In Harmony

We understand you’re in a band! How long have you been playing music?
I’ve been playing since the second year of middle school, so more than 10 years now.

Amazing! What got you into music?
There was a time in Thailand (where I’m from) when an anime called K-On! was really popular. It was about girls playing music, and around the same time, a movie called SuckSeed about guys playing music came out. That inspired a whole generation of Thai students to want to be in a band, sparking the wave of indie bands we see today. I’m happy to say that I’m a part of that wave!

Cool! Have you been playing with the same band since the beginning?
During middle school and high school, music was more about competitions and wasn’t too serious, so I wasn’t with my current band back then. After that, I went to university and met the members of my band, Ford Trio. We met while studying music in Thailand, and because we shared the same musical background and tastes, we really hit it off. We’ve been playing and working together ever since, for the past seven or eight years.

Wow, so it’s been quite a while! What’s been the toughest part of your journey as a musician?
A lot of us are full-time musicians, but we work more like freelancers because we also produce music and play as backing musicians for other artists. James, our drummer, does advertising music, while I take on all kinds of gigs, from live shows to sound engineering and other work. That’s usually how it works for Thai musicians, unless we take on a full-time job that still leaves us enough time to make music. We’ve had our ups and downs, but right now things are really picking up. Late last year, we went on a big tour—we played in India, Taiwan, and Australia, and Singapore was our final stop. It felt really good.

Tell us about your experience in Singapore!
We actually played at Baybeats! For our stage especially, a lot of our seniors in Thailand—bands we really look up to—have already played here. For us, it was our very first time, but just being in Singapore and taking in the surroundings felt really special. Just being in the country felt really nice, and I really enjoyed my time.

Aww, we hope to see you and your band back again someday! Was this the first tour that has brought the band outside of Thailand?
The short history of my band is that we started back in university, then we got hit by Covid and released our first album around that time. We honestly thought that might be as far as an indie band like us could go. But then a label picked us up and told us that playing internationally was actually possible. We didn’t really believe it at first, especially since all our songs are in Thai. Still, they brought us to our first international gig in Japan, and once we played there, it felt like, “Oh—this might actually be possible.”

From then on, the direction of the band shifted. We started making music that felt more internationally resonant and connected more with global scenes. We’ve been touring internationally for the past three years now, and it’s been great.

What’s the most memorable gig that you guys have played?
Recently, we played in India, which we never imagined would happen. It wasn’t a huge festival in a big city—it was one of the biggest indie festivals, but it was literally in the middle of nowhere. Getting there involved a long flight and a long drive, yet everyone genuinely wanted to be there. The atmosphere and energy was incredible. People just wanted to dance. I expected it to be more of a druggy scene, but everyone was sober and completely present—they were ready to let loose. It was probably the best crowd we’ve ever played for. We didn’t even think our music would work there, but we ended up having the best time.

That’s nice! Personally, do you have any favourite bands?
Lately, I’ve been listening to the new Tame Impala album a lot, which I really like. I’m more into music with great basslines, so I enjoy bands like Elephant Gym from Taiwan. The new Sunset Rollercoaster album is great too. I’m also hoping to explore more Singaporean bands.

Last question: now that we’re into the new year, do you have any hopes or goals for your band?
We released an EP last year, and we’re planning to work on an album this year. In Thailand, it’s common for bands to naturally drift apart as people grow up and find full-time jobs. We’re kind of approaching that stage now, which makes us think more seriously about what we want our next album to be and what statement it should make about where we are right now. This would be our third album, and for a lot of bands, the third one is considered the mega break. I don’t want to put too much pressure on us, but we’ll see how it goes!