Jet set

Jetset’er step forward

By Suwitcha Chaiyong
Photos by Varuth Hirunyatheb
and courtesy of Sanamluang.

Pop soul band Jetset’er first attracted wide recognition with their hit, “Joop (Kiss),” taken from their second album, Nude. The song even won the Fat Award for record of the year.

More recently, the band has reached an even bigger audience after signing with GMM subsidiary label, Sanamluang. With major label support, Jetset’er have hit the big time with mellow hits like “Kuen Nee (Tonight)” and “Nam Pueng Pra Chan (Honey Moon),” taken from their third album, Jet’s.

Jetset’er — singer Pipitpol Khumratana (T), 29, guitarist Titsadee Srimoang (O), 31, bassist Worapoj Wisarutnart (Moo), 31, and drummer Jarnnawut Jarnyaharn (Eddie), 30 — are currently getting ready to perform at their upcoming Jetset’er Music Inspiration Concert at Moonstar Studio on November 19. The guys are also busy promoting their latest single, “Gao Pai (Step Forward).”

Student Weekly recently met up with the guys to ask them about their music and their upcoming concert.

Student Weekly: O, how do you come up with ideas to write songs for the band?

O: On our first release, The Album, most of the songs were about my own experiences. But since our second album, the other band members have given me ideas for songs. I also write from my imagination for songs like “Kiss,” where I was just thinking about a couple falling in love.

Student Weekly: What was the first song you ever wrote?

O: When I was studying at the School of Audio Engineering, I had to write a song for my final project. I wrote a song called “Jeep Pu Ying [Hitting on a Woman].”

Student Weekly: Can you remember what your first live performance was like?

Eddie: The Bangkok Music Festival was our first big concert. We were unknown at the time, but we got to perform in front of a huge audience. We were nervous, and T wouldn’t look at the audience while he was singing!

O: That was seven years ago, and most of the crowd was into rock music. They didn’t respond much to our music, but we still had fun.

Student Weekly: Which gig has been your most memorable so far?

O: Four years ago, we played at Northern Fat Festival, and we were surprised to find out that we had a lot of fans in Chiang Mai. We were stunned when everybody sang along with our popular track, “Kiss.”

Student Weekly: Do you prefer performing at big production concerts, or at small venues?

T: I like both. We feel closer to the audience at small gigs. It’s like playing music for our friends. But big concerts are good too, because we get to play for a huge crowd and get a strong response from the audience.

Eddie: I prefer small gigs, because we can find out if the audience came for our music or if they prefer listening to cover songs.

Moo: I’m happy even if we only play to one person. We put everything into every performance.

Student Weekly: T, can you give us any tips about how you maintain your great singing voice?

T: The two most important things are having enough sleep and exercising three times a week. I have to be responsible. If I go to a party, I always leave early so that I can get enough rest.

Student Weekly: Can you tell us about your latest single, “Step Forward”?

O: It’s about how sometimes rules in life can make your childhood dreams fade away. The song encourages people to follow their dreams. We wrote it especially for our upcoming concert.

Student Weekly: Have you prepared anything special for the concert?

T: There’ll be lots of guest and songs we’ve never played live before. We’ve prepared a look tung song and we’ll do some cover dances, but you have to wait to see which band we cover.

Student Weekly: What else can fans expect to see at your concert?

Moo: It’s our first solo concert, so we’re taking it very seriously. We’ll perform both old and new songs, and the stage will be set up so that we can get close to the audience. Our fans won’t be disappointed!