Making new-school sounds

Where baby boomers had rock and roll, and Gen Xers had hip-hop and punk, millennials have EDM – electronic dance music. They’ve watched Skrillex, former frontman of From First to Last turn into a dubstep king, and Deadmau5, the Canadian progressive-house music producer and performer, rise to celebrity status.

“Thanks to Skrillex in particular, Thai youngsters know electronic music,” says Tossawat “Nup” Chotivong, founder of electronic music school In Ear Beat. 

“With the genre now so trendy and the growing popularity of Thai electronic-dance band, Boom Boom Cash, more and more people are paying attention to our school. The band is also inspiring the new generation to come up with creative ideas.

“I have to admit I didn’t like Skrillex at first,” adds the 29-year-old founder who is a fan of T-Square and Norah Jones and also enjoys listening to R&B and bossa nova.

“Kids today aren’t interested in being in a band. They want to man the decks as a DJ. Some have switched from guitar to DJ turntable. Their parents don’t like it much, especially the thought of their offspring working as DJs at night but most of them calm down when I explain that these days DJs work during the day too. Being a DJ no longer means spinning vinyl or CDs on a turntable and mixer. It’s really just about pressing keys on a laptop.”

In Ear Beat’s courses include “DJ Producer” and “The Controllerist”. All involve software by Ableton, a Berlin-based music software company that produces and distributes the Ableton Live production and performance program.

“The ‘DJ Producer’ course targets the new type of DJ who plays his self-produced music in addition to making remixes of other artists’ music. ‘The Controllerist’ is about performance and teaches modern electronic equipment as well as programming sounds for a band. This course is now very popular because many kids wants to be programmers in an outfit like Boom Boom Cash or Linkin Park,” says Tossawat, a graduate of Dubspot, one of the world’s leading schools for electronic music production, DJing and performance, which has campuses in New York City and online, and the first certified Ableton training centres.

“My target isn’t just musicians but anyone who likes making music. In Ear Beat is an electronic music and DJ school for everyone with a passion for the sound. No matter who you are or what you are, you can be a DJ and make your music. Here you can learn the same curriculum and equipment as in New York,” he adds.

His students are roughly divided into two groups. The first is comprised of both working professionals and youths in Bangkok and upcountry and also includes individuals from India, Malaysia and Laos. The second group is made up of people in the business and includes Seed FM DJ Dre, Celeste Siam, who’s manned the decks in Ibiza, Boom Boom Cash’s sound engineer, and percussion band the Exotic.

“The youngsters want to be solo artists or play with their band, while the working people just want to fulfil their dreams,” says Tossawat, whose masked electronic band, In Ear Beat, performed at the recent  Sonic Bang music festival.

But for all the enthusiasm for electronica, rock is still alive and kicking. Surprisingly some of the credit must again go to Skrillex and Deadmau5, who have been mashing metal with electronic. The Killers too have produced records that incorporate vintage synthesiser sounds and styles to contrast with the dominant post-grunge and nu-metal.

“Rock never dies,” says Pat Yongkittikul, the guitarist of rock band Barbie and founder of rock music school Rockademy. 

“I don’t define rock as distortion guitar and loud percussion but as musicianship and attitude of artists like Norah Jones, Beyonce, Jay Z, or even Thai artists such as Joey Boy and Santi Lunple. Being a rock star doesn’t mean playing rock guitar like Sek Loso either. It’s about self-esteem.

“I was interested in electronic music back in the 1990s when the Prodigy and the Chemical Brothers were on the scene. But things have changed and today the DJ is the new rock star. Electronic used to be just ambient noise but now it’s a music instrument in itself,” he says.

Rockademy’s main course, the aptly titled Rockademy 101, is designed for beginners. Another course, One-on-One, is for those who want to enhance their musical skills without stage experience. And Live! teaches advanced musical skills with a teamwork element and live shows. Finally there’s Rockademy Band Coaching, for artist development.

“Rockademy opens the gate to everyone with a passion for music,” says Pat, who has also produced for both Thai and international artists. 

“In the Rockademy Live course, the instructors pick students from each of the instrument courses and form them into a band to play on stage in front of their parents. We don’t only want them to play music but also to enjoy music and react with the audience.”

“Anybody can join Rockademy. All they need is passion. And we aren’t here to tell them how to approach their dream. We want them to keep their passion and make their dreams come true. That’s why we don’t teach the theory behind music but how to play music,” says manager Asbjoern Kroell, a member of rock band Sobic.

 

Sign up for sounds

_ Contact In Ear Beat at (02) 619 5668, (081) 962 9009 or visit www.InEarBeat.com. 

_ Rockademy is at (02) 261 3833, (087) 512 4614 and “rockademythailand” on Facebook.