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Music Grey areaBy Ubonwan
Pongpat S bridges the gap with his newest release
The 29-year-old is the frontman of the rock band Kluay Thai and a guest singer for Rian Chern Poo Mee Jit Sut Ta, the band whose easy-listening songs �Rueng Nid Deaw (Small Issue)� and �Morananusati� topped the Fat Radio charts a couple of years back.
S started his prolific songwriting career when he was just 15. Since then, he�s written more than 100 songs and worked for music labels like GMM Grammy, RS and Banana. S recently released his latest album, Eskimo Project. The record contains an astounding 50 songs from the huge catalogue of tunes that he�s produced during the past 14 years. Student Weekly caught up with S to find out about his new album, crossing genres in the music business and why he keeps his face off his album covers. Student Weekly: What�s the story behind Eskimo Project?
But last year, the music industry started to suffer because of the problems with MP3s and free music downloads. The company withdrew the indie project and opened the Sanam Luang label instead. If I wanted to release an album with that label, I�d have to wait for, like, two years. I couldn�t wait that long. My songs might be outdated. So I walked out and decided to do it on my own. Student Weekly: If that�s the case, how did you end up with Spicy Disc? S: After thinking it over, I realised that I�d have no chance of selling more than 200 albums on my own. I had no media to advertise my product. I had no promotion plans. Fortunately, my former boss at Grammy mentioned Spicy Disc. I talked with the label�s owner and gave him my three-song demo. He liked it and gave me a chance to do a full-scale album. Student Weekly: The album is really full. Why so many songs?
Student Weekly: Your CD cover looks a lot like a book. How did you come up with that idea? S: My major at university was in classical music, which didn�t require students to do a final thesis to qualify for a degree the way students in other majors had to. I just wanted to do what my friends did. So, I mixed that idea with my musical effort, making a preface, a table of contents and a bibliography. Student Weekly: What about the young woman on the cover? Who is she? S: [Laughs.] She�s my mother. We�re very close, and I wanted to dedicate this album to her. At some point, I just thought: �Why not put her on the cover?�
S: Not much. But the picture made her and her siblings remember the old days. Student Weekly: You�ve never revealed your face on the covers of any of your albums. Why not? S: I don�t think my looks will sell records. I know I don�t look that good. But if my work hits it big one day and people want to see what I look like, I might consider doing it. Right now, it�s not necessary. Student Weekly: You�ve called your latest effort a �grey project.� What does that mean? S: Kluay Thai is extreme metal. Rian Chern Poo Mee Jit Sut Ta is easy listening. They�re like black and white. Neither of them is about love. But Eskimo Project is about love, anger, passion and other feelings. So, I call it grey. Student Weekly: Your work really crosses musical genres. Have you ever considered trying to compose look tung or country music, too? S: I�ve done it already. I can do all kinds of music � pop, rock, metal, look tung, hip-hop, puea chee wit. Ten years ago, I wrote nine look tung songs for Boy from AF2 when he was going to release an album with the Busbagade label. But that project was called off because of some problems. Student Weekly: What�s your favourite genre to work in? S: I don�t have one, to be honest. I enjoy every genre. Writing a wide variety of music helps me to improve my craft.
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In the mainstream music world, he�s
nearly unknown. But in indie circles, singer-songwriter-producer Wassakorn
Dechsutham is a household name. 
S also plays music at Cha-Bar, a pub at Aor Tor Kor Market.
S: Eskimo Project started at Grammy
two years ago. At the time, the company was developing indie music and fully
supporting artists working on their own. 
S: If you insert it into a CD player,
it plays only the 12 songs listed on the CD cover. But if you listen to it on a
computer, it plays 38 additional songs. The difference is that the 12 songs
listed on the cover are more contemporary, while the
others are old-time. 
Student Weekly:
What did she say when she saw it?
