Two veteran singers and a seasoned music producer collectively known as the Duek Dam Ban Boy Band were back on stage at Bangkok’s classic Scala Theatre last Saturday for their third concert in as many years.

The trio – whose name means ancient or prehistoric in a reference to their ages – received a warm welcome from their fans, keeping them all thoroughly entertained during two and a half hours of song and laughter.

The 1,000-seat hall was filled to capacity, with two extra rows of seats placed along the aisles next to the walls to cater to the crowd.

The trio are joined by guest singer Kob Songsit during the encore.

Veteran singers Paiboonkiet “Pun” Khiewkaew and Charas “Tam” Feungarom, and long-time music producer Ponthep “Tun” Suwannaboon have been friends since their university days back in the ’70s.

Charas, 68, Paiboonkiet, 66, and Ponthep, 67, have been in the music industry for more than three decades giving the trio a combined experience of well over a 100 years. Both singers began their career in the early 1980s and most of their successful works were produced by Ponthep, who has been involved in the composition, arrangement and production of countless bestselling albums.

The concert, organised by BEC-Tero Entertainment, started with the three veterans walking down from the back of the hall towards the stage, each taking a separate isle, to loud applause from fans.

Tam Charas did most of the talking during the concert.

They began their set with “Kon Khi Ngao” with Charas singing, Paiboonkiet and Ponthep playing guitars and doing the chorus. Paiboonkiet then crooned his hit “Fao Koy” with just as much vocal power as in his heyday and Charas and Ponthep joining him in the chorus.

A host of hits by both Charas and Paiboonkiet followed, with the added vocals giving golden oldies “Rak Lon Jai”, “Oh Jai Oey” and “Thale” a new lease on life. The fans sang along and applauded long and loud to show their appreciation.

Ponthep

Thundering applause and cheers greeted actor/singer Songsit “Kob” Roongnophakunsri as he came on stage to sing hits “Kheed Sen Tai” and “Patiharn”, with the trio again providing the chorus. His fans sang and moved happily in their seats.

Music backup was provided by the five veteran musicians making up the NangLen Band whose popular covers of Thai pop songs have drawn millions of views on YouTube.

Later that night, Charas and Paiboonkiet took turns to sing a long set of songs, mostly made up of their old hits and numbers they wrote for other well-known artists of yesteryear.

Paiboonkiet

Charas’ part featured “Kon Mai Mee Wassana”, “Proh Chanan” and “Roo You Kae Jai”, the number that propelled him to fame. Paiboonkiet’s section, meanwhile, included “A Tu Corazon” in Spanish and Thai, “Rak Nirun” and “Rak Yuenyong”.

Songsit rejoined the trio for the encore – a cover of Charas’s hit “Phisua” (Butterfly).

Charas did most of the talking during the concert, joking with the audience and teasing his colleagues on stage and fans about their ages. He also encouraged audience members to repeat funny extra lyrics after him.

With Saturday night’s show the first to reach sellout status, Charas joked that he hoped the trio would be back for a fourth concert next year. And judging from their reactions that night, most of the fans were in full agreement.

Playing what they refer to as “colour-pop”, Twice has garnered over 3.6 million monthly listeners and 3.1 million followers on Spotify. The K-Pop sensations, who recently released their seventh EP “Fancy You”, have sold a total of 3.75 million copies from their 12 Korean releases, making them the best-selling Korean girl group of all-time.

To get in the mood for the concert, Thai fans can head over to the “This is Twice” playlist and listen to the greatest tracks from their discography – don’t forget to tap the LIKE button to quickly save songs to the library. Tracks fans can start with include “TT”, “What is Love?”, “Likey”, “Yes or Yes”and “Fancy!”

Formed through a competition held in 2015 by JYP Entertainment, Twice features Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Dahyun, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Chaeyoung, Tzuyu, and Momo. The girls debuted with the mini-album “The Story Begins”.

For more of Twice’s sounds and the very best of K-Pop, head to Spotify’s best-loved K-Pop playlists Bubblegum K-Pop and K-Pop Daebak. Follow@SpotifyKDaebak on Twitter for more exciting updates!

The programme includes Mozart’s “String Quartet No 15 k 421” as well as works by Karl Jenkins and Astor Piazzolla.

The string quartet features Teesin Puriwatthanapong on violin, who has attended various master classes with acclaimed musicians and also played with the members of the Carmina Quartet and Michael Bochmann.

Violinist Kittipith Kaivikai has been a member of several orchestra performances including with the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra. He has also been concert master of the Mahidol Symphony Orchestra, Salaya Chamber Orchestra, and Mahidol Pops Orchestra.

Phattarapoj Sawangchaeng on viola graduated from the Princess Galyani Vadhana Institute of Music as Viola Major and is currently a musician and violin teacher, while cellist Chayuth Kaivikai won the first prize in Princess Galyani Vadhana Institute of Music chamber competitions in 2015, 2018 and 2019.

The recital starts at 6pm and tickets costing from Bt100 to Bt450 are available at the Neilson Hays Library website, by calling (02) 233 1731 and by emailing info@neilsonhayslibrary.org.

The #WhoDoYouLove challenge in Thailand encourages users to create their own videos featuring the duo’s latest hit single “Who Do You Love.”

For the most creative videos on TikTok, 10 lucky winners will be chosen to get access to a meet and greet with The Chainsmokers during the Asian leg of their tour in August – the lads are in Thailand on August 20 at Impact Challenger Hall 1). Winners also get to take home special Chainsmokers merchandise.

To drum up excitement for the #WhoDoYouLove challenge, local pop icons, influencers and creators, tapped into the music recommendations under the music discovery function to feature personalised videos as part of the campaign.

“TikTok allows users to capture and present the world’s creativity, knowledge and moments that matter in everyday life, and is committed to building a community by encouraging users to share their passion through their videos,” says Steven Tannason, Strategic Partnerships, South East Asia, TikTok.

“Together with Live Nation, we are launching the #WhoDoYouLove hashtag challenge to empower people to express their creative ideas, as we celebrate trends and embrace diversity on this vibrant platform.”

TikTok is now available in over 150 markets, and in 75 languages, with a robust localisation strategy to encourage users to create and interact with content relevant to local cultures and trends.

To learn more about the #WhoDoYouLove challenge, please visit: Facebook.com/watch/?v=2203592196402611.

It’s already one of the world’s most original commutes – the ferry trip between Istanbul’s European and Asian sides gives a daily quarter of a million passengers unforgettable views on their way to work.

Now the Turkish city is offering music to offset the seascapes, and for the amateur musicians providing it, it’s a chance to make some crucial money in difficult economic times.

The musicians work hard to ensure their music reflects Istanbul’s unique position as a city straddling East and West.

“We travel back and forth between the two continents and we try to express emotions sparked by the two cultures: a kind of fusion, a synthesis,” says Oguzhan Erdem, one of the ferry musicians.

Until recently, ferry musicians played without authorisation, but city authorities realised they were missing an opportunity and launched a project to make them an official part of the experience.

Erdem plays the Turkish ney reed flute, an instrument traditionally used by Sufis, a mystical branch of Islam, while his band mate plays a Western-style keyboard.

“It’s merging the East with the West,” Erdem smiles.

In total, 82 musicians work on the intracity line from 9am until the last ferry at 1am.

Ferry musicians rely on the tips to make their living and it has offered a lifeline for those struggling with Turkey’s economic downturn.

Erdem, who also plays in the streets and with his band “DoguBang”, had failed to find work as an interior designer.

“The job market is so bad. When I was brooding over what I will do, I saw a young girl singing in the ferry one day and asked myself ‘why don’t I give it a try’,” he explains.

He has now been playing the ney on ferries for the past nine months.

Istanbul is full of buskers – both Turkish and foreign – particularly on its busy shopping hub of Istiklal Avenue.

Eren Koc, who plays the keyboard, is a sculptor by profession and found himself playing on the ferries after visiting the city for one of his exhibitions.

“There are interesting moments on the ferries. When applause suddenly breaks out or some people stand up and dance – it is like being in a movie,” he laughs.

For some commuters, it can be a truly emotional experience after a hard day at work.

“The tunes speak to my soul and rest my mind. It takes me back to the past,” says Nimet, with tears in her eyes as she listens to the ney.

“Like the water flowing in the Bosphorus, it is triggering a flow of emotions inside,” she adds wistfully.

Erdem is happy to inspire people.

“In the evenings people leave work and return to their home. They empty their mind, reach a kind of serenity. I see many sleeping in peace. This is a source of great pleasure for me,” he says.

Tunc Baydar, coordinator of the project for the municipality, explains that having musicians play in an unauthorised fashion had previously caused problems for the crew and security personnel.

“We kicked off the ‘Music on the Ferry’ project in 2016 so that we could create an environment for those musicians to play in the ferry with permission, more comfortably,” he says.

“We have turned the ferry musicians into part of our brand.”

Baydar says that they were always on the lookout for new talented musicians.

“We watch their videos on social media. We’ve even begun recruiting conservatoire students.”

Many world capitals have great buskers – and some have even become megastars like Ed Sheeran – but few cities offer as stunning a backdrop.

“We listen to music in the metros in Europe but it’s so beautiful on the sea,” says Berker Colak, a tourist from Germany who came to Istanbul with his partner.

“The seagulls and the music create a really authentic ambience, a real harmony.”

Yuenyong “Ad” Ophakul, founder of the legendary songs-for-life band, is telling everyone that ganja is amazing in his new song, “Mahasajan Ganja”.

Listen to the number at Spotify, Apple Music, Joox, TrueID Music and Deezer, or download it from the iTunes Store by Warner Music.

Bird flies back

Superstar Thongchai “Bird” McIntyre makes a welcome return to the stage, putting on the concert “Singing Bird”, at Royal Paragon Hall on the fifth floor of Siam Paragon on August 3 at 7pm and August 4 at 3pm.

The concert, which has as its theme “Pleng Taam Kham Khor” (“Requested Song”), allows fans to listen to their favourite numbers.

Ticket holders can sign up for the activity “1 Ticket 1 Vote” and vote for their 10 most requested songs and perhaps win the chance to join a meet and greet with the superstar. Join the activity at Bitly.com/singingbird, and get more information at Facebook: birdthongchai.

Tickets cost from Bt2,000 to Bt6,500 and go on sale today at Thai Ticket Major outlets. Call (02) 262 3456 and visit http://www.ThaiTicketMajor.com.

What’s in a tee?

Also back for another stint is the annual “tee and music” festival organised by Cat Radio that supports artists and audience in showing their design talents.

The sixth edition of Cat T-shirt takes place at Makkasan Station on the Airport Rail Link tomorrow and Sunday from 11am to 11pm and in addition to 200 shops will feature music from Anatomy Rabbit, Ink Waruntorn, T_047, Nap a Lean, Mean, Violette Wautier, Polycat, Slot Machine, Phum Viphurit, Pae Arak, Telex Telexs, Scrubb, Whal & Dolph and UrboyTJ.

Tickets are Bt450 at Thai Ticket Major.

Idols all in a row

Idol Expo – the largest idol festival in Thailand – is back for its second year at the Common Area in front of Hall 98 of Bitec Bangna from today until Sunday between 11am and 8pm.

Among the idols taking part are Sweat 16!, Someiyoshino51 (SY51), Akira Kuro, Bite Me, Cm Cafe, Happy Tails, Secrect 12, Lemonade ChoNeBi, Black Dolls, Taste of Love, ReSweet Music Label, Black Forest and Moonlight.

Free admission. For more information, visit Facebook: IdolExpo or IdolMaster.

Choi Jin Kyuk comes to town

Choi Jin Hyuk – the South Korean actor from “Gu Family Book”, “The Heirs”, “Emergency Couple”, “Pride” and “Prejudice” – will be in Thailand for his first fan meeting “Love Memories”, at BCC Hall on the fifth floor of Central Lat Phrao on July 20.

Tickets are from Bt2,000 to Bt4,000 at Thai Ticket Major.

The 1990s came back to life in style last weekend as 25 popular singers from that golden era joined up on stage for a show that had fans travelling back in time and reliving their happiest moments.

The nostalgic “Cassette Festival” concert featured some 70 songs from almost three decades ago, when the popular media of choice for storing music was, as the title suggests, the cassette tape.

Three rounds of the soldout concert, organised by A-time Showbiz, were held on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the 5,000-seat Royal Paragon Hall.

The show on Saturday night began with an air of excitement as Tata Young, China Dolls, Katreeya English and Nicole Theriault took turns to sing their popular numbers. They were joined by over a dozen dancers on a U-shaped narrow platform that covered the two central aisles.

Despite the hall being packed, audience members simply couldn’t sit still, getting up on their feet and dancing to the lively tunes pretty well from start to finish.

The background screen onstage and the walls on both sides of the auditorium added to the nostalgic vibe, with oversized dummies of objects from the ‘90s, including 8-bit game consoles, Pacman, Nokia phones, Gameboy, Walkman, an early boxy Macintosh – and, of course, tape cassettes – forming the decor.

In addition to Tata and Nicole, the concert also featured Mos Patiparn, Aom Sunisa, Beau Sunita, and UHT – all of whom achieved sales of more than one million cassettes for their most popular albums. They were joined by Katreeya, Noom Kala, Tui Teerapat, Panatda Ruangwut, Andrea Suarez, Ohn Sripan, duos Fundee & Funden, China Dolls and Mr Team, as well as trios Zaza and Project H.

During the four hours of the concert, songs were performed almost non-stop, with some of the singers occasionally stopping to utter a few amusing sentences. Possibly because of the large number of songs featured, many of the mini sets featured three to five songs in a row by a single singer or group.

For many of the participating artists, it was their first full concert in almost 20 years. The Project H girls told fans they hadn’t performed on stage for more than a decade. Ohn, who is now an actress and TV host, confided this was the first real concert in her singing career. Andrea, now a lawyer in the United States, had her last Bangkok concert in 2007.

Project H performed a set of four songs while Zaza, another popular girl group from the late 1990s, did three songs in a row, including their hit “Luak Dai Mai”.

Noom Kala, the sole rocker among the gaggle of popsters, sang five of his hit songs one after the other, including “Bok Sak Kham”, “Chai Chan Rue Plao” and “Kho Pen Tua Luak”. His captivating performance was rewarded with a “sea of stars” made by thousands of phone flashlights.

Leading heartthrobs of the ‘90s, Mos, Tata and Aom still managed to wow their fans, both separately with their hits and together on the ballad “Piang Puan”.

Aom performed “Ya Yom Pae”, her first song released 29 years ago, taking the opportunity to come down from the stage to greet her eager fans.

Mr Team, featuring Tik Arunrat and Tar Surachai, raised the excitement level a notch with hits including “Chao Cho Malee” and “Mai Tong Mee Kam Banyai”, while Panatda mesmerised with the romantic ballads “Dao Kradat”, “Kae Mee Ther” and “Lom Nao Lae Dao Duen”.

Andrea shed her lawyerly persona to perform four songs including “Sop Ta”, “Baan Ther Si” and “Wat Rob Ew”, finishing with the splits and showing that she remains very fit at 40.

Tui Teerapat, who is also an actor, was greeted with loud cheers as he performed three songs, aided and abetted by his fans.

Indeed, many of the stars were impressed by their enthusiastic fans who sang and danced along. Panatda said she was “really glad” for their support and Beau added that she had been “refuelled” by their cheers. For her part, Andrea said the “power” she got from the supportive fans was far more than she had expected.

The latter part of the concert featured a back-to-back set of dance numbers, including “Muay Nee Ka” by China Dolls, “OK Na Ka” by Katreeya, “Rer” by Zaza, “Hello” by Mos, and “Sakkanid” by Tata.

The show wrapped with a finale featuring the song “Love”, with all the singers parading along the Ushaped beams and getting up close and cosy with their fans before waving a final goodbye.

Tracks featured in this playlist reflect the most discovered artists of Thailand and bands like Whal & Dolph, ITZY and Polycat are just a few of the fresh names in music that young people are discovering.

Spotify now powers an average of 11 billion artist discoveries each month.

“Any time, any place, any mood – we offer so much more than instant access to all the world’s music. As the world’s most popular music streaming subscription service with more than 50 million tracks, both free listeners and subscribers are discovering truly personalised experiences. Customised and curated playlists such as Discover Weekly and Thai Pop Hits help fans find the music they love and to discover new favourites along the way,” says Jan-Paul Jeffrey, head of marketing, SEA, Spotify.

Surveys show that Asian users between the ages of 18 to 24 years old are always looking for the hottest K-Pop music and some of K-Pop’s latest rookie bands ITZY and Spotify’s Early Noise 2019 feature – Tomorrow X Together – can be found within the most discovered artist list across Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Thailand.

In Thailand, the top 10 ranking for artists who have been discovered for the first time by 18-24-year-old users in the past two months is led by Whal & Dolph, a rising Thai indie band that debuted in 2016, while the rest of the list is dominated by Thai artists of varying genres, from Pop-Rock to Hip-Hop. This could be a hint of a slight shift in the Thai music scene, as not only does the Whal & Dolph experience feature easy-to-listen-to melodies and inspiring lyrics, it also includes thoughtfully-crafted “mockumentary-styled” music videos that are resonating with fans. The list consists of both rising acts such as Whal & Dolph and Nine by Nine, as well as established pop artists like Polycat, The Toys, Palmy and Pop Pongkool.

ITZY and Tomorrow X Together, both emerging K-Pop groups, have also made it into Thailand’s top 10 ranking.

With K-pop fever showing absolutely no signs of abating, reality TV is turning its attention to picking out young people with the talent to be part of the hallyu wave alongside the Thais that have already made it – think Nichkhun 2PM, Lisa Blackpink, Bambam Got7, Ten NCT and Sorn CLC.

South Korea’s Odyssey International and Odyssey Thailand are investing Bt100 million in the music competition and television reality show, “Battle of Dreams” which is slated to come to the small screen in September.

“Odyssey International is an artist management and development company that will produce artists in Asia using a professional production team. Odyssey International is behind a success of many Kpop artists,” said Odyssey International’s founder and chief executive Dr Anthony Park at the recent press conference to launch the show.

“Odyssey International will expand to more Asian countries. Our focus is on searching for young talents that we can mould into international stars. We work together closely with K-pop professionals and will coach young people to give them the breaks they need to make it big. This is why we are launching the talent competition,” he added.

Odyssey International’s plans extend far beyond Thailand, with the company aiming to invest some Bt1 billion into talent spotting in Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Indonesia, Philippines, Laos, Singapore, Brunei and Malaysia.

“We’re starting with Thailand because our team thinks that young Thais people have a lot of potential as evidenced by those who have already broken into K-pop like Bambam Got7. Our budget for Thailand is US$3 million (Bt94 million) and for the next five years we will host the Asian Championship in South Korea. The total project will cost roughly US$30 million,” Park said.

“We need to make this reality show interesting. The young talents who make it through the audition will be trained by a professional team in the basics of singing, dancing and rapping. The winner will be chosen by votes from the audience. After that, the winner will compete with others on the larger Asian stage,” explained Man Bae Choen, chief producer and co-founder of Odyssey International. “Our focus will be on creativity.”

“I think that the young people are very lucky to have this chance, and I’m happy to play a role in helping them achieve their dreams.” – Anuchyd Sapanphong

“Battle of Dreams” will kick off on Channel 7 HD on September 15 and show every Sunday until December 22 from 12.15 to 1.45pm. It will be hosted by young actor Sapol “Great” Assawamunkong and feature three mentors – Anuchyd “O” Sapanphong, Kanklao “Grace” Duaysienklao, and Thikumporn “Cheer” Rittapinun.

“Everyone sees me as an actor but, in my dreams, I am a singer. In the beginning, I was so excited to sign a contract with a major music label but I got the chance to be an actor instead. But my dream of singing and dancing is still alive. When I was invited to be a mentor for this reality show, my reaction was that young people are very lucky to have this chance, and I am happy to play a role in helping them achieve their dream. I can share my experience in front of a live audience. And I am well up on the trends in the entertainment circle including in K-pop music,” says Anuchyd.

Kanklao Duaysienklao is one of three mentors for “Battle of Dreams.”

Auditions will be held in all four regions, starting in the Northeast at Central Plaza Khon Kaen on June 5, then going on to Central Festival Hat Yai on June 12. The Northern heat takes place at Central Plaza Chiang Mai Airport in Chiang Mai on June 19 while the Bangkok round is being held at Central Plaza Chaeng Wattana in Bangkok on July 9 and 10.

Sapol “Great” Assawamunkong will make his debut as a host for “Battle of Dreams.”

“Both boys and girls aged 14 up can apply. After the audition, the applicants selected will be trained by professional coaches from South Korea. The final 30 qualifiers will participate in a camp in South Korea. Taking part in the camp is a good chance for them to learn and practise singing, dancing and rapping with South Korea’s popular coaches. The winners will be a girl group and a boy band, each with five members. The prize for two groups is Bt5 million and a seven-year contract,” said Supichaya Lee, president of Odyssey Thailand.

“I think the show will go down well in Thailand and receive lots of support. We at Odyssey look forward to welcoming you all to ‘Battle of Dreams’,” Park said.

Discovering the dreamers

– For updated information, please visit http://www.BattleOfDreams.com, and Battleofdreams on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, or call (02) 261 6290.

The J-rock band featuring Yoohei Kawakami on vocals, Hiroyuki Isobe on bass, Masaki Shirai on guitar and Satoyasu Shomura on drums, recently released their latest album, “Sleepless in Brooklyn”. Their singles “Arpeggio” and “Pray” can be heard on the soundtrack of Japanese movie “Godzilla: King of the Monsters.”
The show starts at 5pm and tickets costing Bt2,600 and Bt3,800 are on sale at Thai Ticket Major outlets. Call (02) 262 3456 or visit http://www.ThaiTicketMajor.com.

All new with Nu’est

Korean boy band Nu’est is coming back to Thailand in July and this time will feature its complete lineup – JR, Aron, Baekho, Minhyun and Ren. The concerts titled “Segno” will be staged at Thunder Dome, Muang Thong Thani, on July 20 and 21 at 6pm.
Tickets cost from Bt2,500 to Bt6,000 at Thai Ticket Major.

SuJu – the beat goes on

This summer will be hotter than ever because SM True is bringing back Super Junior’s members Donghae and Eunhyuk for their second concert in Thailand. Dubbed “The D&E in Bangkok”, it takes place at Thunder Dome, Muang Thong Thani, tomorrow night at 5pm.
D&E – one of the units from the Alist famous Korean boy band – have already released two mini albums “The Beat Goes On” and “‘Bout You”.
Tickets are from Bt2,500 to Bt6,000 at all branches of counter service and AllTicket.com.
For more information, call (02) 826 7788 or visit and Facebook: facebook.com/smtruethailand, Instagram: instagram.com/smtruethailand and Twitter: twitter.com/SMTrueThailand.

Fifty years of fame

Grand Ex’, one of Thailand’s top string combos from the 1970s, celebrate 50 years in showbiz with what they say will definitely their last concert, “Grand Ex’ Boriboon”. It takes place at Impact Arena, Muang Thong Thani, on August 3.
Tickets cost from Bt1,500 to Bt6,000 at Thai Ticket Major.

Westlife reunite for Bangkok show

After a hiatus from the music industry for a number of years, Irish chart-toppers Westlife have announced their return to the stage with their latest “Westlife the Twenty Tour” coming to Impact Arena, Muang Thong Thani, on July 24.
One of the most popular boy bands of the 1990s and 2000s, Westlife featuring Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily and Shane Filan  recently reunited after a sixyear break.
Tickets start at Bt2,500 at Thai Ticket Major.