Thai teens have long had a love affair with Japanese rock stars - think X-Japan, L'Arc-en-Ciel and Glay - and any local band able to come up with credible covers has received an enthusiastic response. Few, however, make the transition from concert stage to studio.

Ezra are the exception. The four-member outfit, who have just released their self-titled debut album on the recently launched record label Butterfly, are not new to the scene. They've been around, in various incarnations, for almost six years.

Formed in 1998 by Thai-Japanese Akino "Aki" Yamaguchi, then a student at Assumption University, and three classmates - a Thai, a Japanese and a Filipino - the band played their first gig at the "Rendezvous" concert, a marathon music event organised for Japanese cover bands to showcase their skills.

"We just wanted to play live. For the concert, we played mainly L'Arc-en-Ciel tunes.

"At later shows, we included numbers by other Japanese and Western artists. No Thai music though," Aki says.

University education completed, the Japanese and Filipino members left and others joined, among them keyboardist Tossaworn "Kae" Srisuwan.

"I'd never listened to Japanese music until Aki played it," recalls Tossaworn, who worked at Gen-X Music Academy before signing up with Ezra.

"I was amazed when she told me to dye my hair and makeup my face to look like a Japanese rock star."

Bassist Nutthapon "Nut" Rathie, who was playing in an X-Japan cover band, joined in early 2003 and guitarist Aeekarat "ICQ" Noiinta, a few months later.

"Our numbers weren't really Japanese rock, but the sound influenced how we played. I was also bringing in the colours of British music," says the 26-year-old bassist, who likes Oasis, Nirvana, Radiohead and Pink Floyd.

"I was more into rock 'n' roll and blues. It took me almost a year to understand the complicated patterns of Japanese rock," says Aeekarat, who majored in Western music at Rajabhat University, Suan Sunandha.

They released their first single, "Gonna Be with You", in 2003 on an independent label and followed up with an EP, which they hawked at that year's Fat Festival.

The following year, their cut "Prelude" was a regular spin on 104.5 Fat Radio and proved so popular that the band was invited to play at the festival.

In 2005, they came out with a two-track EP and made a name for themselves on the indie scene.

"The song wasn't really Japanese music, more grunge or garage. We were moving from J-rock and reaching a wider group.

"And we were being invited to play at many more indie concerts," says Nut.

With fame knocking on the door, they washed the makeup off their faces and let the dye grow out of their hair. They also stopped playing covers and started writing their own numbers.

Their debut album features 11 original tracks and opens with a new version of "Prelude" - a string-heavy number that sounds like the soundtrack of a sci-fi movie.

"Most of the melodies are based on Japanese music - clean-cut and blended with American and British sounds," says Aki, who wrote most of the lyrics.

"I believe that music is a way of communicating with other people so I am encouraging people in my songs to find ways out of their problems, to have hope, courage and love."

"Promise" is reminiscent of X-Japan's ballad "Say Anything", although Nutthapon says this wasn't deliberate.

"I was thinking only of the beautiful melody. But I guess the arrangements are similar," he concedes.

"Run Run" is a hard-hitting rock number and features two edgy guitar solos.

"It's a strong song, with the solos based on heavy metal and hard rock from the 1980s and the overall rhythm influenced by Green Day punk. The bass line is similar to the guitar line," explains Aeekarat.

The closing track is simply titled "Believe".

"It's our way of asking our fans if they'll continue to follow us on our next album," says Aki.

Kitchana Lersakvanitchakul

The Nation