'90s nostalgia

Kodindy goes nostalgic in their latest music festival, in which they will perform songs from around 10 years ago, an era that was marked by liveliness, creativity, character and a lot of fun.

Almost five years ago, the organiser group Kodindy was informally established to put on shows for indie bands. The first gig they funded featured eight indie bands playing to a handful of devoted fans. The follow-up shows were more highly attended by the public as they succeeded in bringing in more bands and were slightly bigger productions. Yet they still served the group's goal to set up independent concerts that were opening up to all kinds of musical creativity. The group continuously supports new talents and puts together shows from time to time.

This time around, Kodindy is taking you back to 1994, when the music scene was scattered with liberal, innovative bands that played unusual songs. Immensely influenced by British pop and American grunge from the early '90s, the Thai indie phenomenon was dubbed alternative - in contrast to the sugary pop and mainstream rock at the time. Howling, pounding, yodelling, yelling, roaring or even whispering, their rhapsody spoke of small, insignificant matters in metropolitan daily life to profound philosophy of life and universal themes.

By picking funny names to call themselves and dressing up in strange clothes, the bands quickly became a comic relief for some and a saviour of the tired Thai music scene for others. Anyhow, it was their courageous style that inspired later-generation bands to come onto the scene and consequently challenge Thai listeners to broaden their perspective and embrace something new.

The two-day music festival comprises 30 headline talents. Some featured bands - such as Modern Dog, Paradox, Flure and Blackhead - are still going strong. The rest of the bands disappeared from the scene after releasing their debut albums, including indie rock group Crub. Now is a good chance to catch up with them again.

"We sort of separated, after the release of 'View' in 1994. Wasit Mookdavijit or U, the lead singer of indie rock band Crub tells Weekend. U is now the lead singer of his new band Day Tripper while the rest of the members are involved in different projects.

"I think it was fresher and more spontaneous back then, whereas now music is more crafted and premeditated, which is good in a way. But you just miss those vibes sometimes - when you got the feelings to do it and you just did it," U says. "So I'm so excited to be included in this concert. It's really nostalgic. It will be great to see some old friends again after such a long time." Crub won't be taking the stage, but U will appear as a guest singer with another band.

According to U, the alternative music scene in Thailand has room for growth thanks to the Internet. "It was a lot more difficult back then, because your fans only heard about you through music magazines. Personally I think the music scene here will be better - with more independent music making, more accessible media and more open-minded young listeners. Now you have the Internet, you have Myspace and you can download a lot of new stuff. It's more accessible these days. But anyway you could easily get bombarded by too much information so it's up to the listeners to choose what stays and what goes."

For more details, check out www.kodindy.com.

The Alternative Thai Music Festival will be held from 5pm to 11.30pm on July 28 and 29 in Bangkok Hall at Suan Lum Night Bazaar (MRT: Lumpini). Tickets are Bt300 for a one-day pass and Bt500 for a two-day pass, and are available from Thaiticketmajor. For information call (02) 262 3456.

July 28

Slot Machine, Arai Ja, Street Funk, Siam Secret Service, Lollipop, Keng Pai Rong-rean, Boxzer, Cheep Cha Nok, Modern Dog (VTR), Pong Pong, Sick Child, Student Ugly, Yokeeplayboy, Sukanya Miguel, Smile Buffalo, Paradox

July 29

Playground, Er, Nursery Sound, U Tannatorn, Jinx, Audy, Pause (VTR), Iye, Flure, On-Aree, U from Crub, The Must, Blackhead, Pang Nakarin

Manta Klangboonkrong