Sukie through the lens

Kamol Sukosol Clapp, or Sukie as he’s known to those in the music industry, is all set to reveal another of his talents by showcasing more than 50 photographs taken during his travels both in Thailand and abroad. The exhibition, his first, is titled “Life After Music”, will also feature an acoustic show opens at Sombat Permpoon Gallery on Sukhumvit Soi 1 on Tuesday and runs until February 5.

“I’ve been in the music business my whole life and it was only when I ventured outside the industry that I came to appreciate there’s a lot more to life than music. Looking back, I also realised I have zero photos of my time with Bakery Music. So with my next venture, the TV show ‘Dreamchaser’, I vowed not to make the same mistake again and took up photography as a hobby,” Sukie says.

Sukie started his music career in 1994 with the founding of indie record label Bakery Music in collaboration with Boyd Kosiyabong, Zomkiat Ariyachaipanich and Salinee Panyarachun, producing such successful acts as Moderndog. Bakery thrived but in 1997 was hit by the Asian meltdown and taken over by BMG three years later. In 2001, although still with the label, Sukie formed the rock band Pru with his younger brother, Krissada “Noi” Sukosol Clapp on vocals, Kaninyan “Tab” Chandrasma on drums and Yodtao Yodying on bass. In 2004, when BMG merged with Sony Music, Bakery’s founders called it quits and went their separate ways.

In 2007, Sukie took on a new challenge as host of TV’s “Dreamchaser”, a reality-cum-documentary series that had him riding his Ducati motorcycle to various destinations in Thailand and Laos.

“Travelling on a motorcycle with limited space, I knew I needed something small and being a novice I didn’t want to get something expensive so I started off with a cheap point-and-shoot digicam. Now I’m using a Canon S90, which is still small but highly effective: All the photos in this exhibition were taken with it.

“What started as a hobby developed into a passion, which sparked off the idea for this exhibition. The photos reflect what I’ve been up to since leaving the music business.”

Why did Sukie opt for the Canon S90 rather than a professional digital single lens camera?

“I guess it has to do with the way I was raised. When I started playing the guitar, my mother bought me a cheap guitar and as I got better, she bought me a Gibson ES335. When I started riding motorcycles, I bought a second-hand Honda before progressing to a Ducati. Likewise, I started off with a point and shoot camera and now I’m using a Canon S90, not a pro camera by any means but effective. Now, I’ve outgrown it and am about to move up to a mid-level DSLR camera,” he says.

The photo exhibition, which was postponed because of the severe flood situation around Bangkok, consists of more than 50 photos, 95 per cent of which were taken in Thailand during his travels, with the remainder snapped in India and America. They are divided into five different categories: people/portraits, April 2010 Bangkok street protest, motorcycling, Bangkok, and nature.

“A person’s photo reveals so much about them. I honestly believe that a portrait is a blueprint of an individual’s personality – it’s a window into their soul.”

He is particularly fond of some of his photos, among them “Above The Clouds”, which was captured in Pha Tang, Chiang Rai and “Majestic”, an image taken at the Sukhothai Historical Park.

“In ‘9/11’, I saw the Empire State Building and decided to take a picture of it. I had no idea until I uploaded it to the computer that I had also captured an American flag and a plane flying over the building. The whole thing reminded me of 9/11 – kinda eerie.”

Another two favourites are “Little Boy” snapped in India and “Bikers” taken in Mae Hong Son, which Sukie says really captures the feel of what it’s like to ride all day and then take a rest at a gas station.

On December 19, Sukie will be getting together with brother Noi, Thanachai “Pod” Ujjin of Moderndog, and Palmy for an acoustic set at the gallery starting at 8pm.

“The show will be very audience friendly. The songs will be mostly hits by Noi, Pod, and Palmy with a few foreign songs thrown in. However, I’ve rearranged every song acoustically, that is acoustically in my way - not what you would normally hear from other Thai bands. It should be fun; hopefully, people will like it,” says Sukie.

 

 

STRUM ALONG

Tickets for the acoustic show are Bt1,000. Just 400 seats are available so book now at Thai Ticket Major. Call (02) 262 3456 or visit www.ThaiTicketMajor.com.

All proceeds will go to Friends of the Asian Elephant in Lampang.