Morning glory

Morning Soon tell fairy tales

By Tatat Bunnag
Photographs courtesy of Spicy Disc

When Morning Soon burst onto the scene with their 2013 debut single, “Rerm Mai Gub Khon Kao (Start Again With the Same People),” critics hailed them as the new pop-rock group to watch, while the music video attracted over four million views.

Soon after that, frontman Arche quit, leaving Morning Soon with a challenge. Their guitarist, 28-year-old Akkanee Khamtonwong (Big), moved into the role of songwriter and singer. Despite this drastic change, Big and the rest of Morning Soon — 27-year-old bassist Thanarat Boonliang (Gong) and 24-year-old drummer Saran Rujikulsiri (Bas) — are stronger than ever.

Armed with the production team from the well-known pop band Mild, Morning Soon has returned with the single “Nitan Lork Dek (Fairy Tale),” out now on Spicy Disc.

Student Weekly recently had an opportunity to catch up with Morning Soon to talk about their new music.

Student Weekly: Why did Arche leave the band?

Big: He left for personal reasons, and we’d rather not talk about it. It was a pretty challenging time for us, but there was never a moment when we thought that the band would stop. We’re all too close as friends to separate.

Student Weekly: Can you tell us about your new single, “Fairy Tale”?

Big: It’s a heartbreak song. People say that time heals the pain from a break-up, but no matter how much time passes, you can’t seem to forget the person at all. So what people say seems to be unreal, like a fairy tale.

Kong: “Fairy Tale” is a pop-rock song, and definitely has a broader sound than our previous singles. We’ve only recorded as a three-piece band before, but this time we added synthesiser and strings, and it sounds amazing!

Student Weekly: Big, did you feel any trepidation taking on the frontman role?

Big: Yeah, maybe a little. I hadn’t sung in a long time, so I had to learn how to be a singer all over again. I had to practice a lot. I actually wrote many songs before I wrote “Fairy Tale,” but I didn’t use them because I didn’t think they were good enough. Now I’m ready and enjoying being a singer.

Student Weekly: What was working with Mild like?

Kong: It was very inspiring working with them in the studio. At Spicy Disc we’ve formed a music production team called House of Hits (HOH). Headed by Pae of Mild, it’s a place where bands such as Mild, Sixty Miles and us hangout and share our songwriting. “Fairy Tale” is a product of the HOH team.

Student Weekly: As jazz students from Mahidol’s College of Music, why did you choose to play rock music?

Kong: We studied jazz because we wanted to understand music more. Jazz and classical music are more complex and have more depth than pop music. But at the end of day, we chose to play pop music because it’s the kind of music we grew up listening to.

Big: Like Mild or Sixty Miles, we’re all playing pop rock music. But if you listen carefully, you’ll hear other influences like soul, funk or jazz.

Student Weekly: What’s next for Morning Soon?

Big: We’ve written a lot of new tunes and they sound pretty good. They won’t be coming out until we’ve finished promoting “Fairy Tale.” We’re starting a long tour soon.

 

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