Rock band Lomosonic stole the thunder from rival Big Ass by taking two top prizes in the rock categories – Best Rock Group and Best Rock Album for “Anti-Gravity” – at the 29th Season Awards held Wednesday night in the Grand Ballroom of Swissotel Le Concorde Bangkok.

Big Ass, who is currently celebrating 20 years of success, did however pick up Best Rock Song for “Mai Kheed Fai”.

“If I knew I was going to win this award, I’d have gone home and put on a better suit,” quipped Lomosonic’s Aritach “Boy” Poltan on stage after receiving the award for Best Rock Group.

“We’ve always been overlooked in the awards stakes but today, Season Award has seen our value. Thank you to Season Awards and to [our label] Sanamluang for all their support,” he continued to loud applause.

“I understand the well-publicised feelings of Lomosonic’s Boy about playing all the songs on an album. Which makes it all the more amazing that we are now being sued for playing our own song,” said drummer-songwriter Kachorndej “Kob” Promraksa of Big Ass. Every member of the band has been accused of copyright infringement following a performance of “Korn Tai” at a corporate party. Back in 2000, when they did release singles, that was a hit from their second album, “XL”, but the disc was on the Music Bugs label, and now they’re with GMM Grammy subsidiary Genie Records.

The Richman Toy did well too, taking home Best Duo or Group and Best Album for “Tawan Lia Tood”.

“These days, many bands aren’t interested in recording full-length albums or CDs. But, a handful are and we are among them,” said Veeranat “Jap” Tippayamonthon, the frontman of The Richman Toy.

Other winners included Foxy who took home Best Instrumental (“Water 7”), West of East for Best New Artist, experimental pop band Beatboyz Bangkok for Best Recordings (“Manut Muang”), Hugo for Best Song (“Dam Sanit”), Rasmee Wayrana for Best Solo Female Artist, and Greasy Cafe for Best Solo Male Artist.

The announcements were interspersed by shows from Siripong “Nat The Voice Kids” Srisukha, who played guitar on “Khon Khai Raeng”, Apartment Khunpa with “Suea Rong Hai”, Paradox with “Rotfai Khabuan Haeng Khwamfun” as well as Indygo, Annalynn, The Callus, Slot Machine and Jelly Rocket.

One of the biggest independent bands in the world, Boyce Avenue has sold in excess of 10 million songs and 1 billion streams, and toured the globe several times, though this is their first stop in the Kingdom. Tickets costing from Bt1,800 to Bt2,800 are now on sale at Thai Ticket Major counters and online at http://www.ThaiTicketMajor.com.

All that jazz

Sips and Sounds, a series of sophisticated music constellations from the masters to the young and rising, returns to The St Regis Bangkok’s bar on April 27 starting at 8. Organised in collaboration with Thai violinist Dr Paye Srinarong, the event features internationally acclaimed Thai jazz quartet, Bemerkenswert Vier led by renowned saxophonist Polwit Opanant, together with the captivating vocals of Kita The Voice. Book your table at (02) 207 7777, email: fb.bangkok@stregis.com, or visit http://www.StRegisBangkok.com.

EDM with the ‘trap’

New festival “It’s a Trap” gets underway on April 27 at Muang Thai GMM Live House. Running from 7.30pm to 1am, it features trap, bass and dubstep artists Dirtyphonics, Barely Alive and Virtual Riot. Tickets cost Bt1,500 at http://go.event¬pop.me/ITSATRAP.

Bugg goes acoustic

English singer-songwriter Jake Bugg brings his chart-topping songs to Bangkok in an exclusive show at Scala Theatre in Siam Square on May 1, as part of his “Solo Acoustic Tour 2018”. Bugg burst onto the music scene as a 17-year-old prodigy when he was selected to perform at the Glastonbury Festival. Now 23, he will be performing tracks off his latest album, “Hearts That Strain”, which was recorded with some of the best players in the history of popular music in Nashville.  Tickets cost Bt2,600 at Thai Ticket Major counters and online at http://www.ThaiTicketMajor.com.

They’ve got the moves

Patiparn “Mos” Patavekarn, Saksit “Tor” Vejsupaporn, Saranyu “Ice” Winaipanit, Pongsak “Aof” Rattanaphong, Jazz Sputnix Papiyong Kookkook and Sweat 16 will show off their talent for dancing in The One Concert Series’ newest edition “1035 Krabuan Tha Jam” being staged at Royal Paragon Hall of Siam Paragon on May 5. Tickets costing from Bt1,500 to Bt4,500 are on sale at Thai Ticket Major. Find out more at Facebook.com/ fmone1035 or http://www.FMOne1035.com.

Puth spent a year and a half writing and revising his second album, “Voicenotes,” which comes out May 11 after a delay, and despite warnings that it was not commercially viable he found himself repeatedly turning to jazz.

But it’s not as if his fans will think he’s gone in a drastic new direction. Instead, Puth hears jazz in the warm chord progressions of the keyboards hidden under the pop texture.

“Voicenotes” — whose first single, “Attention,” is driven by a gently strummed guitar line and funky bass — harks back to the retro production of songwriters such as Babyface and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, who Puth sees as heirs to the jazz tradition.

“The whole album is jazz disguised as pop music,” Puth told a news conference in Los Angeles.

“I’ve established a vibe where my music, it might lean adult in a way, but I still have 12-year-olds, teenagers, pre-teenagers — they are all singing the music.

“And that makes me the happiest guy ever because I’m secretly ‘edumacating’ them, whether they like it or not,” he said with a laugh.

– Perfect pitch –

Puth took up classical piano as a child and was playing jazz by age 10 before heading to study at the Manhattan School of Music.

The 26-year-old, while acknowledging he failed at transcribing music in school, has an uncanny talent for recognizing pitches. In the course of a news conference, he identified the pitch of a cocktail being shaken by a bartender in the distance of the hotel and instantly replicated on keyboard the beep of a phone.

“See You Again,” which appeared in the action film “Furious 7” as a tribute to late actor Paul Walker and features rapper Wiz Khalifa, became a viral hit in 2015 and remains the second most-watched video ever on YouTube.

Charlie Puth performs at the Z100’s iHeartRadio Jingle Ball 2017 at Madison Square Garden on December 7, 2017 in New York. // AFP PHOTO

But Puth, whose first album “Nine Track Mind” also produced the hits “We Don’t Talk Anymore” and “Marvin Gaye,” said that “Voicenotes” felt more like his debut album as it was more sonically consistent.

The album title comes from the vocal notes function on his iPhone, which Puth said he constantly uses as he sings out tunes that come to his head.

He wrote the album in his parents’ home in New Jersey, saying it was important to connect with family after so much time on the road.

“It’s incredible, truly, how the more famous you get, the more alone you are,” he said.

– Eager for collaborations –

Puth collaborated on the album with Boyz II Men, whose sound is in tune with “Voicenotes,” as well as the folk-rock legend James Taylor, whom Puth called a longstanding inspiration.

Puth said he would be happy to go full jazz and play with the jazz greats such as Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock — if they called him.

“That would be incredible,” he said.

Puth’s retro turn into 1980s and 1990s R&B comes amid the success of Bruno Mars, who borrowed liberally from the genre on his Grammy-winning last album.

Puth believed that the sound popularized by artists such as Janet Jackson and Bobby Brown still feels fresh.

“I didn’t invent this style of music. All I’m doing is the 2018, 2019 version of it,” he said.

Julien’s Auctions said Wednesday it was putting more than 150 items from the late superstar up for sale on May 18, ranging from early childhood photos to golden record trophies to some of his most eye-grabbing attire.

Highlights include a custom-made yellow “Cloud” guitar, so named for its unique twisting body, which also has Prince’s signature love symbols engraved between the frets.

The auction house estimated the guitar would fetch between $60,000 and $80,000. Last year, it sold another Cloud guitar for a surprisingly hefty $700,000.

The Cloud guitars were made for Prince by Minneapolis luthier Dave Rusan, with one appearing prominently in the 1984 film “Purple Rain” where Prince’s alter ego “The Kid” receives one as a gift from his girlfriend Apollonia.

Another key item on sale next month is an electric blue turtleneck with matching trousers which Prince — whose best-known hits included “1999” — wore at his turn-of-the-millennium New Year’s Eve party at his Paisley Park estate in Minnesota.

The auction house said that it expected the outfit, which Prince also wore when jamming with Lenny Kravitz at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1999, would go for $50,000 to $70,000.

The suit, like many of the items, were listed as coming from Prince’s ex-wife Mayte Garcia, a dancer and mother of Prince’s only known child — who died shortly after birth in 1996 due to a rare disorder.

Many of the items including stereo equipment came out of Paisley Park, the reclusive star’s studio and headquarters that has since been opened for paid tours.

Prince died in April 2016 at Paisley Park from an accidental overdose of powerful painkillers. He was 57.

Prosecutors are expected to announce Thursday whether they will press any charges over the death of Prince, who had been treating pain from hip surgery.

The Early Noise initiative identifies artists who are ready to break boundaries and be successful within the music industry.

“We are excited to identify and recognise Wonderframe as Thailand’s first Early Noise 2018 featured artist. We believe she is ready to break through and make an impact within the music scene with her experimental fusion of hip-hop and Thai-pop that is representative of a new generation of music talents. Our data also shows that the Spotify audience is reacting very well to this refreshing new sound that is unique to and distinctively Wonderframe,” says Chee Meng, Tan, head of artist & label marketing for Spotify Asia.

Wonderframe has been making waves since her debut on reality talent show “The Star” and her first single, “Yoo Dee Dee Kor”, peaked at No 3 on the Spotify Thailand Top 50 chart. Her new single, “555 (ToT)”, debuted in the top 10 of the same charts, within the same week of release.

Music lovers and fans of Wonderframe are encouraged to hit play on the Early Noise 2018 playlist, and enjoy the chance to know Wonderframe at a more intimate level. Fans who stream this playlist can enjoy some of Wonderframe’s favourite tracks and her early hits. In addition to that, the young hip-hop R&B artist shares her feedback to some of the burning questions many have for her. Some of the questions Wonderframe answers include, what was the one song that changed her life; who her dream music collaboration would be with; and what was the inspiration behind the latest single 555 (ToT).

The Early Noise artist list is compiled using a combination of efforts from Spotify’s team of in-house music experts. Based on the analysis of millions of streams worth of current music listening data, the teams are able to identify these talented individuals.

To be included in the list, the artist’s music must be in Spotify’s viral charts, which are a barometer of the music that is being shared the most among friends, as well as in Spotify’s Fresh Finds and Release Radar, both weekly-updated playlists that identify under-the-radar artists that are generating buzz online. In addition, number of listeners that have discovered the artist, through individual playlists or Spotify curated content, are considered.

As part of the localisation efforts and celebration, Wonderframe is the first local Thai artist to be featured on the Early Noise 2018 playlist.

Wonderframe is Supakchaya “Frame” Sukbaiyen who hasn’t looked back since appearing on “The Star” back in 2012. She went on to act in a couple of Thai TV series but her big break came when she released her 2017 debut single under the name of Wonderframe. This release led her to secure the #3 spot within Spotify Thailand Top 50 chart, and the hit single has achieved over 1.2 million streams on Spotify. Her latest single 555 (ToT) sees her explore pop R&B and rap genres.

The event, which contributed to the introduction of “Best of” in the music industry, is, as always, being run by Thiwa Sarajutha, the long-time editor of Season Magazine.

Smallroom’s Greasy Cafe and The Richman Toy have swept the nominations, each winning nods in four categories. Greasy Cafe is nominated for Best Male Artist while his two songs, “Pa Tid Pa Tor” and “9” from his latest album “Technicolor”, are up for Best Song, Best Recordings as well as Best Album. The country-rock band, meanwhile, is nominated for Best Duo or Group and the songs, “Rak Doo” and “Bin Thalalom” from “Tawan Lia Tood”, for Best Song, Best Recordings as well as Best Album.

The Richman Toy

Eight artists and bands could also win recognition, namely: Hugo, Pae Arak and The Pisat Band, Over Me, Slot Machine, Big Ass, Lomosonic, West of East, and Zero Hero. Rockers Big Ass, currently celebrating 20 years of success, could pull a triple, just as it did in the “Guitar Mag Awards 2018” last month.

Nominees for Best Instrumental this year are interesting. “Hope the Flowers” is Narongrit Ittipolnavakul’s solo project with instrumental songs in his post-punk style. He used music therapy to relieve his depression, and while his compositions are melancholy, they also convey hope. “Loneliness” is one of six nominees for Best Instrumental.

PC 0832/676 and Roxy, two bands from Chiang Mai, are also nominated for Best Instrumental. PC 0832/676 is an instrumental band playing a melting pot of post rock, math rock and jazz music, and gets the nod for “La Vitesse” and “Departed”, while Roxy, another instrumental outfit that focuses on alternative rock and fusion, is nominated for “Water 7” and “Handsome Jack.”

The award presentation ceremony takes place Grand Ballroom of Swissotel Le Concorde Bangkok tonight (April 18) at 6.

The nominees in the 11 categories of the 29th Season Awards are:

Natthawut “Max” Jenmana

Best Male Artist

Natthawut “Max” Jenmana, “Let There Be Light”

Tosaporn “Sin” Achawanuntakul, “Homepop”

Greasy Cafe, “Technicolor”

Hugo, “Dam Sanit”

Naake Thanapakkunladej, “Past Tense”

Rasmee Wayrana

Best Female Artist

Rasmee Wayrana, “Arom”

Nanthida Kaewbuasai, “17”

Mueanfun Manoonphol, “Mueanfun”

Ornaree Chularatana, “Un Jour”

Best Duo or Group

The Richman Toy, “Tawan Lia Tood”

Monomania, “Before the Dawn”

Pae Arak and The Pisat Band, “Wood and Steel”

Jetset’er, “Magic Moment”

Over Me, “Anatomy”

Slot Machine, “Spin the World”

Best Rock Group

Big Ass, “The Lion”

Lomosonic, “Anti-Gravity”

West of East, “Western Music on Eastern Player”

Zero Hero, “Hua Khamoy”

Adrenaline, “Psychopaths”

Best New Artist

West of East, “Western Music on Eastern Player”

Jelly Rocket, “Lucid Dream”

Bomb at Track, “Bomb at Track”

Tilly Birds, “Tilly Birds”

Coconut Sunday, “When the Night Seems So Long..”

Beatboyz Bangkok, “Beatboyz Bangkok”

Best Album

“Spin the World”, Slot Machine

“Dam Sanit”, Hugo

“Tawan Lia Tood”, The Richman Toy

“Technicolor”, Greasy Cafe

“Before the Dawn”, Monomania

Best Rock Album

“The Lion”, Big Ass

“Anti-Gravity”, Lomosonic

“Western Music on Eastern Player”, West of East

“Hua Khamoy”, Zero Hero

“Psychopaths”, Adrenaline

Best Song

“Dam Sanit”, Hugo

“Roi”, Pae Arak and The Pisat Band

“Sing Diew”, Over Me

“Rak Doo”, The Richman Toy

“Pa Tid Pa Tor”, Greasy Cafe

“Wan Nueng Chan Dern Khao Pa”, Natthawut “Max” Jenmana

Best Recordings

“Bin Thalalom”, The Richman Toy

“9”, Greasy Cafe

“Chan Oak Pai Ten Kap Pleng Thi Mai Khid Ja Fang”, Pae Arak and The Pisat Band

“Manut Muang”, Beatboyz Bangkok

“Sak Wan”, Natapol Srichomkwan

“Dek Phuying”, Rasmee Wayrana

Best Rock Song

“Jaruad”, Slot Machine

“Mai Kheed Fai”, Big Ass

“Sep Som Lom Hai Jai”, West of East

“Kaen Rak Asornrapit”, Lomosonic

“Na Sao Thong”, Zero Hero

“Yuenyan”, Over Me

Best Instrumental

“Loneliness”, Hope the Flowers

“La Vitesse”, PC 0832/676

“Departed”, PC 0832/676

“Running on Faith”, Naake Thanapakkunladej

“Water 7”, Foxy

“Handsome Jack”, Foxy

“Italian Grand Weekend: Vivere all’Italiana – Smooth Lifestyle, Urban Glamour, Live Music” is the wordy title of the event in the Fashion Hall that will also feature great Italian food and beverages, including coffee that absolutely has to be tried.

A woman barista will be on duty turning cups of coffee into works of art.

Italian Ambassador Francesco Saverio Nisio will officially open the festivities on Friday at 6pm.

“Italy and Thailand have enjoyed long and cordial relations in terms of diplomacy, trade and cultural exchange,” he said this week.

“Music is an excellent medium to strengthen friendship and relations, regardless of the genre. And to highlight the cordial friendship and thriving cultural collaboration between two countries, we are delighted to present live performances by Slivovitz, a jazz group that is famous both at home in Italy and all over Europe.

“The Embassy of Italy in Thailand would like to thank Siam Paragon and Thai Airways for their continual support.”

Siam Paragon Development senior executive vice president Mayuree Chaipromprasith said the mall’s operators are “determined to create various special experiences for our patrons” and this weekend is planned “to further strengthen diplomatic relations between the two countries.

“Slivovitz will be playing their renditions of the compositions of His Majesty King Bhumibol, including ‘Love at Sundown’ and ‘HM Blues’, as well as timeless international hits such as ‘Fly Me to the Moon’, with vocals by Vitchayanee ‘Gam’ Pearkin.

“The festival also highlights ‘latte art’ as created by a talented barista, and we’ll have many noted Italian products to taste and buy.”

Slivovitz, founded in 2001, are known for melding Eastern and Western musical traditions. They’ve performed at Umbria Jazz, Mittel Fest, Young Jazz in Foligno, Teano Jazz and many such events, and in Berlin, Barcelona, Austria, at the Sziget Festival in Budapest, and in Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia.

Their latest live album, “Liver”, was released this year on the Italian label Sound Fly.

Riccardo Villari plays acoustic and electric violin, Salvatore Rainone the drums, Marcello Giannini electric and acoustic guitar, Pietro Santangelo the tenor, alto and soprano saxophone, Vincenzo Lamagna the bass, Derek Di Perri the harmonica and Ciro Riccardi the trumpet.

Catch them free of charge Friday through Sunday at 4pm and 5.30pm.

The Toronto artist posted on Instagram a picture of himself with his back to the camera sporting a jacket that read “Scorpion” and “June 2018.”

Drake, who separately put out a picture of a necklace with a scorpion pendant, did not reveal an exact release date or other details.

He has often played with the traditional album format, instead putting out sprawling song collections marketed as mixtapes.

But one consistency in his prodigious output has been commercial achievement.

His song “God’s Plan” topped the US singles chart for 11 weeks — until being dethroned Monday by another of his songs, “Nice for What.”

His latest song was streamed in the United States more than 60 million times and downloaded 88,000 times in the week through Thursday, tracking service Nielsen Music said.

Drake, 31, has roots as a rapper but has increasingly gone in a pop direction and incorporated the infectious beats of Jamaican dancehall, most notably on his hit “One Dance,” which is the second most-streamed song ever on Spotify.

Patiparn “Mos” Patavekarn and Tata Young will share the stage at Impact Arena for “20th Mos-Tata” on April 21, their first professional get-together since the 1997 joint album “Mos & Tata”. They’ll be performing hits such as “Duay Rak Lae Platoo”, “I Believe”, “Rob Kuan Ma Rak Kan” and “Rak Kan Loei”.

Seats cost Bt1,200 to Bt4,000 at http://www.ThaiTicketMajor.com and (02) 262 3456.

Stick with the Script

Irish rock band the Script, who’ve shipped more than 29 million records, will be at Impact Arena on April 28, playing tracks from their latest album, “Freedom Child” along with older favourites.

Seats cost Bt2,000 to Bt4,000 at http://www.ThaiTicketMajor.com and (02) 262 3456.

Nu’est kids on the block

South Korean quartet Nu’est W, fresh from an appearance on the survival reality show “Produce 101”, want to “Double You in Bangkok” at the Impact Thunder Dome on April 28. The Nu’est subgroup’s debut EP “W, Here”, has sold more than 200,000 copies.

Seats cost Bt1,800 to Bt5,800 at http://www.ThaiTicketMajor.com and (02) 262 3456.

Bodyslam play for PSU

Prince of Songkhla University is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a concert at the 60th Anniversary of His Majesty the King’s Accession to the Throne International Convention Centre in Hat Yai on April 29. The lineup includes Bodyslam, Palitchoke “Peck” Ayanaputra and the PSU Chorus.

Seats cost Bt1,050 to Bt5,050 at http://www.ThaiTicketMajor.com and (02) 262 3456.

Bruno’s back from Mars

Grammy-winning singer Bruno Mars is returning to Thailand after a four-year absence with a pair of shows at Impact Arena on April 30 and May 1, part of his “24k Magic World Tour”.

Seats cost Bt3,500 to Bt8,500 at http://www.ThaiTicketMajor.com and (02) 262 3456.

London-born and raised, the multi-instrumentalist is known for true dance vibes that display a pop sensibility.

His debut release “Fast Car”, featuring talented young singer Dakota, is a certified global smash, achieving multi-platinum status with nearly five million units sold and 450 million streams on all platforms. The video has clocked 140 million YouTube views.

Remaining in the Top 5 in the UK for a sixth consecutive week, “Perfect Strangers” has amassed 3.2 million UK weekly streams and 330,000 daily UK plays, making the track No 4 on the UK Spotify Chart.

Jonas has also remixed tracks for the likes of Birdy and Coldplay.

Currently making his mark with spectacular sets at the renowned Ushuaia Club in Ibiza, this summer saw Jonas play to millions of people at some of Europe’s most illustrious gatherings, such as Tomorrowland and the V Festival.

Tickets are Bt800. Call (082) 308 3246 or (095) 248 3897.