Singing the same song

Renowned songwriter Cheewin "Boyd" Kosiyabong and leading lyricist and crooner Nop Pornchamni have been collaborating closely with each other for a more than a year on a formidable project that goes by the simple name of Boyd Nop.

They'll be handing out free copies of their debut album, the aptly named "Boyd Nop", which is sponsored by Singha Corporation, TrueMusic and Hewlett-Packard, to fans at Siam Discovery's plaza tomorrow between 5 and 8pm so make sure you're there. They're also scheduled to take part in a radio play on Seed 97.5 FM and are planning a concert in August.

"Our sponsors are covering all the expenses incurred for the production of our album," says the 42-year-old songwriter with a grin but politely refuses to reveal the production cost though he acknowledges the bill was high.

Boyd and Nop have worked together on their individual albums as well as on other artists' outings for the past 15 years. On this project, they've shared responsibility for the songwriting and singing duties.

So what's different from their previous works - is it the style of songwriting, the music and or the vocals?

"It's more the mood that's different. It's more delicate and is meticulous. It's hard to explain," says Boyd. "You can hear the connection between Nop and me."

"We're aiming to offer a new experience to the audience and inviting our fans to take part in our project," says the 37-year-old crooner. "It's time for me to sing my own songs. I'm like a music instrument representing an emotional link to all foreign musicians. I have a duty to communicate the feelings of Boyd and Nop towards others."

The album features a dozen of songs including "Away Far So", the chart-topping first single, "Yaak" a sad love ballad, and "Rak Phom Khae Nee Ang Ror" which was written for the men of this country. All have been arranged with a Motown sound. "Jod Mai Theung Ther" is dedicated to Boyd's late parents and its music video stars veteran actress Juree Osiri. "RSVP" is about love. You can download all of them at www.Truelife.com/BoydNop.

"The tracks don't sound super Motown like in the 1960s, which was the real Motown era, but have the dimensions of full recording," says Nop. "It's a kind of retro music."

The Motown sound was typified by a number of characteristics: the use of tambourines to accent the back beat, melodic electric bass guitar lines, orchestral string sections, and charted horn sections. How does their album match up?

"We also have a brass section," says Boyd, who's often been inspired by Marvin Gaye and The Supremes. "Someone asked if we'd been influenced by the Wonder Girls' 'Nobody' but the answer's no, we were incorporating the Motown sound long before that.

"It's quite by chance that both Nop and I share a fascination for the soul music of the '60s and '70s, especially the songs of Motown artists like Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder. I think that this era was the most exciting in the music circle, it certainly yielded the most melodious songs. Come to my recording studio and you'll see framed photos of artists like Frank Sinatra, Diana Ross and others from those years hanging on the walls. They are our inspiration. That's why we like to record at the studio and why we bring in veteran musicians for back up.  It keeps the mood," says Boyd.

"Much more energy went into recording at Capitol and the 'pa dub pa dub' on 'Rhythm and Boyd' went back only to 1976-77. For 'Boyd Nop, we're taking fans back another decade, to 1965," adds Nop.

And how are the fans reacting?

"We were really pleased that more than 3,000 people who turned up for our show in Chiang Mai were singing along. It was impressively loud," says Nop.

The album is promoted on several websites, among them www.Facebook.com/boydnop and www.Truelife.com/boydnop.

"Fans help to promote our work by pasting embeds of our songs as well on information on their websites," says Nop.

The radio play for Seed 97.5 FM has yet to be given a title but is inspired by "Cheewit Phid Lane", a track off from their album and should be aired in June as well as on the LoveIs website.