Earth hour

Singer sings of the sky and sea

By Tatat Bunnag
Photographs by Varuth Hirunyatheb
and courtesy of White Music.

From YouTube singing sensation to TV darling on GTH’s hit show, Hormones the Series, 24-year-old Patravee Srisuntisuk (Earth) is now a professional singer signed to GMM Grammy’s subsidiary label, White Music.

Following up her debut single, last year’s hit song “You You You,” “Sky & Sea” is Earth’s breezy new pop ballad. In keeping with Earth’s lively creativity, the song was recorded live near a beach rather than in a recording studio.

“Sky & Sea” also features a number of guest musicians from well-known bands including Crescendo, Clash, Zeal and Jetset’er, who helped Earth to capture the romantic sound of the song.

Student Weekly recently met up with Earth while she was busy promoting “Sky & Sea.” She told us all about her new song and her unusual experience recording it.

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

Earth: “Sky & Sea” is a pop ballad with piano and other acoustic instruments. The song is about secretly being in love with somebody. You might see the person every day, but the feelings you’re keeping inside creates a distance between you. It’s like the sky and the sea seeming very close, but in fact being really far away from each other.

Student Weekly: Why did you decide to record the track outdoors?

Earth: I love experimenting with sound. It was quite fun, too! I kind of did similar things on my previous song, “You You You,” where we added some weird sounds like hand claps, whistles and the sound of spray can.

On “Sky & Sea”, we set up a recording session by a beach to capture the atmospheric sound of the sea and set the mood and tone of the song.

Student Weekly: Is it true that you were inspired to record that way after watching a movie?

Earth: Yes, that’s true. Last year I was really into the romantic movie, Begin Again. The film featured scenes where the main characters recorded songs live at different outdoor locations. That movie really inspired me to think about trying to do that.

Student Weekly: The recording session also featured a lot of well-known musicians, such as Nor from Crescendo, Ken from Zeal and O from Jetset’er. How did these collaborations come about?

Earth: It was my producer’s idea. He wanted the song to be as perfect as we imagined it. All the musicians are from Grammy bands, but they were kind enough to help on my project. I didn’t know them very well, so I was really nervous. Many of them were my idols when I was younger, so working with them was definitely like a dream come true.

Student Weekly: You guys also filmed the music video for the song at the recording location. How did that go?

Earth: The filming was very challenging for us because we recorded the song at the same time. There was a lot to prepare before filming. We had to practise the song over and over until we are ready for the take. We also choose to begin filming in the late afternoon to get a picture-perfect sunset, so the timing had to be very precise.

Student Weekly: Do you play any musical instruments?

Earth: I can play a bit of acoustic guitar. I’ve also tried playing violin and keyboard a little bit, but I feel more comfortable with the guitar.

Student Weekly: You’ve come a long way since you uploaded your first video to YouTube. How do you feel about the fame and success you have now?

Earth: Well, I don’t know about fame, but things are good for me right now. My life and music have changed a bit since I got a record deal. I used to record my own songs at home for my personal pleasure, and I didn’t care much if anybody followed my music. But now it feels like I’m making music for my fans or other people who are waiting to hear it. I care more about making good pop music for other people to hear.

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