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Thai rock (Thai: ไทยร็อก) is rock music from Thailand. Thai rock was influenced by rock bands from the United States and United Kingdom. Emerging in the 1980s it flourished with bands like Asanee–Wasan, Carabao and Micro. It became widely popular in the 1990s.
| Thai rock | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Phleng rock (เพลงร็อก), T-rock (ที-ร็อก) |
| Stylistic origins | Blues rock |
| Cultural origins | 1965s, Thailand |
| Derivative forms | Phleng phuea chiwit |
The earliest Thai pop rock music emerged from western music influenced form both the United States and United Kingdom. The earliest Thai rock combo groups played a combination of instrumental music and surf music influenced by The Ventures and The Shadows which was known locally as Wong shadow.
The international popularity in the 1960’s with bands such as The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones, The Doors, and musician Jimi Hendrix influenced the creation of some of the earliest western style groups. The most popular Thai beat, garage rock, and psychedelic rock groups include The Impossibles (Thai band), The Cat, and The Dynamics in the mid to late 1960’s.
The Thai blues rock and hard rock genre began in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s by Lam Morrison “The Guitar King” and Kitti Kanchanasathit “The Guitar Gun” who performed for American soldiers during the Vietnam War.[1][2]
Early rock bands in the genre include V.I.P. led by Lam Morrison (Wichai Nuanjaem), Siamese and Kaleidoscope led by Kitti Kanchanasathit, The Fox led by Chor On Na Bangchang, Epitaph and Marmalade led by Olarn Promjai, Heavy Mountain led by Daeng Veyjan, Mundee led by Ekamun Potipunthong, and Suang Santi who helped to make Thai rock music mainstream.[3]
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Rock bands of this decade include The Olarn Project, Neua Gub Nang, and Rockestra. The most successful were Asanee-Wasan and Micro, both signed with GMM Grammy.[4][5]
The Rock Pub opened in Bangkok in 1987 and to date remains the most successful and popular Thai rock live music venue in the country. For close to forty years The Rock Pub has consistently provided a permanent home for the wide variety of Thai rock and roll, rock, pop rock, hard rock, heavy metal, and related subgenres played by an ever growing number of Thai rock musicians and groups.
The Phleng phuea chiwit genre (influenced by elements of rock music) was popularized by Carabao with their album Made in Thailand, which sold over five million copies.[6]
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Heavy metal emerged, with bands such as Stone Metal Fire, Kaleidoscope, Donpheebin, Uranium, Big Gun and Hi-Rock. A popular Thai rock singer at that time was Itti Balangura, Chatchai Sukhawadee (Rang Rockestra), Thanapol "Suea" Intharit.[2]
In the mid-1990s, alternative and indie music in Thailand was established, following the breakthrough of the American band Nirvana, whose success widely popularized alternative rock in the early-1990s, and the British band Oasis and Brit-pop movements in the 1990s. Several alt-rock bands sprung up, such as Modern Dog, Silly Fools, Y Not 7, Sepia, Labanoon, Crub, Smile Buffalo, Paradox, Fly, Loso, Blackhead, and the artist Nakarin "Pang" Kingsak.[7]
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In the 2000s, Clash released their first album, "ONE". Their first single, "Gaud (Hug)" was a big hit, and led the band to success. The band "Kala" released their single "My Name is Kala". Big Ass released the album "Seven" in 2004, featuring the single "Len Kong Soong". The third album by Bodyslam, "Believe", was released in April 2005 and made them one of GMM Grammy's premier bands. The success of this album took them on a long national tour over the course of 2005 and part of 2006. They won the 4th Annual Fat Awards for "Favorite Album", and "Khwam Chuea" became "song of the year". The Richman Toy launched the single "Aod Aod (อ๊อด อ๊อด)" with a music video that was a parody of television programs of the 1960s. Jui Juis launched the single "Lesson 1 (บทที่ 1)". It is a folk rock song which was popular among teenagers. Bands currently successful in Thailand include Ebola, Flure, Slot Machine, Potato, 25 Hours, So Cool, Slur, Whatcharawalee,[8] and Playground.
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