Ohm and the time of 'Innocents'

Fans have been waiting for a long time for Chatree “Ohm” Kongsuwan to return to the stage and finally their patience is being rewarded as the guitarist and songwriter extraordinaire heads up “Ohm Chatree Live 2013: The Director’s Cut” at Central World Live on December 22 for a show that will include some old-time favourites. Ohm’s song list covers songs ranging back through the years to his time as a member of a 1980’s pop band The Innocent, as a songwriter and producer at GMM Grammy and, more recently, as music director for TV’s popular talent reality show “True Academy Fantasia”.

 “This concert is in essence a biography of my career with songs that span my journey as an artist,” says Ohm, who was last on stage to promote his 2008 album “Into the Light” and also took part in The Innocent’s reunion concert the following year.

“I kept coming up with concert titles but in the end decided to stick with my name. ‘The Director’s Cut’ theme makes it fairly clear that it’s covering my entire career in the music circle. It will be a very lively show,” he adds.

To perform the more than 25 songs planned for the show, Ohm is bringing along 15 of his young proteges from the first 10 seasons of the talent show. They are: Pacharapol “Vit” Jantieng and Tanyanan “Jeen” Mahapiroon of AF1, Pisanu “Boy” Nimsakul and Patcha “Patt” Anekayuwat of AF2, Kiatkamol “Tui” Lata of AF3, Pakamon “Lookpong” Bunyaputi and Thuradee “Eingeing” Areerob of AF4, Savitree “Beau” Suttichanond of AF5, Natnatcha “Ann” Numcharoensombut of AF6, Pawornrat “Pum” Kittimongkollert of AF7, Thanasit “Ton” Jaturaputch and Sattaphong “Tao” Phiangpor of AF8, Piyawat “K” Sutthichauy and Pimwarun “Baimonh” Srimaung of AF9, and Puriwat “Tungbeer” Teerachat of AF10.

 “I’m celebrating having worked with the reality show for seven years,” says Ohm. “My original idea was to have the winners of every season on stage but because of their tight schedules, that couldn’t be arranged. So instead I picked the kids who impressed me the most.”

“Lookpong and Eingeing of AF4 will sing a duet and Nong Pum of AF7 will perform ‘Dai Rak Ther Kor Phor Laew’, a number I wrote for Jeerawan ‘Praew’ Sonsaard of AF8 and also used for the TV series ‘Coffee Prince’. Tao of AF8 will sing ‘Proh Ther Khon Diew’, which I wrote for him. Patcha, who introduced my Innocent number ‘Phieng Khrueng Jai’ to the young generation will be given another song,” says Ohm.

In addition to the AF group, Ohm has invited artists from the Sahaphap Dontri (Music Reunion) label, among them Papassorn “Wei Wei” Han, Worachaya “Lukkaew” Chaovalit, Tong & Jennie, and Artip “Keng” Charoenchaisakulsuk to take part, as well as his friends Tik Shiro, Apichai “Pom” Yenpoonsuk and Olarn Phromjai of the Olarn Project. The Mister Music Band will provide the back up.

 “I’ll be playing guitar for every number and also telling the audience the background and story behind the songs as well as detailing my relationship with the artists. I’m also including a track from my solo album ‘Into the Light’,” he says.

He’s also hoping for a full house. “It would be great if 2,500 people came along and interacted with each other during the songs. Ideally, some would be fans who have followed my work on the reality show, others who have liked the tracks I wrote for Grammy artists and yet others those who like my guitar work. That way it will be a real melting pot.”

A CD of the songs in the concert will be on sale shortly afterwards and a DVD will follow.

 

On stage with Ohm

_ “Ohm Chatree Live 2013: The Director's Cut concert” is being staged at Central World Live on the 8th floor of CentralWorld on December 22 at 7.30pm.

_ Tickets cost from Bt1,500 to Bt2,500, Bt2,000 at Thai Ticket Major outlets. Call (02) 262 3456 or visit www.ThaiTicketMajor.com.