‘Was that really me on the cover of my debut album Dan Civilize?” Thaneth Warakulnukroh laughed a little bashfully, trying to mimic the same pose for Brunch, but failing miserably. “It’s hard to do the same thing twice unless it’s spontaneous. Even so, it’s not exactly the same.”
The multi-talented singer-songwriter-producer had turned his back on music for 23 years, but when he decided to return, it took him only a couple of months to establish a label, Rock Opera House Records, and produce the long-awaited project Pleur. So far he has released three
singles, Wang (Emptiness), Dee Jai (Glad) and Pleur (Unintentional), and has two concerts coming up on Oct 23 and 24. It’s not a typical reunion show, however, since the concerts will mainly feature his new songs. Earlier hits, especially from the Dan Civilize era, will be remixed to suit current trends.
Although radio stations might play numbers from his previous albums from time to time, after 23 years out of the spotlight it was inevitable those songs would become associated with nostalgia. But that is unlikely to happen again as he makes music for the moment. To hear the new songs, all written, sung and produced by him, is quite a treat.
But why the sudden comeback?
“Every part of me is ready now. It doesn’t matter if it’s two, 10 or 20 years. I think of [my comeback] as appropriate timing because now I’m totally charged,” the versatile 57-year-old star said.
“And ... enjoying it too,” he added.
“The thing is I was also inspired by Buddhism. To live is to seek a path leading to happiness. While I was contemplating whether to do it or not to do it again, one of my wise friends said to me, ‘You’ve got to make the most of what you’ve got. It’s a shame to let it die with you. It’s not the end of the road yet.’ He was right.”
Thaneth said his return is not an attempt to revive his career, but simply picking up where he left off. “I’m not back to make money or fame. Been there, done that and had a blast. I had thought this chapter of my life was finished for good. But the irony is I have been writing songs and screenplays. I was like, ‘Hey, why am I kidding myself?’ I’ll give it another shot and this time I won’t leave.”
Thaneth leaned his back against the wall while we sat on the floor for the interview. He looked contented, confident and relaxed. His gaze exuded
excitement and eagerness. As many in the media are glorifying his return, the artist himself is keeping it real: “I’m only back to share my stories with an audience again and have fun with it. Come on, without me music remains.
“Think of music as noodles and me as one of millions of vendors. I’m a humble part of the business, but it’s always good to have things to say and people who’ll listen. Perhaps they like my noodles, sorry, I mean music,” he joked.
Pleur is a massive project, comprising at least 30 songs. Thaneth plans to release one every month for two and a half years. It’s a concept record with one song connecting to another, employing simple but artful lyrics as a metaphor for the hidden, absolute truth. Apparently he’s taking his fans back to the Dan Civilize time, when he presented layers of pleasure and interpretation. As for Wang, the opening number: “To me it’s a perfect ‘hello’ to let my fans know where in the world I have been.”
The lyrics depict the loneliness of a heart-broken soul, but there’s more going on between the lines. “It offers that emptiness doesn’t necessarily imply loneliness or loss,” Thaneth said. “It’s a state of solitude and freedom from a haunting past.”
The crafty interpretation recalls the idealism of his Dan Civilize album, which was released by Nitespot in 1985. The title track is about euphoria — full of love, peace and selflessness. Thaneth hoped listeners understood he really intended to convey “the soul-searching and pilgrimage to happiness”.
In the ’80s, Thailand’s mainstream music was mostly geared towards pop, with bands like Chatree, McInTosh and Royal Sprite the brightest stars. Thaneth’s debut album, released against all odds, was progressive rock which dealt with the subjects of imagination and conceptualism. He wrote every song on the album, which was produced by iconic rocker Assanee Chotikul. Surprisingly, the album was what the market was craving. The audiences were bamboozled but listened, carefully even. It became a cult phenomenon, a mix of the poetry of Bob Dylan with the tunes of Yes! and the Pet Shop Boys that left the Duran Duran wannabes sounding like brainless boy bands.
In 1987, Thaneth released his second album Khon Kian Pleng Banleng Cheewit (A writer of life). It was another concept record, one which took surrealism to the extreme and showed a sophisticated development to his originality. He was still worshipped by his fans, but couldn’t connect with a wider audience. The album was considered a marketing flop. He understood and learned.
“I’d like to present my pure concept, but in the real world, you’ve got boundaries. I totally understand the common ground where the art meets money. And there’s nothing wrong with that. You just have to be subtle enough to send your original message across. I can’t say my debut album was the purest version of me because that would be unfair to my other albums.”
Two years later came the third album, his first under the larger Grammy label, Kod Poom (Press the button). Because he wrote and produced every song, he was still able to make a unified prog rock album. But the objective was also to target a bigger market. “My style of storytelling was comprehensively different, and I was willing to do so,” Thaneth explained, choosing his words carefully. “The strategy helped hone my sophistication in the bargaining situation. When you want to communicate with a large audience, you give what they want to hear first like Tum jai lum bark [Can’t put up with your departure] so maybe they’d accept Rua [Boat].”
Both songs convey the same message — the uncertainty of life. His method worked. His album received rave reviews and a new audience embraced him.
In 1992, he released Rock Kratob Mai (Wood Strikes Rock), his last album with Grammy. He offered the gut-wrenching idea of how to survive modernisation in his crucial numbers, but the love songs like Sum Term (Excruciating Pain), Eak Noi Ther Kong Kao Jai (You’ll Understand) and Rak Nong Kon Diow (Love You Only) were the winners.
In the same year as his last album was released, Thaneth shifted gear behind the scenes. He opened his own recording studio, Music Bugs, sending underground bands like La Ba Noon and Big Ass to stardom. The executive duties kept him away from his own work.
“I still had stories to relate,” Thaneth said. “But the timing wasn’t good.” He carried on with Music Bugs for another 10 years and quit.
“When I quit music that time, it was not just like that,” he said. “It was more about priority adjustment. You can call it early retirement. I needed to devote time to my family, raising my son especially.”
Thaneth sighed and opened up more: “Apart from that I thought I’d had enough of the mainstream. I was kind of done with talking with too many people. At the end of the day I realised I forgot to talk to myself. I forgot to listen to me.
“While I was away, my private pilgrimage didn’t end. My imagination, my dreams and my thoughts kept going. I put them into words. So the project’s like the recollection of my emotional growth during my solitude,” he revealed.
There are signs of that reflection in his comeback record, most obviously in the inclusion of Dee Jai, an epic hit from his debut album.
“I started off from a good place. So why not? I chose this song because once I started to let some people know about my comeback they told me how glad they were that I did.”
Thaneth remixed the song as a duet with Thanatchai “Pod” Ujjin, the lead vocalist of alternative rock band Moderndog. Pod said: “I was glad to sing with him. He’s my hero. Dee Jai is also my all-time favourite record of his. It’s an honour.”
It’s a mutual admiration. “I’m glad that I did this with him,” Thaneth said.
The seasoned artist hummed the hook of the song: “I miss you so much/ I’m glad you’re back/ You have no idea how much I miss you/ here you’re...”
His beaming eyes wandered as though he was looking out at the audience at a concert.
Thaneth smiled. “If they really miss me, guess what? I miss them more.”
The comeback concerts will be held on Oct 23 and 24 at the National Culture Centre. Tickets cost between 1,000 and 5,000 baht and are available through Thai Ticket Major.
Work in progress
In 1983, Thaneth’s first showbiz gig was as a radio disc jockey for the Nitespot music label. Apart from his day job, he wrote, sang and produced the theme song of TV drama Pitsaward (Lust) on Channel 3.
He was recruited as an artist for Nitespot that year. Two years later came his debut album, recorded in the WEA studio in England.
In 1992, he established the label Music Bugs and launched its first album. The artist was his young brother, Jirot Warakulnukroh.
From 1987-1992, Thaneth made three more albums: Khon Kian Pleng Banleng Cheewit, Kod Poom and Rock Kratob Mai.
In a 23-year hiatus, the only music-related work he did was producing the song Kita Pawanadhamma, inspired by a religious concept.
In showbiz, Thaneth is considered an all-round artist: a songwriter, a producer, a singer, an actor and also a voice artist.
