Gentle jazz

Mellow Motif take it easy

By Tatat Bunnag
Photos are courtesy of
Warner Music Thailand

The name Natasha Patamapongs may not familiar to music listeners, but her stage name Oong Mellow Motif has long been known for quality singing in the local jazz scene.

Oong formed Mellow Motif as a pop-jazz group with her Singaporean friend Eugene Ang back in 2009. The duo shared a passion for Brazilian, swing and jazz music. With Eugene’s piano skills and Oong’s bright and sweet vocals, Mellow Motif has since released two successful albums and has performed around Asia, while steadily gaining popularity in the regional jazz scene. The band has played major festivals in Thailand, China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, Japan and Malaysia.

Oong is taking another big step in her career with the release of Mellow Motif’s third album Ao Vivo! The exciting part of Ao Vivo! is that it’s an all-live recording where the band invited 140 of their loyal fans to experience and be part of the recorded concert. As the 14-track CD and CD/DVD box set of the album has now hit the stores, Student Weekly recently met up with the 29-year-old singer to talk about the making of Ao Vivo!

Student Weekly: What does Ao Vivo! mean?

Oong: It’s a Portuguese word for live. As the name suggests, every song on this album was recorded live. It’s a rare thing to do for music recording these days. But we intended to make an album where people can feel like they’re listening to the band playing live.

Student Weekly: Can you tell us about the different packages of the album you released?

Oong: There are three different packages for Ao Vivo! — gold, silver and bronze. The bronze one is a regular 14-track album. Silver is a CD box set, which includes a documentary DVD of the live recording session. But the 140 gold packages sold out a long time ago, because they each included an invitation ticket to the band’s live recording session last November.

Student Weekly: How difficult is it to record music that way?

Oong: It’s very challenging. I think it’s the right way to record music, which is what artists normally did in the past. We tried to bring that tradition back. We had to rehearse these songs over and over until we were ready. Then the fans at the session were each given a set of headphones.

Student Weekly: Can you talk about the musical styles on the album?

Oong: Ao Vivo! features some great well-known and lesser-known songs. There are some bossa nova and Brazilian tunes as well as timeless jazz standards. We covered the Carpenters’ “Close to You,” The Beatles’ “If I Fell,” and classic Thai pop tunes by the legendary Jaran Manopetch and Prapas Cholsaranon. We rearranged them into the Mellow Motif style.

Student Weekly: What’s your favourite track off the album?

Oong: It’s a cover of João Gilberto’s “Sorriu Pra Mim,” which means “Smile at Me.” It’s a sad song with sweet bossa nova music. I love it.

Student Weekly: Is your bandmate Eugene Ang still working on the new album?

Oong: Yes, but only on one track. Eugene helped arrange “The Answer.” We still collaborate virtually these days, but Eugene is busy with his job in Singapore, so he didn’t play anything on the new album. But we’ll definitely work together again in the future.

Student Weekly: Since 2009, Mellow Motif have played all over South East Asia. What’s the most memorable concert you ever played?

Oong: That’s pretty tricky. Each place has different feelings, but what I felt proud to be part of most was Java Jazz Festival 2013 in Jakarta. We were the first Thai band to be chosen to perform there, along with a lot of renowned international artists like Lisa Stansfield, Stevie Wonder and Joss Stone. It was probably the biggest event that we’ve been part of.

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