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around the globe
PHUM VIPHURIT
Thailand’s 23-year-old “Lover Boy” is making a name for himself outside of his country.
There’s a big stir in the Southeast Asian music industry. With the boom of platforms like YouTube, Spotify and SoundCloud in the last decade, musicians from anywhere in the world can upload their tracks to a global audience. No longer do international artists need to rely on the American music industry to gain worldwide appeal.
This is where Thailand’s Phum Viphurit comes in. After gaining recognition in his home country for online uploads, the 23-year-old jumped into the spotlight with his single “Long Gone.” His lovesick 2018 track “Lover Boy,” which currently has over 40 million views on YouTube, further fueled the fire and garnered him an international audience. “When I went viral on the internet, we didn’t anticipate it at all. Literally, I never knew that this would happen and I would be here,” the young musician tells HYPEBEAST.
Though he’s frequently pictured with a guitar these days, Viphurit first began as a drummer and moved to the guitar only after receiving multiple noise complaints from the neighbors. The transition wasn’t particularly challenging though, seeing as he had already found himself gravitating toward the stringed instrument at a young age. “Sometimes I approach the guitar like I’m playing a drum kit. Like I’m a very rhythm guitar guy, and some of the drum background is still present even now,” he explains. “I saw Jason Mraz live in Chicago, and when I saw that one dude play guitar and how he kind of passed this energy along to the audience — I was pretty drawn to that.”
Born in Bangkok, the crooner learned to “chill out” thanks to his childhood and adolescence in New Zealand. Moving back to Thailand for university toughened him up, however. “It’s a lot more of a competitive environment, and as you can probably tell being in Hong Kong, Bangkok is a very hectic city,” he says. “It’s just learning to be authentic amongst all of the things that are going on. It’s kind of like proving yourself — can you survive in a different environment?”
Viphurit persevered and eventually earned himself a bachelor’s degree in film, proving that his heart and mind have always been set to blossom in the creative field. He believes that his affinity to film plays a role in his music, although he isn’t even aware of it most of the time. “I try to write songs with an arc. Say, if you start from the perspective of a lead guy, he goes through something and he learns something, and at the end of the song, he’s someone different. So I guess that’s kind of the film student in me subconsciously thinking like that,” he describes.
After stopping by Hong Kong for Gluestick Fest, the up-and-coming Thai singer spoke to HYPEBEAST about the battle of niche versus mainstream, his newfound fame and the existential crisis that comes along with it.
essentials
Name: PHUM VIPHURIT
Location: Bangkok, Thailand
Projects: Manchild, Bangkok Balter Club
BACKGROUND
“The world is pretty open now; we live in the internet age and if you’re genuine and you really believe in what you’re doing, they’ll get it. Maybe not now or maybe not tomorrow, but eventually.”
music
It’s been almost two years since you dropped Manchild. Between then and now, what are some of the biggest things you’ve learned?
Very existential things. When all this blew up and all the fame and followers came, I was like, “Am I doing music because I really love it or am I doing it now because I’m feeding off the fame?” and it kind of tripped me out for a while. For someone who never expected any of this to deal with the affection you’re shown and occasional hate you get, it’s a lot and it’s present. You can’t really turn it off. It’s always coming in and after going through all that mess, I learned that I really do love what I’m doing. As long as I’m happy and genuine with my music, I hope that whoever is listening feels the same.
It’s definitely more difficult to gain an international following when you’re based in Asia, but you’ve done it. What would you say are some of the external factors that helped you achieve worldwide recognition?
This is hard. I guess just try to do your thing. The world is pretty open now; we live in the internet age and if you’re genuine and you really believe in what you’re doing, they’ll get it. Maybe not now or maybe not tomorrow, but eventually.
Do you prefer when people in Bangkok don’t recognize you?
It’s the best thing for me. If my home, where my family is based, is not a home anymore in terms of I don’t have privacy and I can’t just go to the city by SkyTrain, I think it would be hell for me. I wouldn’t have a place where I could just be free and feel normal. But I’m super fortunate that I do have a Thai following, but I would say it’s still very niche.
Do you think if you’ll ever grow your music from a more niche to mainstream audience?
That’s a hard one. I released a song not too long ago and I saw a comment that said, “Man, you’re mainstream now!” And I was like, “Am I?” It seems like niche and mainstream are decided by the audience more than the artist nowadays. When you start off it’s like you’re niche, but when you gain a bit of a following, you’re mainstream, and to me it seems like a bad label. It’s not really under your control. Once your stuff is out on the internet, people will interpret it however they want. They’ll play it or share it however they want. I don’t wanna think about that too much and if my music gains more traction in my home country, then great.
FUTURE
Would you say that an international appeal was never really the number one thing in your mind when you started making music?
For me, it was just this way of spending my spare time experimenting with music. I never learned music theory or anything proper like that. I just like to figure my way through things. It was never the international appeal or fame. I knew I wanted to travel the world, and this lifestyle of singing and getting some money back to spend your days — it’s a good trade-off, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything else.
You’re slowly starting to get into the funk of touring and you’ll be hitting Europe in June. So far, what’s the hardest thing about being on the road?
Just being on the road is tough because you have to be constantly moving. Tour vans are not the most comfortable thing. The food you can get on the road is not like Eastern food, it’s like sandwiches… No hate on sandwiches — sandwiches are great, but a sandwich everyday can be tough on the Asian stomach.
If you could go anywhere in the world tomorrow, where would you be?
Maybe Berlin or Amsterdam. I guess it’s the art scene and the vibe of the people, they just seem very open-minded. West Coast [of the United States], definitely, and maybe Tokyo or Korea again. And Hong Kong!
Can you put together a list of Asian acts that you’re listening to right now?
This MPC player/producer called STUTS from Japan, this Korean band called ADOY and this Thai band called Summer Dress.
bangkok, thailand
For HYPEBEAST's new series Around The Globe, we'll be speaking to musicians outside the english-speaking world, shining a light on up-and-coming artists to established acts outside of the United States.
For HYPEBEAST's new series Around The Globe, we'll be speaking to musicians outside the english-speaking world, shining a light on up-and-coming artists to established acts outside of the United States.
Photo: Sutthaya Chalassathien
Photo: Sutthaya Chalassathien