Watch this space!

Published on August 7, 2007

Back in 1994, when the Thai indie scene first blossomed, Rungroche Uptampotiwat was playing bass in the popular Brit-pop band Crub.

When Crub split up the following year, he went into business for himself, first setting up an advertising agency then later transforming it into the indie music label, Smallroom.

"I just had this gut feeling that I needed to make music," says Rungroche, who has worked as a songwriter for the advertising business and is also the producer behind several successful alternative artists.

"Coming up with advertising jingles is enjoyable and it's certainly more profitable than making music. In just a few years, I wrote more than 400 of them. When we started the label, we only released a few albums because we were still busy working on our advertising commitments."

"We started Smallroom from nothing, just like other indie labels like Bakery. It cost so much money to make an album that we often used the profits from our advertising business to support it," he recalls.

The indie label made its debut in 1999 with the compilation album, "Smallroom 001". Today, it has more than 40 artists on its books and its best-selling band is Armchair, whose last album "Spring" topped the 100,000 mark.

"Of course, that figure's nothing compared to mainstream labels," says Rungroche, who has teamed with fellow producers Jetamon Malayota and Chaowalek Srangtook.

"But with the overall situation in today's music circles, we're happy if an album breaks even, at least it covers the cost. Most bands that record with us are new, but we are still trying to push for higher total sales."

The label hasn't released any new albums since the middle of last year, giving rise to rumours that Smallroom had closed down.

"I had intended to start this year with something special, but things happened and there were constant delays," he complains.

However, fans of the label will be reassured by the flurry of events scheduled for this month, among them "Paperdisc", "Flipper's Players" and a concert featuring six bands.

"First up will be 'Paperdisc', which is an unprecedented package featuring a 130-page pocketbook and a three-CD insert by three artists - Cyndi Seui, 15th Scenery and Yuri's Nominee. The three CDs have a total of 27 songs and the whole thing costs Bt350.

"I went to a party recently and was surprised to see just how many fans Cyndi Seui and 15th Scenery have," he says. "Today's releases come with plenty of gimmicks - single CDs, EPs interactive or enhanced CD and double CDs. There's nothing wrong with digital technology, but personally I prefer the basic audio CD.

"The pocketbook is designed to look like a music magazine and carries in-depth interviews with the three artists as well as features by other indie bands. Death of a Salesman write about the process of recording their upcoming album. Ball Jarulak writes about his favourite song. Slur talk about fashion.

"Our second event will be the release of 'Flipper's Players', an album on which 12 artists from the label and outsider Zomkiat Ariyachaipanich pay tribute to Japanese indie band, Flipper's Guitar, which was very popular 15 years ago. The bands include Slur, Lemon Soup and Tattoo Colour.

"Flipper's Japanese label was really surprised by the demo. They liked the way our artists had covered the songs in different styles and told us that Flipper was so popular that new Japanese bands didn't dare play their songs. Tattoo Colour even plays a mor lam version. Also, Japanese kids don't like listening to Japanese indie music anymore. They prefer Western stuff."

The label will also be releasing albums by The Rich Man Toy, Superbaker, Penguin Villa, Fono and Greasy Cafe. Penguin Villa, adds Rungroche, is taking a new approach for its latest songs, allowing fans to download them for free through mobile-phone operator One-2-Call.

Last but not least, Smallroom has scheduled a concert for late August. The date and venue are yet to be confirmed but fans can expect to hear Slur, Lemon Soup, Tattoo Colour, Ki, Ball and Yarinda.

"It's been two years since we launched our international label, Smallworld. I intended to bring some international indie bands here every two months, but dropped the idea and sold their albums instead. Now, I'm going to insist they play live," he says.

And not only is Rungroche intending to import international bands, he's also planning to export Thai outfits.

Garage rock band Slur is expected to tour Germany in December or January to promote their latest album "Boo", which is being distributed by German label, Noise Deluxe Records.

"Slur is the first band to go international and they'll be followed by Lemon Soup and Dead of Salesman. The album will be released in Germany, Austria and Switzerland," he says.

Kitchana Lersakvanitchakul

The Nation