Back in time

25 Hours return to the charts

By Suwitcha Chaiyong

After their debut won best album and best popular album at the 2010 Fat Awards, 25 Hours won over even more listeners when their hit song "Yin Dee Thee Mai Rue Jak (Nice Not to Know You)" was featured in the blockbuster movie, Hello Stranger.

Recent times have seen 25 Hours back in business once again with their second album, Colour in White. The new album maintains the band's winning mix of modern rock and vintage sounds, with well-produced singles like "Lok Bai Mai (Colour in White)," "Kid Muen Gan Rue Pao (Doubt)" and "Khon Khang Khang (Beside)" already doing well on music charts.

Student Weekly recently met up with 25 Hours — vocalist Somphol Rungphanit (Leam), 26, guitarist Prateep Siri-issranan (Four), 27, guitarist Piyawat Meekruea (Phu), 26, bassist Eaksiri Kumbangpai (Bang), 30 and drummer Krittapong Sakulnamanek (Job), 26 — at a caf? to ask the guys about their music and the making of their latest video.

STUDENT WEEKLY: What was it like playing at the recent Silverlake Music Festival?

Leam: It was really professional. Every performance ran on time. The organisers wanted to make it a world-class festival, so they had an amazing sound system and great production.

I saw the African rock band Seether perform. I was surprised to see them cover songs by Nirvana. Incubus were terrific and Owl City's performance sounded just like listening to a CD.

STUDENT WEEKLY: Did you have fun being painted white for your latest album cover?

Job: It was hard to wash the colour from our hair. We had to go home with white hair after the photo shoot. Somebody asked us for directions on the street and thought we were old men because of our white hair! [Laughs.]

STUDENT WEEKLY: What's the main difference between your first album and Colour in White?

Leam: The songs on the first album were very personal, whereas Colour in White should be easier for everybody to relate to. We also thought more about our live performances when we were recording the second album. We wanted to make the songs more entertaining.

STUDENT WEEKLY: How would you describe your live performances?

Leam: Our gigs are always fun. Even though we play acoustic instruments, we still dance and have a good time. But sometimes people in the audience cry when we perform slow, sad songs.

STUDENT WEEKLY: Phu and Leam, where do you get your ideas for writing lyrics?

Phu: From movies. Sad scenes in the romantic movie Just Like Heaven inspired me to write the ballad, "Thieng Kuen Sib Ha Nathee [12:15 am]."

Leam: I wrote "Bai Mai [Falls]" for my ex-girlfriend. She made me open up and start a new relationship after going through a bad break-up.

STUDENT WEEKLY: Leam, how did you feel when you saw lots of fans dressed like you at the "Beside" video shoot?

Leam: When the label announced that we wanted people dressed up like me for the video, I was worried that nobody would come. But 30 fans came, both boys and girls, all dressed like me! They looked really cute. I got goose bumps seeing them there.

STUDENT WEEKLY: Did you use any unusual musical instruments on the new album?

Four: On "Doubt" we used a 12-string guitar and a woodblock for percussion. We also made a guitar sound like a sitar.

STUDENT WEEKLY: Why should music fans buy your album?

Leam: Everybody likes free stuff, but if somebody goes out and buys a CD, it means that they really like the band. But there are other ways to support bands. You can download songs you like or go to concerts. In the future, we'll probably have our own merchandise so that we can get some income from something other than CDs.

Bang: If you like our music, please buy a CD or download our songs legally. It's bad for the Thai music industry if people support pirate CDs and illegal downloads.

Student Weekly and Believe Records are giving away one copy of Colour in White, signed by the band. For your chance to win, just send an email with "25hours" in the subject line to [email protected] (please include your name, age and phone number), or simply post on our official Facebook page. Tell us briefly why you like 25 Hours. Entries must be received by March 16. The winner will be announced on our Facebook page on March 19.