Introduction to the indie music scene in Thailand and Fukuoka and the unexpected effect of the massive redevelopments

Political statement is a must in Thailand’s music scene

Nomura: I have the impression that the younger generation is energetically active in Thailand, including artists and events, but how is it actually going on in the country?

Ginn: Although energetic, Thailand is actually a country with a declining birthrate and an aging population. According to one theory, the birthrate is declining and the population is aging faster than in Japan. Originally, the population was 66 million (in 2022, according to the Thai Ministry of Interior), a little more than half that of Japan, but it is said to be rapidly declining after peaking in 2028. The country’s economic development has not exploded, and the birthrate is declining.

Ginn: In terms of the economy, tourism is one of the most important industries in Thailand, accounting for about 20% of the GDP. We were hit hard by the Corona disaster, but now tourists are finally coming back, so of course the economy is picking up compared to the Corona period. However, I feel that from here on out, we will come to a standstill unless we strengthen our current major industries or diversify our major industries. I think that will inevitably require political power.

Nomura: I have the impression that politics is very powerful in Thailand.

Ginn: Yes, it is. I have encountered two coups since I have been living in Thailand. When you look at the word “coup”, it sounds dangerous, like there are a lot of guns waving around in the streets. But in reality, it is not like that. The military takes control of the city, so there is not much violence during that period. When a coup d’etat occurs, martial law is imposed, and people are prohibited from going out at night or gathering in groups. Since people are prohibited from gathering together, live events are also canceled or cannot be held.

Nomura: Just from that example alone, you can see that politics is closer to home than in Japan. Doesn’t that kind of relationship with politics have a great impact on your work?

Ginn: Of course it does, and even if they don’t make it into a work of art, artists will make a clear statement. For example, there is a hip-hop crew called RAP AGAINST DICTATORSHIP that has released a song that is a scathing criticism of the government, and their YouTube music video has been viewed over 100 million times. It also has Japanese subtitles.

Ginn: By the way, the government responded to this with an answer song, which seemed to get a lot of bad marks. In Thailand, musicians also make political statements like that, and although there are pros and cons to what they say, I have never seen anything that makes them the target of criticism for speaking out in itself, at least not in my experience. On the other hand, if you don’t assert your will, you may be criticized for not asserting it. I don’t know about that, though.

Nomura: Is this true for pop and R&B artists, for example, not hip-hop?

Ginn: Yes, bands such as Safeplanet and H3F have expressed anti-establishment views, and there is even a festival called “DEMO EXPO” that gathers bands/artists who have expressed anti-establishment positions. There is even a festival called “DEMO EXPO” that gathers bands/artists who have expressed anti-establishment positions.

The unexpected impact of the changing landscape by the massive redevelopment

Nomura: I think Thailand needs political stability to make progress in city development, don’t you think?

Ginn: That’s not quite true. There is an area called Siam, which is a town where many young people gather, and which is called the Harajuku-Shibuya of Thailand in Japanese guidebooks. The area was developed so much that I can no longer remember any trace of the original town. There are areas like that, and then there are areas where the sidewalks are still rickety and unpaved, so the disparity in town development is quite severe.

Also, although it may not have the same meaning as city development, one problem with transportation infrastructure is that Thailand is famous for its terrible traffic jams. In some cases, a car can be stuck in traffic for up to an hour. Traffic congestion seems to be caused by a combination of various factors, such as city structure, road layout, traffic system, traffic rules, traffic manners, and lifestyle, etc. It is a deep-rooted problem that will not be solved immediately by modifying any of these factors.

Nomura: I see. Fukuoka has also gone through the Corona Disaster, and the two major redevelopment projects, “Tenjin Big Bang” and “Hakata Connected,” have changed the landscape of the city center. Fukuoka used to have a cityscape with no tall buildings because the airport was located in the middle of the city and building height was restricted by law, but now that the law has been relaxed, the government is in the midst of a flag-waving campaign to aggressively rebuild. The Ritz-Carlton is located on the site of the former Daimyo Elementary School, which was closed down in the center of the city, and the former schoolyard on the first floor has been turned into a lawn area for disaster prevention.

Ginn: The last time I visited Fukuoka, perhaps due to redevelopment, I felt an atmosphere that was different from other cities in Japan, or perhaps not even in Thailand, like a city in Asia but in some other country, and I thought it was evolving in a unique way.

Nomura: This may be due to the fact that it is a regional city with a growing population, which is rare in Japan, especially among immigrants. Also, there are no large buildings, so the whole city gets a lot of sunlight, and Tenjin in particular has been around since the days of the daimyo’s mansions, so the streetscape is still relatively beautiful. The Tenjin Big Bang is to rebuild about 70 buildings until about 2026.

Ginn: That would change the way the sun shines, wouldn’t it?

Nomura: I think the landscape will change drastically. Over the past five years, more and more musicians from Fukuoka have been attracting attention, and I have frequently been asked in interviews, “Don’t you feel that there is a common atmosphere among artists from Fukuoka?” But I didn’t really think so. But after looking at the lyrics and listening to the melodies, I realized that artists from Fukuoka are likely to be inspired by the same scenery. In Tokyo, there is Shibuya, Shinjuku, Shimokitazawa, and Kichijoji. The atmosphere of each city is very different and the scenery varies from season to season. If it takes longer, it takes about 30 minutes. When you live in the city, your area of activity is usually the same, so the scenery you see is similar. I suspect that this common scenery brews a certain atmosphere.　That is my observation.

Ginn: When the landscape of a city changes due to redevelopment, it may affect the expression of artists in the long run.

Nomura: Yes, that’s right. In the first part, we talked about the “XX generation” of live music clubs in Thailand, but in Fukuoka, we may see a generation after the Tenjin Big Bang.

A budding new culture brought by redevelopments

Ginn: The redevelopment may change the flow of the wind and the temperature of the city, which may have no small effect on expressive activities.

Nomura: Yes, that’s right. There are pros and cons to redevelopment, but I think there is a possibility that the creation of a new location will trigger the emergence of new forms of expression. For example, until now, the flow of people around Tenjin was cut off in the Tenjin-kita area, and they did not go beyond that area to the ocean side to have fun. However, with the redevelopment of Tenjin-kita and the Suzaki Park area beyond, cafes and halls will be built, making it easier to stroll to the ocean side. Perhaps as a precursor to this, I have heard that young people are beginning to gather at Bayside Place Hakata, a facility on the seaside that until now has rarely been used as a playground.

Ginn: The BOAT collective, of which you are a member, also uses the same area for its studios, right?

Nomura: That’s right. Our studio was in an area where no one passed by on the street in front of it at night! I hope that more and more people will come to Bayside Place Hakata and do something creative!

Ginn: I think that’s a good point.

Ginn: I remember a similar example in Bangkok, where the city is changing due to the flow of people. There is a huge market called “Chatuchak Weekend Market” that is open only on Saturdays and Sundays, and there is a building adjacent to it called “Bangsue Junction”. It was originally a building that did not attract young people because of its red exterior, and it had antiques, furnishings, and furniture stores on the first three floors. Then the young people who go to Chatuchak started going there in the evening. People began to gather there, so we decided to turn the third floor into a secondhand clothing market as well, and secondhand clothing stores began to move in on the third floor, and finally the fifth floor was also occupied by secondhand clothing stores.