Vertical Limit reach new horizons
By Tatat Bunnag
Photographs by Varuth Hirunyatheb
Did you know
Most of the members of Vertical Mind live together at Petong’s house, where they have a home rehearsal studio and practise rooms.
Vertical Mind may are a new rock band that local listeners might not yet be familiar with. But their songs like “Roi-Yim (Smile)” or “Yang Tum Mai Dai (Still Can’t Do It)” have already earned a ton of recognition.
Vertical Mind formed in 2009 with four high school pals — 26-year-old singer Akkanan Buddhasririrangsee (Petong), 26-year-old guitarist Tuntikorn Rungpattana (Aop), 23-yaer-old bassist Andy Jackson, and 20-year-old drummer Sutthipong Taemneam (Nick). For a relatively new musical act, Vertical Mind have amazing stage presence and the musical skills to back it up.
Their fundamental rock roots offer a strong foundation to the pop-driven hooks used in their songs. The band just released latest single “Peang Sing Deaw (Only Thing),” and plan to release their debut album later next year.
Student Weekly had the chance to interview with the four members recently at Sony Music HQ, for an insight into Vertical Mind’s promising musical career.
Student Weekly: Can you give us a brief history of the band?
Aop: We've known each other since we were all in high school, but we formed a proper band three years ago. We were more into playing football back then. [Laughs.]
Petong: At first it was just Aop and I playing music together. But we were more like two friends jamming on acoustic guitars, playing covers and stuff. After a while, we decided that it wasn’t fun to be just a duo, and we wanted to form a real band. We started to recruit other friends to play with.
Student Weekly: How did you come up with the band name?
Aop: Actually, the band name came after we got signed to Sony. We used several band names before, but they weren’t that good.
Petong: I studied Architecture, so I’m quite familiar with words like vertical and horizontal. One day, after a long rehearsal, I was lying in bed thinking of the right name for the band. Somehow Vertical Mind just popped up in my head.
Student Weekly: Can you talk about your brand new single “Peang Sing Deaw (Only Thing)”?
Petong: “Only Thing” is a rock ballad. It’s about the situation when a relationship has come to an end. Although it’s not a happy ending, there are still a lot of good memories. It’s a style of sad song that Vertical Mind is known for. Anyone who likes our previous song “Yang Tum Mai Dai (Still Can’t Do It)” should definitely enjoy this one, too.
Student Weekly: What inspires your songs?
Aop: Every song has a very complicated and sometimes long-term history. Each song mirrors events in our lives and the lives of our friends. We just pay attention to what's happening around us.
Student Weekly: Who are some of your musical influences?
Aop: We all have different favorite bands, but we all love rock and roll music. My favorite bands are Linkin Park and the Japanese band L'Arc-en-Ciel.
Nick: I like more extreme rock bands like Slipknot and Metallica.
Petong: Andy and I listen to bands that are quite similar. We love Muse, Maroon 5 and Queen.
Student Weekly: When can fans expect your debut album?
Petong: Maybe next year. At the moment, we just want to take time to release singles. I think being a rock band is very different from being a pop group. Rock music takes longer to win listeners, unlike a pop product that instantly hooks you right away.
Student Weekly: How would you describe your live show?
Aop: It totally rocks! [Laughs.]Petong: The live show is probably a little more rocking than people would expect. It’s got a lot of energy. We sweat a lot and move a lot and have a connection with the audience. We have fun, and we put out 100 percent. The better the crowd is, the more we get back from them.
Vocabulary
- recognition (n): public praise and reward for somebody's work or actions
back something up (phrasal v): to provide support for somebody or something
foundation (n): a principle, an idea or a fact that something is based on and that it grows from
debut (n): the first public appearance of a performer
acoustic (adj): designed to make natural sound, not sound produced by electrical equipment
vertical (adj): going straight up or down from a level surface or from top to bottom in a picture, etc.
horizontal (adj): going across and parallel to the ground rather than going up and down
mirror (v): to have features that are similar to something else and that show what it is like
