My Top 5 Thai Singers: Number One Is Palmy

Indeed, this year there has been a lot of music on Sirinya’s blog. Thus, I feel inspired to do a Top 5 of my favourite Thai singers Actually, this proved to be a hard tasks because there are so many Thai musicians and singers that I like. However, I’ve tried to narrow them down to my Top 5 at the moment.

My Top 5 Thai Singers

My number one is defintely Thai-Belgian singer Palmy. I really love her style and her way of performing. In most concerts she performes barefoot and this is also her signature feature.

Thai-Belgian singer Palmy (photo: Palmy FB page)

What is more, Palmy, Eve Pancharoen, is so unique because on the one side her style has a 1960s touch but on the other side she is very modern, rocking but also melancholic sometimes. In a nutshell, Palmy is charming, amiable and true to herself.

For number two I chose Singto Numchok who is known as Buriram’s Ukulele Lion I truly enjoy his feel-good music and the way he combines cool jazz rhythms with surf-rock and pop.

Singto Numchok (photo: Singto Numchok FB page)

In addition Thai singer Singto Numchok is also an example of how to escape poverty by becoming a famous and successful musician. His trademark is the ukulele but he also plays the guitar. Indeed, his relaxed sounds may also be called chill- out music.

Well, my number three is a band. Can you guess which one? Yeah, it’s Thai band Buddha Bless. I think they really make great songs and music with a message. Thai Hip Hop band Buddha Bless (photo: Buddha Bless Official FB page)

Buddha Bless members Gaotong, Gui Oui and Goh-M might appear a bit crazy sometimes but their music is special and thus their lyrics were even awarded by Thailand’s Buddhist Council. Sometimes Buddha Bless seems over the edge and ‘out of control’ (like their latest song) but they like to create songs with messages in accordance with Buddhist thought.

For number four I chose Lula (Kanyarat Tiyapornchai). She is known as a bossa nova queen and her songs range from ballads to pop songs and also electro pop music. Lula has perfomed duets with many other popular Thai singers and what is more, she has also worked on soundtracks and theme songs for Thai TV series and films. Lula Kanyarat Tiyapornchai (photo: Lula FB page)

A very beautiful example is her duet ‘Cross Love’ with Klui for the TV drama The Rising Sun starring well-known half-Thai actors Mario Maurer, Urassaya Sperbund and Nadech Kugimiya.

Last but not least, for number five I decided to choose an artist about whom I have not written an article yet. Thai singer Bell Supol (photo: Bell Supol FB page)

It’s Bell Supol and I chose him because he sung a wonderful jazzy song that I’ve loved for years. I’ve certainly watched the video to the song a 100 times or more Let’s enjoy this song!

Finally, I may say that my number one among the Top 5 Thai Singers will ‘always’ remain Palmy! What are your favourite Thai artists?

Yours, Sirinya

Thaitanium – Thai-American Hip Hop Band

Friends of Thai Hip Hop and Rap music will certainly know the group ‘Thaitanium‘ (ไทย​เท​เนี่​ยม) which was formed in 2000. ‘Khan’ Khanngoen Nuanual (King of Da Hustle) and ‘Day’ Nay Myo Thant (Sunny Day) were born in Thailand, whereas the third and youngest member of the band ‘Way’ Prinya Intachai (P. Cess) was born and raised in New York. Most recently, in 2014 the group was awarded the 16th Mnet Asian Music Award for the Artist of the Year in Thailand.

Thai-American Thaitanium (photo: thaitanium FB page)

The Emergence of Thaitanium

Khan and Day came to San Francisco as teenagers and pursued their dream to become successful musicians. Hence, at first both of them formed a DJ/MC duo in the underground San Francisco Hip Hop scene. During that time, Khan became acquainted to the young artist Way. Hence, the idea of a three-men Thai-American Hip Hop group was born.

Thus, they rapidly produced their first two albums called ‘AA’ and ‘Thai Riders’ which they promoted themselves. During that time they also featured the soundtrack to the Thai film Province 77 starring Thai-American actor Pete Thongjure which deals with Thai immigrants living in Los Angeles. Their following albums ‘P77’ and ‘RAS’ (Resisting Against Da System) were finally distributed by Sony BMG Music Entertainment. Thus, the Thai entertainment industry, GMM Grammy, also became interested in the group. Actually, the attention and the resulting partnership with Grammy provided the band with independence because they gained the publishing rights to their own songs under the label ‘Thaitanium Entertainment INC.’ Therefore, their album ‘Thailand’s Most Wanted’ (2006) was in fact the first Thai Hip Hop album released by an independent label.

Today, Thaitanium might even be called a group of international range because their popularity is not limited to Thailand. Hence, they give concerts in many different countries, for example in the USA , the UK, , Laos, , Indonesia and Malaysia.

Thaitanium (photo credit: wikilenda.com)

In addition, they cooperate with a variety of artists. For instance, they performed with M-Flo from Japan and invited the American Hip Hop band NAS. What is more, they have had numerous guest appearances with renowned Thai artists like half-Thai pop star Tata Young, popular Thai rapper Joey Boy and Bank Clash for instance.

Additionally to making music, the Thaitanium members have been engaged in a variety of other projects. For example, Khan and Day started their own clothing line called ‘9Face’ and Way was in the 2010 US movie ‘Prince & Me 4’. In fact, Thaitanium Inc. seems to dominate the Thai Hip Hop scene today. Apart from studio albums, they also have created six compilation up until now. I think that part of their success is due to the fact that Thaitanium has cooperated with a great number of other famous artists like the legendary Thai rock band Carabao. for instance.

Summing up, we may say that Thaitanium is with good reason the most prominent Thai Hip Hop group. What is more, they also feature several upcoming Thai musicians and make the most of all aspects of Thai Hip Hop and Rap.

Yours, Sirinya

(Reference: thaitanium.biz)

‘Buddha Bless’ Thai Hip Hop Band: Music with a Message

As you may know from my post about Joey Boy, the King of Thai Rapper, I’m really obsessed with Thai Hence, I’d like to present you my favourite band in this genre: it’s Buddha Bless! Buddha Bless*

The band has three members who each adopted one of the three colours of . Thus, “Gaotong” (Suranan Chumtharathon) takes the colour green, “Gui Oui” (Natee Ekwijit) is often seen wearing yellow and “Goh-M” (Kittiphong Khamsat) adopts the colour red. The guys are charismatic and spread a positive message with their music.

Thai Hip Hop band* The Story of Buddha Bless

The band was founded in 2006 and promoted by Joey Boy’s record label branch Gancore Club. Buddha Bless’ music is however not only about Hip Hop but also about Dancehall Reggae and other Carribean music styles. Nevertheless, Hip Hop can be regarded as the base of their music. Their first solo album is called ‘Fai Kiao, Fai Daeng’ which means ‘Green light, red light’. A very popular song from this album is ‘Fire’ which can be seen as an excellent combination of Thai and Carribean music.

However, the special feature of their music is that they try to incorporate Thai elements into their music, thus providing it with a unique flavour and style. A very prominent example of Buddha Bless mixing Thai elements into their songs is ‘Puk Tah Krai’ (the Fun). Here is the very amusing video to this song. The quality of the clip is not so good but I could not find a better version

Even though producing solo albums, the band is still active in the Gancore Club. Although the guys from Buddha Bless might appear obscure and a bit weird at first sight, they are in fact very amiable and the lyrics of their songs spread positive messages in accordance with Buddhist thinking. Hence, they were even awarded for their lyrics by Thailand’s Buddhist Council Buddha Bless in Concert*

My most favourite Buddha Bless song of all times is called ‘Ngot Sao Kao Pun Sah’ (Lessen the Sadness Before Lent) which is about turning to religion (Buddhism) in order to deal with depression.

Their messages are also against drug abuse and alcoholism. Thus, the band puts forward that you’re more attractive when you’re sober and promote drinking milk rather than alcohol. That’s what their song ‘Nom’ (‘Milk’) is about. This is by the way also a very suitable song for Songkran, the Thai New Year Festival

Pretty decent and genuine chaps, aren’t they? I think Buddha Bless is truly special because their music has a moral and Buddhist message. Thus, their music is interesting and appealing to both younger and older generations.

Yours, Sirinya

*photo credit: Buddha Bless official, FB page

(A comprehensive source on this topic isArtist Spotlight: Buddha Bless) Joey Boy – King of Thai Rapper

Well, people often can’t imagine that I’m really into Thai Rap and Hip Hop music. They are astonished when I say that I like Joey Boy, the King of Thai Rapper. His real name is Apisit Opasaimlikit, born in 1975 to a Thai-Chinese family. Today, he is known as the foremost Thai rapper, Hip Hop singer and producer. However, he is also very versatile, starring in a variety of different movies. For example, he had the leading role as monk Luang Phi Tet in The Holy Man II which is the second movie of the Holy Man Trilogy.

Joey Boy

Joey Boy (photo credit: en.likefm.org)

Ever since he was a teenager, Apisit loved listening to Hip Hop music and he also enjoyed skateboarding. Hence, he began to make music himself and in 1994 he was already signed to Bakery Music and soon started his collaboration with Snow who is a very important Canadian reggae artist. Hence, in 1995 he went to Toronto, Canada in order to record the single ‘Fun, Fun, Fun’ with Snow. In the video for ‘Fun, Fun,Fun’, Snow and Joey tour through Toronto. Thus, this single became extremely popular in Thailand. The quality of the following video is not so good but unfortunately I could not find a better version. However, it’s fun anyway and I may say that this song is definitely on the crazy side

This was just the start of Joey’s career. A few years later in 2000 he switched to GMM Grammy and launched the Gancore Club, his own record label, and supported other artists like the Thai Rap and Hip Hop Band ‘Buddha Bless’. Furthermore, he also collaborated with the Black Eyed Peas. When the rapper went to the United States, he introduced himself informally to will.i.am (William Adams) of The Black Eyed Peas. The rapper recalls meeting will.i.am outside a in San Francisco where he approached him with the words:”Hey you, we’re Thai rappers and we like your songs”. Very cool! He was successful, finally his song ‘LA to BKK’ was co-produced by will.i.am and became a hit in Thailand.

Joey Boy further collaborated with the Black Eyed Peas and this contributed even more to this success. For instance, in 2004 he was in the opening act when the Black Eyed Peas played in Thailand as well as in 2006 when they performed in .

However, Joey’s music is not only about Rap and Hip Hop. In fact, he is very talented and versatile. Hence, he also participated in ‘Ramakien: A Rak Opera’ which is a rocking- opera adaptation of Thailand’s national epic, the Ramakien. What is more, he also played the band leader of ‘The Possible’, a 1970s Thai band, in 2006. Since then he has featured in many other film genres. However, here is a very cool 70s song from The Possible

In a nutshell, we may claim that Joey Boy is justifiably a very prominent Thai artist. Nonetheless, there was some controversy concerning his song ‘Maya’ which was recorded on CDs in 1998 and 2005. This controvery was because the song contained verses from the Quaran and thus many Thai Muslims found this very insulting. As a consequence, the concerning records were recalled and he apologized officially, giving a traditional Thai ‘wai’.

The artist is also known for softer R&B sounds, here is just one example:

Well, even though Joey Boy may have experienced some controversies, his music and his motto remains ‘Fun, Fun Fun tuk wan’ (fun, fun, fun every day)

Do you like Thai Rap and Hip Hop music?

Yours, Sirinya