BK: Tell us about your life.
Bell: I was born in Nakhon Ratchasima. My dad was a soldier and my mom was a nursing assistant. I have seven aunts and two sisters. I felt like I was a woman since I was young. But I never exposed my femininity until I graduated. Before that, I kept pretending to be a well-behaved boy.

BK: Why did you have to hide it?
Bell: I didn’t know what to do. My father was really disappointed that I am like this. His family are all soldiers and he expected me to be a solidier too. He even beat me when I was in fourth grade to force me back to being a boy. I also was bullied at school, boys abused me, calling me e-tud [faggot] or katoey.

BK: When did you start singing?
Bell: I’ve loved to sing since I was a kid. I always participated in singing contests. I even won best performance at a national singing contest.

BK: What did you do after graduating?
Bell: I couldn’t continue college because my family didn’t have enough money. I became a singer at a pub called Dok Mai Coffee where I gained a reputation for singing in both male and female voices. It’s a selling point. That was the time that I started being myself too. I also work as a DJ and creative at G’s Radio 96.0 FM in Nakhon Ratchasima. I make a living and give money to my family. It’s been eight years now. My father feels better about me too.

BK: Why did you decide to participate in Thailand’s Got Talent?
Bell: Anucha “Chi” Lanprasert, a scout talent who pushed Nathan Oman, told me to try. He planned it that I should dupe the audience with my girly voice then surprise them with my male tones.

BK: How do you feel about becoming a big hit worldwide now?
Bell: I am so happy. I never expected it would be huge like this. I want to thank all the fans who support me. A fan in America even created an official website and sent me an iPod Touch with the quote “Thanks for being who you are. You make me smile,” etched on it. I am also proud that I am Thai. Thais see my talent whether I am a man or woman.

BK: Have you had sex-change surgery?
Bell: Not yet. But I definitely will.

BK: Do you have a boyfriend?
Bell: Yes, I do. He’s now worried that I will be too famous and meet somebody else.

BK: Any funny experiences because of your looks?
Bell: There was a guy who came to listen to my music and chatted to me at the pub for a couple months. Once I told him that I would participate in the Miss Tiffany contest, he was in shock. He just thought that I was just a girl who had deep voice.

BK: What is your biggest dream?
Bell: I just want to sing my own songs in front of thousands of people. That’s all I want.

I was just a country girl in Khon Kaen, but I knew from an early age that I wanted to work in the music industry.

At 15, I decided not to waste my time studying in high school anymore. I wanted to go to a music academy instead. I studied at Siam Kolakarn. They were recruiting music students to become future music teachers so I got a job straight after finishing the course.

There was gossip that I was pregnant because I didn’t finish high school.

I was the youngest in my music classes. The other stude­nts were professional musicians who played music for a living at night. It was the most difficult moment in my life. Lots of pressure.
While other music students got to hang out, I was alone practicing the piano.

Once I started teaching, my life was so happy. I would go to stay at the beach in the week and work at weekends.

I don’t feel I missed out on anything by skipping normal teenage experiences to become a working person. I was proud that I could live on my own while my old friends were still studying in high school or at university.

I taught piano classes for nine years then I felt I wanted to be a song writer. I wrote a song called “Ter Hen Thong Fa Nun Mai” which was later sung by T-Bone and was massive. Then I had my own album Turquoise in 1997.

After the music industry flopped, I wanted to do things that I had never done before, like travel.

My journeys gave me inspiration to collect things, not just for songs and albums. It also comes out as books and videos. Now I even get to host a TV program on TPBS called Footsteps, Dreams, People, Music.

My husband and I love to travel to less developed regions and countries like India or Nepal. Places like these are often expensive compared to more tourist friendly countries.

Places like Hong Kong or Singapore don’t attract me. I felt like there is nothing to see.

I regret I didn’t start to travel earlier. If I could have travelled at a young age I would have even more inspiration to do things.

I totally support backpackers. It’s better than drinking in pubs after work. People should broaden their viewpoint through travel.

Group tour isn’t real travel. It’s just a large group of people who eat and spend time together. They don’t really touch life out there on the street. Well, it’s still better than those who don’t travel at all.

If you travel a lot you learn to see the value of your homeland. Everything here is better than in other countries. If we had better governments, we would be so prosperous.

Why are we always fighting? We have diamonds in our hands but we ruin it all by ourselves.

We should clear out all the old politicians to make the country better. They’re so greedy. What’s wrong with these people! Don’t your children live here?

People keep forgetting that we have only one earth. Why aren’t we kind to each other? I want to see my children grow old when I am dead and I am looking back down on them from heaven.

Everybody deserves to die old. We shouldn’t die because of conflicts.

My song writing inspiration is still love, but my perspective on love has changed as I’ve got older.

I think people growing old is good, as long as we experience a lot and teach or give back to the next generation. I just had a charity concert called “Tam Boon Wang Pol” to help build an art room for hill tribe children. The concert cost nothing because everyone did it for free, so every baht raised will go to children.

It’s like God created my family for me. My husband, producer Nimit “Kob” Jittranont, and I have similar ideas on everything. For example, choosing a school for our kids. We focus on learning a lesson rather than educating. If they don’t know who they are, they won’t survive.

Being a simple person and being happy is difficult. My principle is just trying to love yourself every time you look in the mirror.

Technique and Medium: Black and white prints.

What is the concept of this exhibition?
I didn’t really have a concept in mind when taking these photos. They come from a series of pictures that I took randomly. The idea can be seen in the selection of photos. It came from my own awareness of violence, which can be seen everywhere.

Why did you choose Bang Bang (You’re Dead) as the title?
It’s the sound of the photos. It’s what I hear when I look at them.

Why did you shoot in black and white?
I used black and white to make the image pure.

There are a lot of children in these images.
Kids represent the future of violence. In their youth they’re playing with toy guns, but when they’re older, maybe it will be the real thing.

What would you say is the unifying theme of all your work, past and present?
I love taking photos randomly. In my travels I witness a lot of culture and tradition. Photography is different than writing because a picture speaks more powerfully than words are able to. Vasachol Quadri

Love or peace?
Love of course. Peace only occurs when there is social justice. Without love, we’re not going to have peace.

Barefoot or shoes?
I’ve been barefoot now for more than 10 years. I started playing music in countries where kids couldn’t afford shoes, so I’d take my shoes off. I now collect shoes for children in America. I’d love to do that in Singapore.

Happiness is…
Aah… It comes from within.

If there’s one thing I could change about the world, it would be…
The cynicism of the world. People are too cynical and they give up and lose hope.

Person you’d most like to meet, dead or alive is…
Nelson Mandela. I’d much rather meet somebody who’s alive than dead. If there was one era I could go back to, it’d be the... 60s because there’s great music; it was a time of great change. I would much prefer go to the future than go anywhere back actually.

What’s on your bucket list?
Number one is to go to Singapore. Number two is to eat chili crab.

Catch Michael Franti at the Timbre Rock & Roots Festival on Apr 15, 11:30pm at the Marina Promenade, at the F1 track behind the Singapore Flyer, 6338-8277. $70-200 from Sistic.

How has your year been so far?
Ralph Kyau: All good. Released two singles so far and a remix.

Busy much?
Steven Albert: We did a rework of our classic track "Kiksu" as part of the 15 years of Kyau & Albert releases in 2011.

Your tracks "Walk Down" and "Megashira" were used for a documentary film the U movie. How did that come about and what is your opinion of the film?
RK: When Alexander Reid contacted us to use our songs in the U movie, we became curious about the whole project. While looking into it and seeing a few trailers of that documentary, we decided to support the project.
SA: the U movie is a feature length documentary film about traveling the world and following your dreams. Check the website www.theumovie.com.
RK: We were really inspired by the footage from the film, and decided to make the single "On The Way." Then we came up with the idea that Alexander should make a video-clip for "On The Way" with footage from the U movie. He also thought that it was a fantasic idea and could really make a good push for the movie. The response for the video-clip was massive.

Germany is known more for its techno than trance. How has this impacted your music?
SA: When we started making music our biggest idol was Paul van Dyk. He is the most popular DJ in Germany. In the ealy 90's even Sven Väth was playing trance. We like listening to other styles too for inspiration.

You will be spinning at Azzura here. What can we expect?
RK: People can expect a typical Kyau & Albert set with lots of energy behind the decks.

Catch Kyau & Albert on Apr 9, 10pm. Azzura, 46 Siloso Beach Walk, 6270-8003. $25-30 includes one drink.

Tell us what we’ll see.
Rayann Condy: Silliness and sass. We are big and brassy and quite ridiculous. I hope people will have as much fun watching as we have playing.
Kluane Saunders: You can expect wacky antics, some eye-catching costumes, great pop-style song and dance numbers, and hopefully a few surprises.

The Sisters come from Romania to be the queens of Getai. How did an Aussie and Kiwi muster up a believable Romanian accent?
RC: A dash of Russian, a spoon of Swedish and a drop of Anzac is the Angmoh Durian Sisters’ special recipe.
KS: We have been learning from recordings of people speaking English with Romanian accents. However, the accent we will be performing in will be a much heightened version of this in order to accentuate our “foreign-ness.”

What has come out of your Hokkien lessons?
RC: I’ve become a Joyce Lim fan from watching her on YouTube again and again.
KS: I certainly know a lot more swear words in Hokkien now!

Did you suffer any culture shock when you first came to Singapore? Any Singaporean-isms you’ve picked up?
RC: Well ah, I travel a lot lah before I come to Singapore lor. So cannot say I shocked. But the weather here, aiyah not good for angmoh skin. This answer can or not?
KS: At first I struggled to make myself understood sometimes. My Singlish is atrocious, but I have picked up a few Singaporean-isms along the way. I often say “can” in the place of “yes” or “okay” now.

Durians: Love or hate?
RC: Not sure. I especially don’t get it as I’m indifferent to them. I neither love ‘em nor hate ‘em.
KS: I personally do not like the taste or smell of the durian fruit BUT they are one of the coolest looking fruits I have ever seen!

Catch the sisters at play from Apr 15-May 1 at the Esplanade Theatre, 1 Esplanade Dr., 6828-8377. $40-100 from Sistic.

My mother started bringing me to films when I was two or three. She loved fantastic movies—cowboys, dinosaurs, spaghetti westerns. We watched lots of horror so my tolerance for paranormal stuff was high.

The first film I made was with my mother’s Super 8 Canon camera and my G.I. Joe figures. Stop-andgo animation. I showed it to the adults and they were wondering, “How the hell did these toys come to life?” I was probably about eight or nine.

When Mee Pok Man came out here, it had scathing reviews, but at least the old uncles went to watch it. I got slammed; The Straits Times crucified the film. It was good because it was my first feature, and to be punched in such a hard way and to then get glowing reviews from the international press, I felt better.

I like to work with actors who have never acted before.

When we make a film now, we’ve got to ensure that it’s suitable for the international market. You can’t expect to release a film just in Singapore and break even, especially if it’s a film that’s not a Jack Neo comedy.

We go on about some of Jack Neo’s movies, but the audience is there for those films.

I always tell filmmakers: For your first feature, don’t spend more than half a million. Try and do it—and it can be done—for under $300,000.

We wanted to do an almost silent film, and there’s only three to four minutes of actual dialogue in Be With Me. How do we communicate these days? SMS, email or even food. No one had seen anything quite like it, but it’s universal.

I’ve had grown men—big, tough guys— hugging me, crying and thanking me for making Be With Me. It’s always nice when someone comes up to you to say “Thank you.”

Working on a graphic novel 20 years ago, I had no inspiration or ideas until Philip Cheah passed me this book called Good-Bye and Other Stories by Yoshihiro Tatsumi. I was so blown away that I came up with the stories and drew everything within a month.

At Kinokuniya recently, I found A Drifting Life; the life of Yoshihiro Tatsumi from 1945 to 1960. I thought it would be incredible if we could do a tribute film to the man. Part documentary, part short stories. That’s why I decided to make Tatsumi because he was such an inspiration to me. In a funny way, it’s like coming full circle.

I want to work with other young filmmakers and collaborate with them; to get them going somewhere. I always wanted Singapore to not just have me as a director.

When I’m creating with my collaborators, we always drink. Somehow at a certain point, things always become crystal clear. When I drink, it’s to create and it’s when I’m happy.

I love toys. I go to Toys “R” Us and pretend to be the good father with my kids, but actually, I’m looking around.

I collect Spiderman stuff. I met Stan Lee in California and I remember when I got into his office and looked around, I was like, “Shit, there’re so many things here I want to steal.”

The first girl I fell in love with was Gwen Stacy, Peter Parker’s girlfriend, the blonde girl. I was so pissed off as a kid because she dies. She was the love of his life.

When I create a film, I have to fall in love with it.

A treasure trove of revamped and wildly unique vintage furnishings, visiting the Like That One store is a bad idea if you’re trying to rein in spending. Owners and long-time buddies Belle Waring and Cheu Koh spoke to us about the origin of their business and their favorite pieces.

What was the inspiration behind Like That One?
CK: We’d known each other for many years after becoming friends in the Bay Area in California, and reunited in Singapore. We wanted to start a business that would fill a gap here; something that would hit the sweet spot between junk shop and pricey high-quality design. We didn’t feel anyone else was offering a well-curated mix of vintage, re-imagined and cool new pieces so we went in that direction.

Tell us how you source your pieces and revamp what you find.
CK: Sometimes we’ll find a classic 60s piece, where the teak is in good condition, and we do only the minimum. We fix scratches and love it up and we just put it out there. When there are good features but technical problems, be it 80s upholstery or banged-up wood, we get creative—painting and distressing, changing the fabric, gluing pictures of plastic Japanese action figures all over—you name it, we’ve done it. We acquire things from estate sales and from connections with movers and carpenters who know to sell us their unwanted older pieces. We also source for new stuff, particularly in the industrial vintage style.

What do you enjoy most about the process?
BW: I think seeing our handiwork integrated into a beautiful, well-loved home is extremely satisfying.
CK: I enjoy channeling my nervous energy into making sure the pieces we put out there are loved by every customer who brings them home. It's a vindication of our creative vision when people get what we're doing and the value we're offering them. Just last week, a new customer came into the store and told me his first impression walking in was “wow, so steampunk!”

Looks like the store’s in the midst of a change. What have you guys been up to here?
CK: We were up on the ninth floor previously, and we’ve just moved down to the first floor. It was a good spot but this is much better because it has way more visibility and ramp-uploading. We hope to be receiving containers of cool stuff in the future so this will really help. Of course, we’re still out in a light industry building in Bukit Batok but that’s just how we roll.

What are your favorite pieces?
BW: An Art Deco… thing… that we’re basically in the dark about. It’s round, coffee table-ish and has a mystifying arrangement of shelves and solid spaces. It looks as if it should spin around but it doesn’t. It’s just cool and mysterious.
CK: Our version of a Chesterfield sofa in one of our favorite color combos—brown and aqua teal. It’s ultra suede and it’s classic, super comfortable, fresh and friendly.

What kind of customers do you attract?
CK: All kinds but we hope to continue appealing to Singaporeans who are design-conscious and want something unique for their home, as well as expats who are looking for something genuinely Singaporean. There is an element of nostalgia in what we do but we also love going in the direction of industrial vintage and even steampunk so it’s not just a retro store.

And what usually catches the eye of your customers in the store?
CK: Ironically, everyone always fixates on Belle’s daughter’s retro tricycle, which is not for sale.

What are your plans for the future?
CK: We have several directions we might go. We might like to do more extensive interior decoration for clients, beyond just suggesting things from our own store. We are also moving into sourcing more new items that are made in other countries, and curating the selection so that our customers can combine stuff, confident that they’ll end up with a good eclectic look and not a mish-mash.

Famous last words?
BW: We’re ahead of the curve!
CK: Buy at first sight—because we won’t have another identical piece most of the time!

Visit Like That One at #01-02 Skytech, 2 Bukit Batok St. 24, 6560-9168. Open Wed-Sun 11am-5pm. Or log on to their website www.likethatone.com.

BK: How did you get your start in music?
Knot: I’ve always loved music since I was young. My passion was handed down to me by my father, who loves to play guitar and sing. I started playing guitar when I was seven, and I became interested in songwriting too. I also play the drums and bass.

BK: How did you get involved in the music industry?
Knot: I studied with Suweera Boonrod a.k.a “Q” from Flure. We also used to play together in a band. After Q had signed a record deal, he introduced me to Suki Sukosol and Boyd Kosiyabong. I got lucky and started writing songs for them and that turned into another band called Lolita. The band didn’t work out, so I decided to pursue a solo career. Now I have two singles out: “Rueng Jing Kong Took” Wan and “Pan Hua”.

BK: What is the hardest thing about being a solo artist?
Knot: Being a producer in addition to everything else is the hardest part because I have to be open to new things that I sometimes don’t even like. I may like one thing, but people may like another sound. I always have to keep that in mind.

BK: Apart from music, what else have you been doing?
Knot: My ultimate dream is to become a pilot. I took the Thai Airways entrance exam, but unfortunately got eliminated during the final round. Another opportunity arose and I went and worked in an advertising agency as an account executive. At the present moment I’m working for the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand and I recently got accepted for a master’s degree at Thammasat. I love doing a little bit of everything. Life is just so much more colorful that way.

BK: You have many interests, what’s your current goal?
Knot: To be a successful artist who makes music that people like is probably my main goal. I get a great feeling when I hear people singing along to my songs.

BK: Have you gotten any feedback from your fans?
Knot: They’re all extremely nice. I try to listen to the same music that my fans do. When I toured, there was an incident where two girls reached out to touch my hand while I was playing, and I accidentally hit one of them with my guitar! I still feel bad about that. I

I was born in Bangkok, educated in England, and I grew up in Ireland. I’ve been a world citizen most of my life.

I’ve wanted to be a film director ever since seeing ET. Spielberg is one of my idols.

I’d like to invite him for dinner. He’s an amazing storyteller and has an uncanny ability to get what he wants from his actors. He has a magic touch.

I once had dinner with Franco Zeffirelli and Bryan Ferry in a Thai restaurant in London. That was pretty bizarre; I was sandwiched between a great filmmaker and rock musician. I felt awfully inept to be sitting among these men.

At 18, I believed the world was my oyster, that I could achieve whatever I wanted to. I thought that I could win an Oscar. I still think that.

I went to film school in Leeds, England. We made short films there over the course of two years. After doing that I decided I wanted to be my own boss. I directed my first film, which was a low budget British film that was sold to television.

My biggest accomplishment hasn’t happened yet. But it’s coming. I’ve been producing for ten years and I’m about to release my first film in Thailand.

I most appreciate tenacity in others because I don’t give up easily, and I don’t think other people should give up easily.

My Sunday mornings aren’t lazy. My children wake me up at 7 and we go to the funarium, where I have to endure the smell of children’s feet, or sometimes I take them swimming at the British Club.

My idea of hell would be working 9-5. I would find it very mundane and my existence on the planet would be a waste.

I’ve got a weakness for women, and I get distracted easily. That’s maybe why my career has been less than it could have been.

I’m Eurasian and I’m attracted to the same DNA mix. I think halfies have a connection. My future girlfriend will be a luk krueng.

I like the idea of working in Hollywood and then coming back to Thailand. The weather is nice in LA, not so balmy and muggy.

I’m-tri-religious in that I have a Catholic father, a Buddhist mother, and I married a Muslim. I have to balance all three religions in my household. It’s difficult, though. I’m not very religious myself, and I don’t let religion come first in my life.

Judging by the earthquakes and tsunamis, the world might very well be ending in 2012. I also believe aliens have landed, and that the American war on terror is being instigated by some secret world order.

I hate George Bush. I can’t understand how Americans could believe all his bullshit. How did that happen? For once the French were right.

“Love thy neighbor” is something that I feel I have to keep reminding myself. I lost my brother in a bombing in 2002. Bush blamed it on Muslims and the world became polarized.

I married a Muslim. I don’t blame her, or any other Muslim.

Filmmaking is better than sex. Although sex is a close second.

I want to be able to just pick up a guitar and play Led Zeppelin. I always felt that I missed out on that. Live entertainment is visceral and has a bit of an edge over film.

Media is an ambassador for Thailand. But these days the Ministry of Culture has relaxed its stance on sensitive films, maybe because of Apichatpong winning awards.

People outside Thailand think the country is unstable. I wish we could do something to make them see that Thailand is the great country that it’s always been. Tourism is down and fewer films are coming here.

We need to keep color out of politics. I think we need to stop the quarreling and just get on with it.

In a way, Thaksin was forward thinking in encouraging people to come here. But he got too greedy. It’s never going to end as long as he’s still out there playing Robin Hood.

Inefficiency seems to be a Thai thing. Especially with government bureaucracy. There is so much red tape. If people didn’t have the jobs of stamping and checking everything, everyone would be out of work. Interview by Cole Pennington and Pinhathai Chunharas