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.

Remarkable bands that interpret Thai funk in the modern age

Nomura: Lastly, why don’t the two of you exchange information on artists you are interested in in Bangkok and Fukuoka?

Ginn: That would be great. There are three artists I am interested in. The first one is a band called FORD TRIO. There is a genre of music called Thai funk, and Khruangbin from the U.S. has stated that he was influenced by it, but I feel that FORD TRIO is a modern interpretation of Thai funk. After your Japan tour last November and the collaboration single with Helsinki Lambda Club, you started to pay attention to the Japanese market. It’s a strange thing to do that, to gain a deeper understanding of one’s own culture. You are scheduled to release a new album this year, and the songs on the album will include a unique Thai musical scale.

Nomura: Actually, there is a band in Fukuoka that was influenced by Thai funk that Khruangbin picked up, called MuchaMuchaM, and they are doing some interesting things, like incorporating Okinawan scales into their Thai funk feel.

Ginn: Interesting, FORD TRIO is also on Helsinki Lambda Club’s new album, so I think it will be a good tailwind for them in Japan.

Promising bands the fans sing along to their guitar riffs

Nomura: Collaborations between Thailand and Japan are increasing rapidly.

Ginn: Yes, there has been. Especially since the Corona Disaster could not physically move, I think the method of producing collaborative songs was effective for artists who were considering expanding into Thailand and wanted to improve their visibility in Thailand. For example, there was the collaboration between Ryu Matsuyama of Japan and Max Jenmana of Thailand, or Nulbarich and Phum Viphurit.

Nomura: I guess those who have been steadily preparing for the Corona Disaster are moving on to the next phase of co-creation that transcends national borders. What kind of artists are you looking forward to seeing in the future?

Ginn: Soft Pine, whose name was mentioned at the beginning. In Thailand, there is a culture where even the audience sings along with the song, and with Soft Pine, even the guitar riffs are becoming a chorus. There are many junior high and high school students in the audience.

Nomura: How long has your career been going?

Ginn: I think it was about four to five years. My theory is that the Thai indie scene is reborn every 5 years or so, and among the generation of Supergoods, Dogwine, January, Beagle Hug, Alec Orachi, etc. that came out in the last 5 years, Soft Pine stood out by a long shot. Pine. They will release a new album this year, so I have a feeling that they will be the first to make a splash in Thailand.

The essential indie artists in Thailand and Fukuoka

Ginn: By the way, in the generation that was even 5 years before that, Moving and Cut, Stoondio, Jelly Rocket, and Zweed n’ Roll came out, Safeplanet was the one that became arena class.

Nomura: Safeplanet has been to Japan many times, and they are well known in Japan, as they performed at ROTH BART BARON’s event this year. Incidentally, there is an artist in Fukuoka who seems to be a good match for Safeplanet as well. They have already released three singles this year and are scheduled to release a full-length album in the fall. They have already released three singles this year and are planning to release a full-length album in the fall. It would be great if we could perform in Thailand as well.

Nomura: What is the third artist?

Ginn: The third artist I would like to recommend is Summer Dress, who is a member of Panda Records, whose name was also mentioned in the middle of this article. They have been around for more than 10 years, and they have been getting better and better recently. I am convinced that if you condense the best parts of Thai indies, you get Summer Dress! I am convinced that if you condense the best parts of Thai indie music, you get Summer Dress! If you talk about Thai indie music, Summer Dress is the first thing you should listen to. I think Summer Dress is the first thing you should listen to when talking about Thai indie music.

Nomura: As an introduction, if you start with Summer Dress, you can understand the atmosphere of Thai indie music!　

Ginn: Is it like that?

Ginn: Yes, that’s right. The band plays a different kind of music, so I think you will be taken aback in a good way.

Nomura: The music video is sharp and I was surprised in a good way. It is an introduction to Fukuoka indie music, and it is so good that you are taken aback! In that sense, Alex Stevens is indispensable. He is a solo artist living in Fukuoka who hails from Hawaii and has roots in Imari, but the songs he makes have a refreshing atmosphere that evokes the sea of Itoshima, a resort area in Fukuoka, and all of his songs work as great driving music. He himself is a waiter at como es, a cafe where Fukuoka’s music culture gathers, and he also writes songs at the store. If you are lucky, you might be able to see him writing songs at the store.

The topic shifts to the night-time economy

Nomura: I think both the city and the artists change from day to day, so I hope we can continue this dialogue as a fixed-point observation, but after this discussion, I thought it would be interesting to compare and contrast the city from the perspective of the nighttime economy in the next issue.

Ginn: I think it would be interesting to compare the city from the perspective of the nighttime economy in the next issue of the magazine. That’s what we are trying to do, isn’t it?

Nomura: That’s right. If we take a look at Bangkok and Fukuoka from the perspective of the nighttime economy, we will find a different story.

Ginn: I think Taiwan is famous for its night markets, but Thailand is also famous for its night markets, and recently, new markets have been established for both tourists and locals!

Nomura: Oops! Let’s save that story for next time (laughs).