son, brother and friend Guillaume Wyss aka Boogie G,” his wife Pich Wyss wrote on social media. “He was loved and he loved you all.”
A veteran in Bangkok’s underground music scene, Wyss was a founding partner of Preduce Skateboards and hosted a slew of popular nightlife events such as the long-running Nite Ride series at Studio Lam. Wyss founded party promoters Music Makes Me High and Qommon and also performed regularly at venues and events such as Tropic City and Transport.
“The investigations are underway to determine the cause of death”
Indonesian national Kimo Rusna, who opened Bali’s first wake park, was also pronounced dead after being brought to the Pattaya Memorial Hospital from the festival. His wife Dewa Sri Luce Rusna told the Coconuts Bangkok: “He died at hospital because of a heart attack. We are currently in grieving. Thank you so much for the attention.”
Deputy Station Chief Lt. Col. Anuchet Katsomboon told the publication that witnesses had reported seeing Rusna fall from the stands to the grounds at one of the festival venues, with preliminary investigations determining that the wakeboarder was under the influence of drugs or narcotics. An autopsy is underway.
Lt. Ying Siriyakorn of Chonburi’s Nong Prue police said today they were investigating one death and looking into reports of other fatalities.
“We are deeply saddened to have learnt that two attendees who fell ill at Friday’s night’s Wonderfruit passed away in the early hours of Saturday morning at Bangkok Hospital Pattaya and Pattaya Memorial Hospital,” spokesperson Muanprae Wannasri said in a statement. “The investigations are underway to determine the cause of death. Wonderfruit are working closely with the authorities to help with any queries.”
“Both cases had been very quickly brought to the attention of on-site medical staff, who assessed and treated the patients immediately, before they were taken by ambulance to the hospital,” the festival wrote.
The 7th edition of Wonderfruit Festival took place at The Fields at Siam Country Club in Pattaya between 15 and 18 December, and was attended by 25,000 people.
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Polygon introduces ‘world-first’ 360° 3D sound stage
Polygon, a UK-based start-up which claims to have invented “the world’s first fully immersive 3D 360° sound stage”, will officially launch Polygon Live at Wonderfruit festival in Thailand next month.
Designed around an L-Acoustics processor, the Polygon Live arena “changes the status quo” by giving performers – who are first flown to Polygon’s London office to ‘pre-spatialise’ their music – “the ability to perfectly spatialise sounds within, but also to physically move sounds around, a space”, putting the fan at the centre of immersive surround-sound experience.
Christian Heil, CEO and founder of L-Acoustics, says: “Sound is by definition a spatialised medium. It’s how the human species naturally experiences sound: detailed, multidimensional and localised. Today at concerts we should instead be asking, ‘Why is the sound not spatialised?’ Until recently, the answer to this question was because we didn’t have a user-friendly and cost-effective ecosystem to reproduce natural, 3D sound.”
“Polygon and Wonderfruit have showcased L-ISA technology since 2017 and can be considered pioneers in the use of spatialised sound in the electronic and dance music world,” Heil adds. “EDM is a thrilling application for L-ISA because the genre does not tie the physical localisation of sound to a known and recognisable instrument such as a violin or a drum kit. This opens up tremendous freedom to have sound travel, shapeshift and ricochet, independently of where the sound is made.
“Today at concerts we should instead be asking, ‘Why is the sound not spatialised?’”
“L-ISA becomes a kind of instrument, enveloping fans in entirely new sensations and perceptions. It’s exciting and Polygon is at the forefront of a sonic and creative revolution that is only just beginning to unfold.”
Polygon CEO Nico Elliott adds: “After many years researching 3D sound we are excited to officially launch Polygon Live. We believe that Polygon will redefine how live music is experienced and set a new benchmark for the industry.”
At Wonderfruit this year, Polygon Live will take the form of a bamboo stage designed by lighting designer/architect Visual Systems, also featuring scent dispersion, pyrotechnics and tubed LED lighting.
The Polygon Live line-up at Wonderfruit includes leading electronic musicians and DJs including Be Svendsen, Luis Rosenberg, Viken Arman Alban Endlos, Martha Van Straaten and Matanza.
Wonderfruit 2019 takes place from 12 to 16 December at Siam Country Club in Pattaya, Chonburi.
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