Pop music

Singing star gets busy

By Tatat Bunnag
Photos courtesy of White Music

Since becoming famous as half of the pop duo Calories Blah Blah, singer Pongkool Suebsung (Pop) has gone on to find great success as a solo artist, making him one of the busiest pop singers in the local music scene.

Whatever Pop touches musically seems to turn to gold, whether it’s his own releases, songs he performs for TV dramas or collaborations with other artists. Sam Yak Pak Wan, the comedy concert series that Pop performs with his friends Aof Pongsak and Wan Thanakrit is also a huge hit.

Pop recently released a new single called “Pid Pratoo (Close the Door),” which is a ballad featuring Ruzz Pikatpeiree from Tattoo Colour. “Close the Door” mixes Ruzz’s sweet guitar with a soft drum beat and some orchestral strings to create a beautiful sound.

Student Weekly recently caught up with the 34-year-old Pop at the GMM Grammy building to chat about his new single and the upcoming Sam Yak Pak Wan Season 4 concert, which will be held at Royal Paragon Hall on March 19.

Student Weekly: Can you tell us about your latest single?

Pop: “Close the Door” is a pop ballad about memories of past relationships. It’s a slow ballad, but it’s not necessary a sad song. It’s more like thinking about somebody you used to be with. Even though the relationship is over, you can still cherish the fond memories.

Student Weekly: The song was produced by Ruzz from Tattoo Colour. How did that collaboration come about?

Pop: I'd heard about his talent as music composer and producer for a long time. Many of my favourite songs were written by Ruzz, so I wanted to work with him. When I asked him if he'd be interested in working together he was busy touring. But a few months later he got in touch again and said he had a song for me.

Student Weekly: What do you particularly like about this single?

Pop: It’s a great song from great songwriter. I don’t know how to describe why I love it, but Ruzz's songs are unique. The way he plays guitar on the track also makes it great. When I first heard the demo, the song just took me somewhere beautiful. Ruzz also invited Boo from Skykick Ranger to write the lyrics, so the song is really good without sounding like Tattoo Colour.

Student Weekly: You seem very busy these days. How many projects are you working on at the moment and how do you manage your time?

Pop: I’m really bad at managing time! [Laughs.] Fortunately I have a manager who helps me with that stuff. Apart from promoting my new single, I recently performed at the Stage Fighter concert with Jennifer Kim and Ben Chalatit, and I’ll have the Sam Yak Pak Wan Season 4 concert soon.

I always make sure that I get enough sleep these days because I don’t want to get sick and ruin my work.

Student Weekly: How are the preparations going for the next Sam Yak Pak Wan concert?

Pop: We're rehearsing right now. Aof Pongsak, Wan Thanakrit and I are trying to meet up a lot to discuss the script and things we plan to say. I think we'll be better prepared than last time. At the last concert we ran out of jokes and didn't know what to say to the audience! But this time we'll get rid of all the pressure so that we know it'll be fun.

Student Weekly: This will be the fourth Sam Yak Pak Wan concert. What do you particularly like about these shows?

Pop: We like the Sam Yak Pak Wan concerts because they represent who we really are. Other concerts are more formal and we have to try our best to impress the audience, but with Sam Yak Pak Wan we can be crazy. [Laughs.] We can do or say anything we want. We can act goofy onstage and have fun, and the audience loves it. That’s why we keep doing it.

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