Music

Found sound

By Tatat Bunnag, Photos by Varuth Hirunyatheb and courtesy of Tata Records

Poomjit tackle tough topics

In the past, most Thai pop bands sang about love and not much else. Poomjit are part of a new generation of indie rockers who aren�t afraid to tackle complex issues like war, society and capitalism.

Poomjit craft their ideas under the influence of Brit-pop music, creating a unique sound and style.

Since forming in 2002, the band � singer and guitarist Puttiyos Phalajivin (Put), 25, guitarist Kasem Janyaworawong (Kan), 25, bassist Titinan Jantangpol (Bomb), 24, and drummer Adsanai Ardsakul (Max), 23 � have built quite a following. They were eventually heard by Paradox�s singer, Ittipong Kridakorn Na Ayudhaya (Ta), who signed them to his indie label, Tata Records.

Student Weekly spoke to Put and Max recently about the release of Poomjit�s debut album, Found and Lost.

STUDENT WEEKLY: How did you come up with the name Poomjit?

• Did you know •

Max also drums for indie rock band Mooses.

Put: Poomjit has the same meaning as poomjai [proud]. I used to be really into a Thai band called Proud.

I wanted our band to have a Thai name because I was really tired of college bands with crazy English names like G-Six or Alzheimer. [Laughs.]

STUDENT WEEKLY: Is it true that you guys only recently learned how to play your instruments properly?

Put: I�ve only had music lessons for couple of months. Before that, we could play easy stuff and simple chords, but I�d never learned how to play scales or read music.

Max: We were more like listeners than musicians. But in the last few years, there weren�t any bands playing stuff that we wanted to hear, so we decided to do it ourselves.

STUDENT WEEKLY: Can you tell us about the title of your album, Found and Lost?

Put: I had a crisis a couple of years ago when I lost my grandmother and sister at the same time, broke up with my girlfriend and got expelled from university.

There were so many bad things happening, and in my diary I wrote about how we always find things and then lose them. I came across it again when we started working on the album.

STUDENT WEEKLY: You guys seem to focus a lot on serious issues. What are the main themes for your songs?

Put: The music comes from the whole band bringing elements together to create something new. The lyrics are like diary of my life � the way I look at things around me and the things that I like or dislike.

STUDENT WEEKLY: Is your song �New World Order� about the dangers of products like skin-whitening cream?

Put: Not really. But in Asian countries, skin-whitening cream represents a model for capitalism. To sell something like that, the companies have to make people feel dissatisfied with what they have and with the way they look.

Any system that has such an enormous influence over people can be dangerous. I�m not saying that I�m against capitalism � just that I�m aware of how it works.

STUDENT WEEKLY: Do you have any love songs on the album?

Put: Yes, absolutely.

Max: The song �Mek See Roong (Zhying)� is about having a positive attitude towards everything around you, especially love. Dating or holding your girlfriend�s hand in the rain is romantic. [Laughs.]

	tackle (v): to make a determined effort to deal with a situation capitalism (n): an economic system in which a country�s businesses and industry are controlled and run for profit by private owners rather than by the government craft (v): to make something using special skills crisis (n): a time when a problem, a bad situation or an illness is at its worst point expel (v): to officially make somebody leave a school or an organization theme (n): the subject or main idea in a song, piece of writing, work of art, etc. element (n): the necessary or typical part of something model (n): something that is used for explaining how a system works dissatisfied (adj): not happy or satisfied with something enormous (adj): extremely large