Bangkok post-punk trio PLOT talk present, past and what's ahead
Look out for their first studio album out this June.
6 years ago
Formed in 2010, the post-punk trio PLOT, who scenesters may recognize from Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit's Mary Is Happy, Mary is Happy (2013), are finally releasing a full studio album, called Anon, in June. Here, Jitivi ‘‘Pai’‘ Banthaisong, Ponwit ‘‘Wit‘’ Rattanatanatevilai and Phorphat ‘‘Poon‘’ Kitkrailass tell us about the band’s eight year journey and their next steps.
The origins of PLOT?
Pai: Wit and I formed the band at our high school, St. Gabriel’s. Poon wasn’t with us at first. After our first drummer quit, a friend introduced us to Poon. He insisted that Poon is amazingly talented. We only found out later that our friend had never even heard Poon play. But everything worked out.
Wit: Poon joined just as Koichi Shimizu offered to produce a song for us. That was “Nothing is New, Everything is Fucking the Same,” which went into Nawapol’s film.
Worst moments on stage?
Wit: Bay Beat Festival 2012 in Singapore.
Pai: Yeah. Right. My guitar ran out of batteries, so Wit had to extend his bass solo session for like five minutes as I solved the problem. But it was such a fun experience. There were fireworks everywhere right after we finished our show because there was a rehearsal for Singapore’s National Day [laughs].
Poon: Back in those days, let’s call it the MySpace era, the most annoying but common problem was the drum pedal falling off the stage while we were playing.
Best moments on stage?
Pai: They asked us to keep playing at a charity concert for the victims of an earthquake in Nepal. Everybody was both really drunk and enjoying our show, but we didn’t have anything prepared, so we just repeated ourselves the whole show. Everybody loved it.
A response to criticism of sexist in lyrics supposedly like blaming a woman for ''loving to lead a guy on with false hope''
Pai: Why are people so pessimistic and dramatic? Those people need to listen to the lyrics carefully and they’ll find out that, actually, my music speaks about admiring women.
A response to speculation that the latest single, “Madam Asoke,” refers to the big record label in that area?
Pai: How do you guys come up with this? Anyway, I’ll make it clear here that it’s nothing related to that. It’s about a woman who is never miserable.
Favorite haunts?
Pai: I don’t normally hang out in bars. I like to eat street food. My favorite spot is Larb Ped Por 4 on Rama 9 Road. The Isaan food there is so good.
Wit: Krua Pradiphat on Pradiphat Road. I don’t go to bars that often either so my favorite place to go to relax is where I can find a delicious meal.
Poon: Mine is Krua Pradiphat as well, but I don’t go there with these guys. We don’t hate each other, we just don’t hang out together that much [laughs].
Biggest problems in Bangkok’s music scene?
Pai: As musicians, I think there are lots of places and promoters that want to promote the scene. The problem is artists, who need to be better about making original work.
Three tracks from Anon are already available online. Catch PLOT live at Madam Commune at De Commune on Mar 22. Also, look out for a music video of “Madam Asoke” this April. Listen to their track "Intimacy Kills" below.
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