Three singles and counting

No, the indie-rock ensemble Somkiat doesn’t take its name from one of its members. The garage band is named after – a garage. 

“It comes from the Somkiat Garage opposite my apartment, behind our university,” says guitarist Thanon “Non” Sanglek. 

“We were looking for a name while rehearsing and we knew we needed a Thai name, but couldn’t come up with anything,” adds drummer Prawith “Yim” Hansten. “Usually we’d practise at Non’s apartment because there are plenty of food stalls on his street. And one day while heading out in his car we glanced at the garage and immediately agreed to use that as our name, since ‘garage’ is the type of rock we play.”

Non and Yim, singer Kanawin “Boat” Cheartaw, bassist Nut Benjarongrat and Purich “Boss” Phansook, the other guitarist, are all graduates of the College of Music at Mahidol University. They formed the band in 2009, playing covers of their favourite Thai and foreign tunes in their own style. 

Non favours the likes of Paradox guitarist Ittipong “Tar” Kriddakorn Na Ayutthaya and John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Yim idolises Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham. Boat enjoys the Mars Volta with its complicated music structures. And Boss loves Silly Fools and the Strokes.

Influences aside, they came up with enough talent of their own to win a Coke Music Award in 2010. Rungroj Uptampotiwat, a co-founder of the music label Smallroom, caught them live and persuaded them to join his studio. In 2012 Somkiat released its debut single, “Ai”, and the following year came out with “Khon Thi Yang Mai Prom” and a cover of Carabao’s “Thalay Jai” for the TV series “Carabao the Series” and an album.

“When we started working on ‘Ai’ we still hadn’t decided on our musical direction,” says Non. “It was a freeform – we were all part of the discussion.”

“It was like experimenting for us, after having always done covers of other bands in various styles,” says Boat. “We knew what bands and which styles we didn’t want to play, so with the first song, we came to a decision of the sound we all preferred. “‘Ai’ is about a guy who’s shy about talking to a woman, so the bridge is saying, ‘Don’t be shy!’”

“Boat and I worked together on the lyrics and melody and we all contributed during rehearsals,” says Non. “We needed an upbeat rhythm because it’s pop punk rock. At first you get that big beat and the power of rock, and then comes the more electronic sounds.”

Boat says “Khon Thi Yang Mai Prom” was drawn straight from an experience Boss had in school. 

“You’re never sure how well you can take of the girl you love, like paying for everything for her. You don’t have a lot of money and you aren’t ready to take care of someone, so you end up feeling heartbroken. That song rocks more than the first one, but it also has a bluesy feel.” 

The band basically disappeared for a year after the two singles, busy with their final year of university, but also recording their first album. Before that happened, though, came the third single, “Chang Man”.

“I had a verse in mind, about everything we were going through at the time,” says Boat. “We were sharing experiences. We had all these problems and we’d just shout at each other, ‘Chang man!’”

It translates as “forget it”. 

Expect more such advice, always born in the instant, in the now, on Somkiat’s forthcoming inaugural album.

“I write from my friends’ experiences and sometimes I get into the philosophy of life,” says Yim. “The album will be like a recording of our memories, from moment to moment.”