The return of Tor Thanai and 8 things you need to know about his new music video “Hotel”

After many months of anticipation, Tor Thanai (Tor Thanai Phornphong) is back with a thrilling teaser and a music video of his song “Hotel.”

The video was directed by Nut-Nanut Mahatthanasiri or Nanut Malongyer (IG: @directed.nanut), who most recently directed music videos for various household names in Thailand such as WANYAi, Slot Machine, and Gavin.D. However, it was Nanut's early work that he did for a Thai rapper, Youngohm, in a song called “Doo White” that caught Tor Thanai's attention. After researching Nanut's cinematographic style, Tor Thanai eventually reached out to Nanut and invited him to direct a music video for his newly released song.

Apart from having a rising music video director like Nanut working on this project, music video producer Nan-Tanyatorn Chantawongsatorn was also one of the crew members, helping to ensure everything ran smoothly on this project. Set photographers Anuchit Boonsuksri and Thaveesak Phattanalai also took hundreds of photos on the set of the music video to capture the behind-the-scenes shots and the acting chemistry between the actors. Moreover, costume stylist Kittipong Intarangsee led the team in charge of the clothing elements worn by Tor Thanai and the main actress, JARA. Due to this accomplished team, LoFi/Soul singer-songwriter Tor Thanai’s music video is full of meticulous details.

Initially, Tor Thanai wanted to launch this music video in the middle of 2021. But as Thailand's third COVID-19 wave hit the country, production had to be postponed several times. However, almost a year later, the project was finally done.

In the music video, Tor Thanai is seen walking and following the actress, JARA or Jennifer Liora Roberts (IG: @jara.liora), in what appears to be the hallway of a hotel. JARA, in her role as Jennie, is a model and actress who has gained recognition from her work in several advertisements and product endorsements in Thailand recently. The music video was filmed in Prince Palace Hotel, located in the commercial heartland and a well-known wholesale clothing market of Bangkok's downtown area, Bo Bae.

The video shows us the progression of the relationship between two actors, Tor and Jennie, who met in a bar and were seemingly disinterested in each other. Slowly, the story reveals that they are passionately in love.

The video then leads us along with each character to various places in the hotel from a grand stairway to a hotel corridor. Finally, both of them stop in front of a room with the number 5.

“Hotel” is a single release after taking a hiatus from the music industry for several years. The song came to fruition after Tor Thanai listened to his elder brother's idea of having a boutique hotel business in Bangkok. The track bears the influence of artists like Jamiroquai and Michael McDonald. This song is genre-defying and sees Tor Thanai venturing into music scapes that he's never been to.

Written and produced by Tor Thanai, the song “Hotel” explores a mystifying but oddly romantic relationship that started in a hotel's cocktail bar. The music incorporates Lofi/Soul music elements with an intimate and soulful yet distinctive voice that helps to deliver his unwavering vision. The lyrics are well-crafted with vivid imagery to enrich the atmosphere.

“Maybe we'll stay another night / Maybe it'll feel so right / Merlot or the beer you like / Good love, we be up all night,” Tor Thanai sings in the chorus.

The song was mixed by the prolific Thai mixing engineer Pete Tanskul of 8bit MixLab, whose credits include Stamp, Lipta, and Nap A Lean. It was then mastered by a multi-Grammy Award-winning engineer Alan Douches of West West Side Mastering, New York, whose credits include Sufjan Stevens, My Chemical Romance, and Fatboy Slim.

 

8 things to know about this song:

1. Tor Thanai invited music video director Nanut Mahatthanasiri (Nanut Malongyer) to work on this project after he saw Nanut's early work for Thai rapper, Young Ohm, in a song called “Doo White.”

2. The main actress of this music video is JARA or Jennifer Liora Roberts. She is a half American - half Thai actress and a professional model in Thailand.

3. The music video was filmed on the 11th and the 30th floor of Prince Palace Hotel, Bo Bae. It was once “Mahanak Palace” of the Field Marshal Prince Kromaluang Nakhon Chaisri Suradej, a son of King Rama V. Therefore, Prince Palace Hotel was named to enhance his prestige.

4. The reason that the production team chose this hotel is because they thought that the green-colored corridor of the hotel and its classic-style elevator would match the mood of the song.

5. The room number 5 shown in the video does not exist. It is just a prop that set decorators brought to make it match the lyrics: “Waiting for the key to Room 5.” In reality, all the rooms on the 30th floor have 4-digit numbers.

6. The electric guitar that Tor Thanai used in the video is a Fender Standard Telecaster - Arizona Sun Satin. It's a Mexican-made model.

7. Instead of writing the word “Coffee” in the first verse of the song, “Havin' decaf in the morning,” Tor Thanai changed it to “Decaf,” which stands for decaffeinated coffee. This is because Tor Thanai is hypersensitive and allergic to many different types of foods and caffeine is one of them. Therefore, he normally drinks decaf coffee more than normal coffee. When he wrote this song, he intended to use this word to reflect his own coffee-drinking behavior.

8. He was inspired to write this song after he listened to his elder brother's idea of having a boutique hotel business in Bangkok. He wrote the song later that night while reading business articles about boutique hotel businesses.

Fans can watch the music video on his YouTube channel: Tor Thanai (https://youtu.be/No_Ljve2Vb4) and stream the song on Spotify: Tor Thanai (https://open.spotify.com/artist/2It1oW76f5R2BYRJtbgFyf).

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