Having ditched her successful career as a young start-up CEO to pursue music independently, Peeralada Sukawat, mononymously known as Pyra, has a lot to prove both to herself and to her family, who'd rather she took up a 9-to-5 job. "It's more about self-actualisation. I want to see something I expect of myself happen. The more people tell me I can't, the more I want to do it," she asserted in her 2016 interview with the Bangkok Post's now-defunct Saturday supplement Muse, wherein she talked candidly about depression and her frayed relationship with her mother. The piece further illuminates her self-produced debut EP Stray, a stunning release that, while deservedly vouched for by Apple Music Thailand, somehow failed to woo a local radio station because "they couldn't figure out what category I fell into".
Rooted in R&B and electronic music, Pyra's sound comes with a distinctly ethereal and gossamer quality -- gliding and floating like an elusive cloud. These sonic traits and textures carry over to her follow-up, Better Being: Suriya. Helmed by Thailand's electro-pop stalwarts Cyndi Seui and Gramaphone Children, the six-track EP marks the first instalment in the Better Being EP series and draws its inspiration from traditional Thai instruments, Taoism and the pursuit of spiritual enlightenment.
Setting the tone for the EP, the interlude opener Radiate finds the rising singer chanting about "stepping out of the illusionary world" over meditative gong rhythms. Now that we're officially in the temple of Pyra, White Lotus offers mind-cleansing, self-healing sumptuousness via skittering beats, bright piano keys and deafening negative space. Suriya and Let It Go sustain the languorous pace at which she's always thrived; Feather (featuring Cyndi Seui) arrives with plenty of pop-R&B sensibility, making it one of the more accessible tracks; and the ballad Inspiration closes the EP with her best vocal performance to date.
For those who appreciate: Enigmatic left-field pop artists including FKA twigs, Grimes, Sevdaliza and Samaris.
Quotable lyrics: "If I could just escape to a higher place/ Will I truly find what I desired?/ Never realise the bad beast in my mind" (White Lotus).
The verdict: A work of impressive depth and a diverse sonic palette from one of Thailand's most forward-thinking artists.
What more could anyone ask for? Listen to this: White Lotus, Suriya, Feather.
The Playlist
The Dumbs / Selfie
For someone who describes himself as a maker of "nerd pop" music, newcomer Winai Kitcharoenjiranont, aka The Dumbs, sounds uncharacteristically sleek and sophisticated on his latest offering, Selfie. The track, a follow-up to debut single Kon Lok Lok (Nervous Man), introduces itself with meaty disco bass licks paired with glowing synths. The drum beats then kick in, effectively prolonging the groovy bassline. Meanwhile, Winai makes sure to repeat the word "yourself" in his lyrics to drive home our obsession with taking selfies -- first empathetically ("Everybody's a narcissist/ It's normal to like yourself/ Sometimes I even love myself/ So I'm reserving my judgement") and somewhat didactically in the brass-driven chorus ("Don't just take selfies/ Study yourself/ Try to understand yourself/ Ask yourself/ See through yourself"). Despite all of the apparent self-deprecation, The Dumbs is actually not that dumb and "nerd pop" isn't all that nerdy.
Yaeji / One More
After having bookended 2017 with two brilliant EPs, rising Brooklyn-based DJ and producer Yaeji returns with another club-friendly track, One More. As with EP2's standouts like Raingurl, Drink I'm Sippin On and a lush cover of Drake's Passionfruit, the track rides on deep, minimal house beats. Yaeji's singing, a hushed mix of Korean and English filtered through Auto-Tune, comes with a flow that leans toward a low-key, more introspective brand of hip hop. "So apologies are made for fun/ So I can fall and hurt and learn," sings the 25-year-old Korean-American artist, her half-hearted delivery awash in understated synths. "But you don't need to change a thing/ That's how it is."
Pentatonix / Making Christmas
October is still a little early to be singing about Christmas, but that doesn't seem to faze Pentatonix, which is teasing us with the lead cut from its forthcoming holiday album, Christmas Is Here. Here, the a cappella troupe has gone rogue, eschewing the conventional Christmas songbook and opting for something a little twisted and wicked -- that is, Danny Elfman's Making Christmas, a beloved classic from Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas. With lines like "Snakes and mice get wrapped up so nice/ With spiders' legs and pretty bows", this is actually very topical, considering that Halloween is lurking right around the corner.
Aurora / Churchyard
"He told me I belong in a churchyard/ He told me I could walk away but I wouldn't get far," Aurora begins unceremoniously on Churchyard, the latest single lifted from her second LP, Infections Of A Different Kind -- Step 1. Backed by a choir and string arrangements, the Norwegian electropop songstress proceeds to expand on this "he", singing about how "hate followed him gently" and how there are "roots tearing the love in him apart". According to Aurora, the song is about "someone bigger using their power in the wrong way", but we have a nagging feeling that it's directed toward a certain president of a certain nation. Sad!
Yellow Days / How Can I Love You?
Operating under the stage alias Yellow Days, up-and-coming English singer-songwriter George Van den Broek has gotten us all excited earlier this year with the soulful gem that is The Way Things Change. On its follow-up, How Can I Love You?, we're once again treated to Broek's unique and wholly pleasing blend of lo-fi indie rock and psychedelic jazz. This time, the production emerges fuller and more polished, thanks to the collaborating musicians he's managed to round up. That being said, his vocals, by turns gritty and soothing, are still very much the highlight here. Expect more great things from this guy.
