Thai solo indie artist, 'Phum Viphurit'
From the second blog I wrote to you, I mentioned to my memorable experience of the first "Cigarettes After Sex Live in Concert" show in Bangkok. At that time, before the show started, there were the opening acts performing for us.
Among them was "Phum Viphurit", a 21-year-old singer/songwriter from Thailand.
He came up on stage with other musicians from another band. One of them was Pom from 'Part Time Musicians' who playing as a bassist. His performing was very attracting me. It was not very folk songs as everybody thinks. His album, Manchild, was a very colorful one which each song was influenced by a variety of music genres causing each of them has its own different unique style. But the special in every song is his guitar and his voice that I want you guys to give it a try.
So, today I would like you to know this talented young guy who really falls in love with making music. Phum Viphurit, a 21-year-old singer/songwriter, was born here in Bangkok, Thailand. At the age of 9, he moved to Hamilton, New Zealand, where he was raised. And that was where he spent the years of his teenage-hood and picked up on different musical influences. He fell in love with the authentic/acoustic driven melodies that have inspired him in creating his own style of alternative indie folk.
Apart from falling in love with music, he was really into a movie at the same time. So, after he graduated from high school in New Zealand, he decided to move back to Bangkok, a place that he was born. And then he got into Mahidol University International College studying film production.
Since he was young, he grew up surrounded by music. His parents love it and his older brother was a singer in a rock band. At that time, his mom bought a drum set for him since he was 15, but the neighbors got annoyed so he switched to guitar instead which is more subtle and less loud. He began writing his own songs at 18 and started his own Youtube channel around at the same time. After coming back to study in Thailand, he became friends with Patiphan Suwannasingha (Tle) from The Whitest Crow. Then Tle suggested him to send his demo to Rats Records. So, he sent them "Adore" and they really liked it. This was simply the beginning of his career as an artist to be with a record label that gives him the freedom to create his own music, even though all the songs are in English.
When he makes music, he tends to write purely from what he is feeling at that certain point in time. It simply begins with a thought or an emotion, a story that he wants to tell about how he is feeling. From there he starts to play around with lyrics, trimming and exchanging cheesy one-liners for more abstract and poetic ones to create depth for the song. After the lyrics, he thinks about the chord structure, followed by the melody and then some more editing of the lyrics to fit the overall picture again. It’s a rather long but enjoyable process.
As having grown up in New Zealand, he sure has a good grasp of the English language and that's reflected on his solid songwriting and singing in English.
"Manchild" was his first album which he composed, produced and arranged by himself. It was released and sold for the very first time at Cat Expo 3D on February this year. It has been in the works for the last 2 years through Rats Records.
The name "Manchild" refer to where he is in his life right now. It's like he is not yet an adult but definitely not a kid anymore. On the whole, this album is like one diary that represents love in the view of Phum Viphurit at each point of time. Every singles are very authentic and relevant to him.
This is one of Thai solo artist singing and performing in English that deserves attention. You guys should give it a go. For the next blog, I will come back to let you know more about this talented man. Stay Tuned!
