Chotika Kamwongpin's dreamy second album shows impressive musical growth.
STOONDIO/ PLURAL
With rapidly advancing technology, it’s easier than ever to make music in the comfort of your own home. That is something Bangkok-based graphic designer Chotika “Toon” Kamwongpin has been taking advantage of since her college days. Working with nothing more than GarageBand software, a Midi keyboard and a guitar, Toon composed her debut album, called Lost-Unfound, under the moniker Stoondio, spawning low-key indie hits like Untitled 001 and Sia Die.
Having once and for all taken her music out of the confines of her bedroom, Toon is back with Plural, the studio follow-up to her 2013 debut. Plural finds the 26-year-old DIY musician collaborating with go-to songwriter Joy — a partnership that previously proved a success. The lead single, Yin Dee Tee Dai Pob Thur [Glad to have met you], picks up where Lost-Unfound left off with its warm, wistful indie-pop sound built on delicate melodies and understated, almost apologetic, songwriting (“I will get to know you as much as you’ll want me to/I’ll smile for you as often as you’d like me to”).
Second single Gao Gai [Bother] continues in a similarly airy acoustic manner. Here, Toon is asking her lover to hear her out one last time, and then she promises that she won’t bother him ever again. The whole thing may sound a bit depressing on paper, but the song itself is really a breeze to listen to. In fact, it’s one of the more upbeat offerings on the record. Tracks like Payakorn [Predictions] and Gorn Na Nee Mai Nan [Until recently] further prove that Toon is capable of breaking out of her usual acoustic leanings to craft something that sounds more polished and well-rounded.
Elsewhere we see Toon waxing philosophical on tracks like Pan Ma, Pan Pai [Passing by] and Wa Ja (Verbal). The former is about the impermanence of relationships. “No, I don’t want us to return to where we were/You’re just someone who came into my life and passed me by/Just passing by,” she sings over the acoustic guitar and steel drums. The latter is about how we should be careful with words as they have the power to potentially hurt the people we love.
Plural is a record full of heart and sincerity, but most importantly it takes an admirable step forward for Toon both in terms of sound and content. The album, while still largely rooted in acoustic stylings, shows the artist’s willingness to explore beyond her musical toolbox. Listening to Plural’s nine tracks, she seems to have gained the confidence to sing with more clarity and conviction this time around, and that truly is a beautiful thing for us to witness especially in DIY artists. n
