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When Asia becomes a spiritual washboard

The digital nomad craze seems to have reached DJs too. How do we prevent Southeast Asia's rave scene from getting gentrified?
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Deep Dives

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Singapore's democratic growing pains
Singapore's ruling PAP scored a landslide win in the latest general election, which also cemented the role of the country's main opposition party.
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Robin Vochelet
Is this the appropriate venue?
A recent altercation between activists and K. Shanmugam has shed light on the increasingly tightening space for political dialogue in Singapore.
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Robin Vochelet
Bodies without a person: a look at Singapore's foreign domestic workers
A Facebook group for employers of foreign domestic workers sheds a new light on the treatment of migrant workers in the city-state.
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Robin Vochelet
Navigating accountability and rehabilitation in rave subcultures
Gabber Modus Operandi are making a comeback in the Southeast Asian scene. Are people too quick to move on from the band's past actions?
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Robin Vochelet
Letter from the heartlands
Reflections from a foreigner experiencing public housing and social stratification in Singapore.
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Robin Vochelet

Dispatches

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When Asia becomes a spiritual washboard
The digital nomad craze seems to have reached DJs too. How do we prevent Southeast Asia's rave scene from getting gentrified?
 • 
Robin Vochelet
A follow-up to navigating accountability in Southeast Asia's rave subculture
A sexual and psychological abuse case involving Filipino artist Teya Logos has rocked the Manila and Southeast Asia scene.
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Robin Vochelet
Unfolding chaos: Myanmar and Thailand experience high-magnitude earthquake
The 7.7 magnitude seismic movement struck Myanmar and Thailand in the early afternoon of Friday, March 28, with a 6.1 aftershock in the former.
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Robin Vochelet
Peringatan Darurat: unrest over DPR's attempt to annul MK's ruling
Protests have swept Indonesia following Jokowi's latest attempt to cling onto power through his family.
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Robin Vochelet
The rise and fall of Thailand's democracy movement
In just over a year, the Thai political establishment made sure to crush electoral prospects for the country's progressive voices.
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Robin Vochelet
© 2025 Robin Vochelet
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