The long-awaited build-up to this year’s Fly To The Moon festival has now begun, and the dates you need to have in your diary are December 28th 2025 to January 2nd 2026. Boasting out-of-this-world scenery coupled with exotic stage design and the finest domestic and international DJ talent, the island destination of Koh Mak is transformed for the full five-day gathering. As the excitement is brewing up for the next edition, we harken back to last December when we embarked on the 5-day journey to end 2024.
Thailand is fast becoming a go-to destination for electronic music heads, and with its capital, Bangkok, also being the jumping-off point for the Far East and Australia, there is an infinite number of adventures to be had. With this in mind, we decided to escape the unforgiving winter period over New Year for the heat of Thailand and Fly To The Moon.
Situated on the island of Koh Mak off the Trat coast, this small but perfectly sized island is as close to Cambodia as it is Thailand, and before arriving, the images looked out of this world. The pictures do not do it justice at all. From December 28th to January 2nd, a fully immersive festival experience was waiting for us, but certainly one that we had never encountered before.
Getting to the island is no mean feat; with the phrase “planes, trains, and automobiles” springing to mind, we took the two-leg flight to Bangkok, but once there, there are a few different options available to get to Koh Mak. The more costly, but ultimately quicker route, would be to fly from Bangkok to Trat, and from there you need to get a boat to the island. Alternatively, you can choose to hire a range of automobiles to travel to Trat and then take a boat. We chose the latter, which, while taking longer (around 4-5 hours), we were able to fully absorb ourselves in the lush green scenery, which we were met with as soon as we left the Bangkok city limits.
Navigating the islands dotted around Thailand can only be done via the network of waterways serviced by fleets of ferries and boats. So once we were safely loaded onto the speedboat at the Trat ferry pier, it wasn’t long before we were skimming between outcroppings of green islands; it was like a scene from James Bond unfolding before us. Arriving at the pier at Koh Mak, we were given a timely reminder of the special time of year we were beginning our journey, as the date was December 27th, and our journey began only the day before. That reminder was a decorated Christmas tree and a pile of presents sitting at the very top of the short pier, and as the festival runs from December 28th through to the new year, not a single chance was missed to celebrate this special time of the year.
After a good night’s rest at our seafront villa at Koh Mak Resort, it was time to dive headlong into the festival, and there was plenty to be had. Beginning on December 28th, each day would see the festival move location around the island. Aside from the music, this was by far one of the best aspects of the festival, as the island was not big, it was very easy to get between each day’s location. This was also the perfect excuse to explore the island, and luckily for us, the opening night’s party was just a stone’s throw from our villa.
Taking charge of sunset with a live set was Chalo and perfectly harnessing the waning rays of the Koh Mak sun. Perhaps one of the most important performances of the festival, as this was the opening set at the opening party, and he hit just the right vibe to ease everybody out of their villas and into the party mood. Following on is Thai artist Praw, and continuing to set the scene for the week, and the haunting vocals of Bjork helped to frame the stunning sunset that seemed to magically develop around us. Eclectic rare grooves perfectly suited the diverse crowd that was already picking their spots on the dance floor and the surrounding pristine beach. Flicking between pumping house to blistering acid, “Bounce To The Beat (Tee’s Freeze Mix)” by Todd Terry & Sound Design was a particular highlight.
Hitting the midpoint on the opening night, and it was clear that the crowd were there to party, and Atipik boss Teodora Von Context was only too happy to oblige. Deep dubby house soon gave way to percussive house music complete with equally big bass lines, vocals, and keys. The disco ball flickering carelessly across the smiling faces of the first night crowd, with tantalising notes of green that intermittently wafted across the beach, only added to the chilled vibe. With the vibe heading skyward, Thai selector Meltmode steps up to the decks to deliver and he caused a raucous from the outset. Producing big whoops and cheers, there was rousing energy from the start, especially when man of the moment Tino made an appearance in his set with “Di Amore”.
This feel-good house music ensured the first-day crowd were locked and was even enticed up on stage to bring the party into even closer quarters. This would be an element that would become a regular feature throughout the festival. Closing out the day would be UK artist and an integral part of the setup of the Bangkok-based Transport crew, Mr. Mowgli. Being a dab hand at detonating a dancefloor, and punchy, timeless house, perfectly suited the atmosphere of the up-for-it crowd. Peppering his set with classics like Future Sound of London’s “Papua New Guinea” did not seem out of place in idyllic surroundings such as this, and the crowd were sent home with a massive smile on their face with Oddysee’s “Don’t Tell Me Tell Her” slinking around their heads.
The next day, there was no rest for the wicked, as the infamous Fly To the Moon boat party would soon be departing. So, jumping out of bed and shaking off the cobwebs of the night before, we jumped in one of the island’s open-air taxis and hot-footed it to the other side of the island to meet the rest of our festival crew. This would prove to be one of the pivotal parties of the festival, as this was not a part of the main gathering, but instead this was an additional party that required a separate ticket. When I say this would prove pivotal, the boat was large, but it was sold out many weeks previous, so this meant that new friendships being formed would be an organic and welcome byproduct of this close quarters party. No sooner had we set sail than Thai selector Jayja took to the decks, but as the surrounding scenery was just too good to miss, we took to the top deck to listen to the feel-good soundtrack as we cruised between the outcropping of lush islands.
Next in the decks was another top Thai DJ, Pam Anantr, who kept the thronging crowds bouncing for the duration of her set with ease. Then came the final set, which landed with French artist Richard Fribert, who switched up the vibe with each passing track. Keeping the crowd on their toes, he dipped between upbeat house, squelchy acid, and disco weapons that kept the crowd guessing, but most importantly, grooving for the duration. The music alone was enough, but the super-friendly crowd was perhaps one of the most important factors. This would be a constant throughout the festival, but sharing this special party with people from all over the world who had made the trip to this paradise with one thing in mind, and that was to have fun. There was, of course, the stunning scenery, and when the boat stopped so people could jump off the top deck into the pristine bluey blue-green waters below, this friendly atmosphere seemed to effortlessly jump up a notch at that point. With each person getting graded on their jumps and dives, this afternoon on the seas would set the tone for the rest of the festival.
Once docked back at the pier, it was time to disembark and make our way to the after-party at Cinnamon Resort. One of the more traditional resorts on the island, the large open-air venue, lined by huge palms, perfectly framed the party space for the evening. With Ciriya from Thailand and Jimin from Korea having already set the scene, it is now the turn of Japan’s Ground to take charge of the party. Taking aim with a more hypnotic sound, the Osaka native complemented the lush green background with a slew of wide-screen tracks that helped to carry the already thronging crowd to the next level. With a molecular level of sound curation, each track had an integral part to play in setting the scene for the rest of the party. With tracks such as Timo Mass’s “Subtellite” and Audion’s stone-cold classic “Mouth To Mouth”, the surrounding palms that towered over all corners of the stage were brought to life by the excellent lighting show.
Ground’s set was more like a concert than a DJ set due to the meticulous selections, but this only helped to set the stage even further. Next to take to the decks was Fly To The Moon resident and logistical mastermind Jirus, and he used the previous set like a springboard from which to launch his breaks heavy sonic shells. By this point, he had drawn a huge crowd, which had gathered as close to the decks as possible and stretched right to the very back of the grassy dancefloor. This almost tangible connection between artist and crowd is one of the defining elements of FTTM and one that always brings out the best in both performer and clubber. Quickly shifting up through the gears, Jirus soon began dropping layer upon layer of screw face bass on the crowd and the crowd lapped up every single beat. With another epic day in the bag, we took the chance to conserve some energy for the next few days and began heading back to our home base of Koh Mak Resort.
As our villa had one of the most enviable views on the island, the morning after the night before was never a chore, and we were able to dust off the brain fog with a leisurely dip in the palm-lined sea. As Koh Mak is so small, it was possible to get from one side of the island to other relatively easy. This meant that there was never too much pressure timewise to get where we needed to be for each day’s party, so we took this opportunity to check out the next resort along from us – Prompakdee Resort. While not part of the official festival they were serving some very tasty Thai food and cocktails, and also had DJs spinning very nice deep music. As we chose this close-by bar to hang out at while not at the festival, we were inducted into the DJ’s large crew that was made up of English and Irish expats visiting from their respective locations in Australia. This was also in keeping with the spirit of the festival, where I doubt anybody went home from this festival without a long list of new friends.
Today was the day that the festival would step up a gear, with the action shifting to perhaps one of the most visually stunning resorts on the itinerary. The Mak resort featured a breathtaking view of the north side of the island that looked out towards Koh Chang and the smaller archipelago islands. This would prove to be one of the more club-based parties of the festival and when we arrived at the party the deep house vibes from Jakes-Hid was already drawing a crowd ready to dance. The bamboo and wooden pool area was made for a party of this nature, with huge open doors that, on one side, led to the welcoming pool and on the other a vast space dedicated to housing the dancefloor. The high temperatures were balanced perfectly with a sultry breeze that wafted throughout the party, allowing the dancers the luxury of having a contained soundstage as well as the illusion of being outside at the same time.
Next to take to the decks would be our very own resident – TODD. With a keen ear for grooves of all shapes and sizes, the seasoned selector guided the growing crowd through deep techy house, garage flecked house, and through to more crowd-focused bangers such as DJ Swisha’s rousing “Club Megamixxx”, which understandably received a huge reaction. With an up for it crowd now formed all around the decks, TODD closed up his set with the then unreleased classic minimal leaning bomb “Trixie” from Det Gode Selskab co-founder Tod Louie. Before handing off to Transport’s Seelie, the Scottish digger rightly took delivery of a well-deserved round of applause for the last 2 hours of music.
Next up was Bangkok-based UK artist Seelie, and from the outset, he had the crowd lapping up his high-energy combination of house and disco flecked heaters. Having played a pivotal part in the development of the local scene, he has brought all his experience from the UK scene to Thailand. Expertly raising the temperature, he soon handed off to rising star Thai artist Elaheh, who was soon thrust into the boiler room DJ booth. With the wicker lamp shades perfectly framing the decks, she quickly stamped her mark on the night with a robust, techy footprint typified by Sound Of the Suburbs’ deep bass tones of “Beautifly”. With another top set in the bag and the night already at fever pitch, More Rice Records co-founder Sarayu steps up to the decks.
Picking up where Elaheh left off, Sarayu was soon in full control of the now bulging dance space. With the crowd now in peak time party mode, every finely weighted mix was met with a sea of swaying, smiling faces. From scene setters like Kriece’s remix of Stallos’ “Weasel” to the bombastic Force Mass Motion’s “Check It Out”, the crowd were now fully in the zone. As with all great DJ sets, especially from the headliner, there is always some curveballs along the way, and the face melter of the night arguably came via Mr Oizo’s “Flat Beat”. A stone-cold classic that never fails to hit the spot, and when adapted to the acid-tinged selections from Sarayu, this one nearly tore the roof off when those warping bass tones took hold.
Having been sent home with hearts full and happy and the warm-up to the main event package neatly in our memories, it was time for the last party of the last party of the year. With there only being one stage each day of the festival, there was a real community feeling throughout. Choosing to conserve some energy for later in the day, we began our day in a similar fashion to each day before it, with a short barefoot walk from our villa to the beach. As much as Fly To The Moon is about music and connecting with like-minded souls, this trip is very much about reconnecting with nature and Thailand is one of the most naturally beautiful places on earth.
With this particular New Year’s Eve party being somewhat of a marathon, and when we arrived the final party location of Little Moon resort, and after the short walk down to the party, the most immediately striking image was the backdrop to the evening. Directly behind the decks was a massive curved wooden structure that defies logic in its design. As well as the huge palms that lined the area, this structure would act as a blank canvas for the lighting and visual engineers that has done such a great job throughout the festival. Adis Is Ok was already deep into his set. The party vibes were nothing short of infectious, and with tracks like Krystal Klear’s “Neutron Dance” being dropped not long before midnight, the atmosphere was already electric. The honour of ushering in the new year was certainly not lost on Adis as his set positively burst with old school breaky energy until the very last beat.
Once the fireworks had finished lighting up the night sky, it was time to hand the reins over to Jordanian artist Etchar. Picking up where Adis left off, breaks were the order of the day, but in a more stripped-back fashion. Leaning more on the spacey side of breaks and techno, his selections were almost as impeccable as his execution. Never a dropped beat or a mix wasted, there was always a low-key huge track waiting on the other side of the last, just waiting to blow minds. Throwing the crowd headlong into his groove, Etchar began building the intensity with Keita Sano’s cosmic “I’m A Man”, and the stripped back rhythms began to take the crowd to another dimension. As Little Moon resort is perfectly situated right on the beach, the sea breeze was beginning to waft smoke over the bulging crowd, enhancing the atmosphere even further.
What the nighttime darkness hid was the beach directly behind the main stage, and when exploring the mammoth structure that made up the backstage area, we discovered there was more to it than first expected. Making our way through the brightly coloured evolving staging, we found that there was a lush green lawn where festival goers were taking advantage of the balmy conditions to take a breather from Etchar’s sizzling DJ set. Having been absorbed into the dancefloor, making our way to the beach seemed like stepping through the door to another realm. The beats thudded away in the background, but now the stars and galaxy beyond opened up before us and we were not the only ones who took advantage of this opportunity to take in the moment.
Heading back to the party, it was now time for headliner Secretsundaze to take his place behind the decks. In true SS fashion, James’ set bristled with all the worldly experience that he has become known for. Upbeat house rubbed shoulders with bass-heavy bombs that shook the beach to its core.
Tempering the funk of Secretsundaze fell to Thai artist Chalo, and his live set was the perfect circuit breaker before heading into the final leg of the party. Working on his bank of machines, he extracted a barrage of robust beats that kept the crowd moving throughout. As impressive as it was, thoughts were already moving towards DOTT’s set, and it would prove to be one of the highlights of the entire festival. With Chalo’s kit no sooner moved to the side of the massive DJ booth than the Thai star launched into his set with Carl Craig’s ethereal remix of Ramadanman and Appleblim’s “Void 23”. With such a top drawer track as the starting point, it was clear that DOTT meant business, and he more than delivered on that promise. Rubbing the old with the new, the More Rice Records co-founder stepped easily between mixes with blends as deft could be. A personal highlight came via a track that until recently had gone totally unknown, but has now been unveiled as W.A.R.R.I.O’s “Three Bandits”.
This gives some indication of the techy goodness that he was delivering to the awaiting and up for it crowd. With every mix carefully selected for maximum dancefloor impact, it was clear that there was a course of action at play. As DOTT was charged with guiding the festival through to the first sunrise of 2025, and thus far, the soundtrack had been moody and techy. With the sky beginning to show signs of brightening up, so did the music. With the sun slowly beginning to cast its magical glow upon the dancefloor, the beach and its surrounding area began to unveil itself, and the smoke being blown across the crowd began to filter the sun in the most surreal way. Then, just as DOTT’s set was coming to an end one of those festival moments of magic took place, as the sun’s rays intensified, with a flick of his wrist, the Thai selector flipped the script with perhaps the most perfectly timed dancefloor junctures I have been a part of. Bleeding the soulful chords of Sol Brown and the buttery vocals of Sacha Williamson’s “Something Good” was just the right contrast that nobody saw coming, but that everybody needed.
This would prove to be a master stroke by DOTT as the closing DJ for the night would be Japanese artist NK Chan, and he would treat the faithful crowd that remained to an outrageously feel-good and high-energy selection of house and disco. Incredibly, the crowd easily adapted to this change in pace and tact; in fact, they lapped up every second. When the sad moment came for the last track to play out, the round of applause was deafening for NK Chan and the rest of the artists who had poured their heart and soul into their set throughout the night and morning. This was, of course, extended to the artists who had also performed the previous days and nights, as they had all played their part in making Fly To The Moon Festival the memorable adventure it most definitely is.
While there was a day of decompression planned at our old haunt of Prompakdee resort on New Year’s Day, with sets from Jirus, Etchar, Luas, and Discrete Circuit we had already planned our next move to another of the nearby islands. So, we bid our farewells with a promise to return for the next edition. While suntans fade, memories of this week on Koh Mak will never dissipate, and in advance of the long-awaited 25/26 edition of Fly to the Moon, we caught up with the team behind the festival to talk about the backstory to one of the most intimate festivals in Asia.
Starting at the beginning of their journey, we asked festival founder Panda what inspired him to start Fly to the Moon, “A close friend invited me to visit Koh Mak, and introduced me to Pak, the owner of Little Moon Resort. As we got to know each other, he learned that I was a DJ and that I organised music events and parties. He suggested I host something at his resort. It felt like the perfect match—his desire to have a party at his place and my love for DJing and having a good time with friends.”
Panda continues to explain, “That first event was just a small New Year’s gathering. But the location was stunning, the vibe was right, and words started to spread. More people wanted to join, and before we knew it, Fly to the Moon became an annual thing. Now, we’re celebrating our 11th year.”
Having been home to Fly To The Moon on Koh Mak since 2013, there is no more important event than the first edition. Panda tells the story of the first fateful event, “It was just a group of close friends—about ten people. I DJ’d alone the entire night until sunrise, about 15 hours straight. We set up at the old Little Moon Resort, which had its own private beach. The setup was simple: we used Pak’s own speakers, set up a few lights, some basic stage decoration, and that was it.” He goes on to give an insight into just how special the island really is, “Magic happened the moment the sun rose over the ocean on the first morning of the year. That view. It left a long-lasting impression on everyone there. And I think that’s what enticed people to come back for more.”
Eleven years is a long time to be running events, and with the logistical issues associated with festivals, coupled with the location being disconnected from the mainland, it is an understatement to say it has been challenging. Panda explains just how so, “It’s been a journey. From that first small gathering of friends, word-of-mouth kept bringing in more people each year. The second year, we had about 40 attendees. By year three, it doubled to 80. Now, in year 11, the event attracted between 500–700 people.”
He goes on to explain the logistics of scaling such an operation, “With more people, the production naturally had to step up. The first time, we made do with the resort’s basic speakers and a few string lights. As the event grew, we started renting better equipment, improving lighting, bringing in more crew, and getting more organised. In the early days, we didn’t have much budget, so we reached out to university students who were already organising music events for their schools, and gave them the opportunity to gain real-world experience at Fly to the Moon. Some of them have become key members of our core operations team, and they’ve since brought in even more young talent.”
With the festival drawing a more international crowd, tastes in music also changed, but Panda is keen to point out that this is still very much a grassroots festival, “The same thing happened with DJs. Earlier lineups were mostly local DJs just starting out, trying to get experience. Fly to the Moon provided them with the stage to showcase their skills. Some of them have built names for themselves in the scene, or even abroad. And it’s not just Thai DJs anymore—now, we have artists from around the world joining us every year.”
As you will have seen from the images of the festival main stage, there is a significant amount of work that goes into creating the impressive structure that acts as the party backdrop. This aspect has also undergone a lot of development over the years, “The stage setup has also evolved. In the beginning, an expat friend offered to put something together. Fast forward to today, and we have an actual architectural design firm creating the main stage for our 11th year.”
As Koh Mak is a fairly remote island, this increase in tourism is centric to FTTM. Panda continues to explain the journey that the festival has travelled, “Beyond just the festival itself, Fly to the Moon has had a positive impact on Koh Mak itself. We work with local businesses, bringing in vendors to sell food and goods at the event. Island residents help with logistics and site management. Plus, the festival draws in international visitors, which helps boost Koh Mak’s economy and tourism scene.”
“So really, it’s not just me or the festival growing—it’s the entire community, the guests, and even the island itself. Every year, we take things to the next level, and I can’t wait to see where we go from here.”
You can now grab an early bird ticket for Fly To The Moon 25/26 here.
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