The funkiest Thai bands of the last 10 years Read more: 10 bands that made Thai music cool in the noughties
CNNGo December 24, 2009 — Thai music has been blessed with shining examples in almost every genre imaginable over the last 10 years. From a thriving indie scene to the explosion of sickly-sweet pop music, there have been more than enough highlights to keep even the most difficult-to-please music fans happy. Here we look back at 10 of
the best:
1. Bodyslam
Although they’d been around since the mid-nineties, it wasn’t until the 2000s that Bodyslam shot to fame and started making waves with their catchy riffs and banging concerts. “Believe,” the band’s third album, was released in 2005 to a rapturous reception, paving the way for superstardom and securing their position as one of Thailand’s most popular bands of the decade. Their live concerts were full of energy and at one time included a cover of This Love, which was far better than Maroon 5’s dreary original.
2. Sek Loso
While not always appealing to Bangkok’s hip young crowd, there’s no denying that Sek Loso put Thailand on the map with their rock ‘n roll grooves. The image of P’Sek wearing sunglasses and sipping on an M-150 was so cheesy it became cool. Teaming up with Bonehead of Oasis fame gave the band another notch on the coolness scale, but this was cancelled out when P’Sek went all diva and hit a fellow cast-member with a shoe in a rock opera in New York.
3. Futon
Maybe it was Gene Kasidit’s wild hair and sparkly dress sense. Or perhaps it was the fact that Simon Gilbert had been a member of much-loved Britpoppers Suede. Whatever the reason, Futon oozed street-cred so much that the whole world stood up to get a look at this electro-rock outfit. “I Wanna Be Your Dog” became the song of a generation in 2003 and it wasn’t long before Thailand’s hottest commodity was championed by all sides of the music press. In the time they were together, there was no stopping them, but they continue to leave their mark on the Thai music scene with their solo projects.
4. Goose
Goose play an important role in Thailand’s indie scene. Formed in 2002 by five buddies, the band’s guitar-driven, relentless style has been a breath of fresh air in an indie scene that often fails to deliver anything even remotely resembling creativity. While their albums are impressive, it’s their live shows that really stand out and capture audiences in a post-rock bubble that has to be experienced to be believed.
5. Thaitanium
For the most part, Thai hip hop music was difficult to take seriously in the 2000s. But while Thaitanium may have reached pop-icon status, they were still the first collective to show that Thai hip hop could be credible while giving Bangkok’s b-boys and b-girls an act they could finally be proud of.
6. Katsue
When pretty boys Joni Anwar and Montonn Jira got together to produce a solitary album as Katsue, nobody could have predicted the result. Released in 2006, “And So It Goes” was a subtle, blissful dose of electronic music. Their superstar status meant that they could have released an album of cats yodelling and it still would have been popular, but as a work of music, Katsue gave the world one of the best albums to come out of Thailand in recent memory.
7. Kid Insane
As an up-and-coming indie band, they didn’t come much more promising than Kid Insane. Fronted by another pretty boy, Sam Burns, their 2006 album “Insomniac” was a wild, throbbing explosion of rock music that hit all the right notes and made Thai music very cool once again. Heavily influenced by the likes of Radiohead and The Smashing Pumpkins, “Insomniac” was an underappreciated highlight of the 2000s and something the band would never be able to replicate.
8. Endorphine
Da’s powerful voice is instantly recognizable, making it the perfect accompaniment to Endorphine’s funky pop-rock melodies. Endorphine’s music is appealing in its simplicity without being tainted by the massive popularity of the band in recent years. The songs convey a sense of happiness that many Thai bands have tried to replicate without success.
9. Four Mod
It took two squeaky-cute Thai girls to remind us that mindless pop music can still be fun. Their bizarre outfits and catchy tunes shot Four Mod to fame, peaking in 2007 with oddly enjoyable “Dek Mee Ban Ha,” for which the girls showed off some of the most bizarre dance moves of the decade as they pranced around in their neon legwarmers. When video clips (taken without their knowledge) of the girls taking showers surfaced in 2008, their teary-eyed press statements were heartbreaking while the once-innocent image of Four and Mod was shattered.
10. T-Bone
It’s near impossible not to fall in love with this 10-piece ska outfit. There have been few, if any, Thai bands in the past 10 years that have come with the same kind of energy as T-Bone. Their live shows are outrageously silly, with the band giving all the best elements of ska, reggae and jazz a little Thai twist that gets people on their feet and dancing around like things possessed.