Great for itchy ears

Next week, bands from Silpakorn University will be performing for free at “Kanhoo Duriyang”, the university’s music event, which is being staged at TK Park as a showcase of music students’ works.

Kanhoo Duriyang, which loosely translates as “music for itchy ears”, not only aims to entertain participants with eclectic music by students, but also educates them about sound arrangements, sound editing, recording and other information related to the music world. 

Silpakorn University’s Faculty of Music, which was only inaugurated in 1999, has so far produced many talented, independent bands and groups. Bands like The Yers, Summer Dress, Cookie & Cream and Circle Green will take turns performing their best songs during the three-day event. 

While most of them play pop, funk and jazz, others, like Handi Cat, serve up innovative sounds and styles, in the Cats’ case, honed by a love of video games. 

Faculty of Music graduates Mont, Not, Van and Aof found each other during their freshman year through a shared passion for video games. Inspired and influenced heavily by music from computer games like “Rock Man”, “Gladius” and even “Mario”, they churned out such original tracks titled “Loser”, “Error”, “Private”, “Emergency” and “No Way Out”, all of which can be streamed from the band’s Facebook page, WeAreHandiCat. Heavily programmed with strong drum and bass riffs and hectic sampling in the background, their sound draws elements of rock and pop to mash beautifully with computer sounds. The band members are particularly fond of indie music, especially by Japanese bands – music that’s known as Shibuya-kei. 

“We call our music electro pop, but it’s actually a mixture of sounds – regardless of musical genre – presented in an easy-to-digest, catchy fashion. Mainstream pop songs might use up to 7 notes, out of the 12, but we use all of them,” says Mont. He now works freelance as a music composer for commercials and, of course, video games. The rest of the members also work in similar fields. 

While their fellow graduates’ jazzy, funk bands land gigs at pubs and restaurants, Handi Cat often find themselves entertaining small groups of Japanese and Western expats in underground venues and galleries. “We knew from the start that with this kind of music we wouldn’t make a living out of the band. But we don’t really care. We just want to play the music we like.” Van said.

The band recently agreed with Panda Records to release their debut album at the end of this year. 

 

Handi hearing

>> Kanhoo Duriyang runs from Tuesday till Thursday at TK Park, CentralWorld Plaza, from 10am.

>> Find out more at KanhooDuriyang’s Facebook page or visit www.Music.su.ac.th.