When Thai virtuoso rapper Nuttawut Srimok, better known as Golf F. Hero, realised that he had no notable song after working in the music industry for almost two decades, he decided to produce and release his first album, Into The New Era, in 2019. The seven-track album featured catchy high-quality songs and was an outstanding achievement that won him multiple prizes -- best artist and best album -- at Season Awards. By working hard, the rapper produced songs that music enthusiasts could sing along with at live concerts such as Suea Sin Lai (A Stripeless Tiger), Jam Keng (Slipped Your Mind) and Jam Loey Rak (Defendant Of Love).
Below The singer Txrbo inspired Golf F. Hero to establish the music label. High Cloud Entertainment
Pleased with his achievement, the 38-year-old artist began looking for a new challenge. Soon after, he was watching a video of a young singer Nopparat "Txrbo" Asavalaksakun on YouTube and his voice gave him the idea to create a music label to support singers he likes. As a result, Golf F. Hero teamed up with influencer Pimradaporn "Pimrypie" Benjawattanapat and rapper Tacha "Louis" Kongkakate in order to establish the music label High Cloud Entertainment. Even though Golf F. Hero and Louis are hip-hop artists, the label will include artists from various genres. At the label's launch event, three new artists -- Pimrypie, Boom Boom Cash and Txrbo -- were introduced. While Pimrypie performed the pop-dance single Ya Na Ka (Don't), Boom Boom Cash played the EDM track Hakuna Matata and Txrbo performed the hip-hop song Nam Lai (Saliva).
Golf F. Hero spoke to Life after the launch of High Cloud Entertainment. He said the way Txrbo draws out the lyrics of a song is special.
"I listen to songs produced by Taiwanese singer-songwriter Jay Chou, who adds elements of Chinese opera and the sound of traditional Chinese instruments into pop, hip-hop or EDM. His songs are really cool. Moreover, his music arrangement can make traditional instruments sound up to date. I also listen to T-pop created by the music label Kamikaze, and noticed that they use pentatonic melodies to create Thai-style music. I want to add Thai elements into music and when I found Txrbo, I thought his voice had something I am missing. I suggested Txrbo to another producer but unfortunately they were busy working on another album. However, since I did not want to lose the artist, I started High Cloud Entertainment," explained Golf F. Hero.
At High Cloud Entertainment, Pimrypie is an investor and chairman while Louis is in charge of running the company as the chief compliance officer. Meanwhile, Golf F. Hero is an executive partner who is responsible for producing music.
The rapper explained the meaning of High Cloud and the goal of the label.
"Clouds have free form and people see them in different shapes. At High Cloud Entertainment, music is independence. We are interested in all music genres and aim to produce quality music. Our label produces T-pop and we also plan to have a boy band, a rock band and other types of artists. We hope one day, our artists will be recognised on the international stage," said Golf F. Hero.
Golf F. Hero sang Sad Movie with actor and singer Bright. High Cloud Entertainment
Back in 2006, Golf F. Hero was a teenager from Chiang Rai who came to Bangkok to study. His life changed after he handed in a demo tape on which he rapped without any instruments to Thai hip-hop pioneer Joey Boy. Golf F. Hero later became an artist at Garncore Club founded by Joey Boy. His breakthrough song was Rathreesawat (Good Night), which he sang with Thee Chaiyadej in 2009. Today, Golf F. Hero is renowned for his meaningful messages and the beautiful language of his lyrics. His rapping is a combination of several genres since he has sung with more than 100 artists, including pop, rock, reggae and luk thung singers. Since 2018, after Golf F. Hero became a coach for the TV music competition programme The Rapper on Work Point Channel, he has become widely recognised. A year later, he had the opportunity to perform with the Japanese metal band Babymetal, for the song Pa Pa Ya! in Japan.
"Before I performed with them, some parts of the song leaked online and some of their fans responded negatively to my rapping because I was not that famous. However, members of Babymetal and their crew treated me well and I felt honoured. They listened to my ideas and used it in our work. At the show, I was thrilled because there was a large audience. It was a great experience. I learned that I should pay attention to people who care about me rather than those who don't," said Golf F. Hero.
Apart from High Cloud Entertainment, the rapper runs several businesses including electric appliance company Altec, grilled pork franchise Moo Ping Hero and sneaker brand PLY. Golf F. Hero is a businessman who learned from his failures.
"I am not afraid of failure. If I do not fail, I won't learn from my mistakes and I won't improve. When I fail, I try as much as possible not to feel hurt," he said.
Left Boom Boom Cash perform their new single Hakuna Matata. Photos © High Cloud Entertainment
High Cloud Entertainment released its first music video, Sad Movie, sung by renowned performer Vachirawit "Bright" Chivaaree and it was the right choice. Sad Movie ranked number one on several music charts and reached 3.3 million views on YouTube in only two weeks.
"High Cloud Entertainment made its debut with Sad Movie because I wanted to work with Bright. He is an actor and a singer who has both local and international fans. The way Bright draws out the notes sounds like Thai traditional songs helped High Cloud Entertainment a lot. He posted about our label on his social media even though he did not have to. I was happy with the feedback from Sad Movie. Our YouTube channel started from zero and now we are up to 37,000 subscribers and our YouTube views increase every day. It is a beautiful beginning," he said.
In past years, many Thai music labels have been founded to create T-pop with the goal of breaking into the international market. Golf F. Hero talked with executives at other labels about T-pop and he believes that language is not a barrier anymore.
Nuttawut Srimok, better known as Golf F Hero runs the music label, High Cloud Entertainment.
"I am inspired by the success of K-pop stars BTS and Blackpink. They have topped the Billboard music chart with Korean songs. K-pop has proved that music production in Korean can be part of the international music industry. Their quality stands out and has a unique style. Thai producers have to work together and figure out our own Thai signature," he said.
However, after discussing with other executives, the rapper has noticed flaws in Thailand's music industry.
"Young Thai singers do not have the discipline that Korean singers have. Another problem is we do not have enough investment. To become successful, people have to sacrifice their time, energy and money. However, if we do not take the first step, we will never reach the goal," concluded Golf F. Hero.