Pop rockers are the talk of the town

It’s been less than two years since their formation, but Gliss are already one of the most talked about bands in Thailand. Their debut single “Toi (Retreat),” released last year, was a huge success. The audio video for the song attracted over 260 million views - a rare case of the song being a hit before people even knew who the band were.

Gliss is made up of four music graduates from Silpakorn University - singer Siripope Komkam (New), keyboardist Piyabutr Sirisampan (Dome), guitarist Phurit Niamsaming (Pid) and drummer Thanawut Vibulkij (Aof). Despite their sophisticated music skills, the guys chose to play simple pop music with catchy melodies and hooks.

With their second single “Reeb Fung Korn Done Lobe (Let’s Hear It Before It’s Deleted)” climbing the charts, S Weekly caught up with Gliss to talk about their music and dramatic rise to stardom.

It’s been almost a year since you released “Retreat.” What have you been doing since then?

Aof: We’ve been playing live shows and writing new songs. We‘d actually finished “Let’s Hear It Before It’s Deleted” before we released “Retreat.” But our music label thought “Retreat” was more radio friendly, so they decided to put it out first. It turns out they were right!

What’s the new song about?

Aof: The song title was inspired by a phrase that people use a lot on social media - “watch it before it gets deleted.” We thought it would be a funny gimmick to use it as the name of a song.

New: The song is about a relationship that’s coming to an end. A man just wants to express his feelings of love to his partner one last time before leaving her life forever.

Are you fans of social media?

Aof: In the past, not so much. I think out of the four of us, Dome is on his phone the most. But now we have to rely on social media a lot more in order to build a community for our fans. Building your fan base is very important. Social media is the best way to get noticed.

Both of your singles so far are ballads. Was that intentional?

Aof: Not really. We wanted to write tunes that New felt comfortable singing.

New: I’m actually quite new as a vocalist. I was a guitarist before and never had much chance to sing until I joined this band. And I’ve always been a fan of slow ballads. But I’m sure we’ll write some faster tunes in the future.

What’s the story behind your band name, Gliss?

Dom: It’s from the word glissando. It’s a music term that means to slide from one note to another, especially on piano. When we put the band together, Aof asked me to think of a name. He wanted something short and meaningful. When I suggested the name Gliss, everybody loved it.

“Retreat” was a huge hit. Why do you think it was so well-received?

New: I think it’s because of the simplicity of the song. “Retreat” has everything that a good pop song should have - an accessible melody and lyrics that anybody can relate to.

Aof: We all knew it had the potential to be a hit, but we didn’t expect that it would do as well as it did.

You all have music degrees. Why did you decide to play simple pop songs?

Aof: We’re fans of pop music. It’s something we all enjoy playing and feel comfortable doing the most. And I actually think it’s much harder to come up with something that’s simple but effective.