The standards, duly hoisted

Bangkok's calls of distress during the violence of the red spring echo through "Nations", the debut album by the Standards, a rock band comprised of three Thais and two Britons.

You can hear bombs exploding in the background, and the roar of riots. The stories come from the bars and streets, authentic noise accentuating the reality and fuelling the imagination.

The Standards were playing in khao san Road pubs when they were recruited by Mind the Gap, the concert promoter, for festivals and smaller gigs across Asia.

A hit on the indie circuit, these guys are, for many, knights in shining armour come to rescue what's become a bleak, mundane Thai music scene.

The Standards are launching their first album tonight at Bangkok Rocks, and here's what singer Matt Smith, a Londoner, has to say about it.

What's with the band's name?

That's what we're doing - setting a standard.

Tell us about your music backgrounds.

I was very much a part of the '60s Mod, Northern Soul scene, as well as getting stuck into a belting good indie night. I was always at gigs and festivals growing up.

Why is the album called "Nations"?

We made it during the red-shirt protests. In fact, if you listen hard enough, you can hear an explosion that got picked up on one of the tracks while we were recording in a nightclub on Sukhumvit.

"Nations" is not only a poignant word from our song "Espinosa", it just seemed to fit the moment, sort of bringing it all together to see things from a different perspective.

You were recording in a club?

No one seemed up to the job, or could seem to get 'round to recording us like they wanted to - apparently so badly - so we did it all ourselves.

The drums were recorded live along with a midi track in a nightclub. The vocals were done in various-shaped rooms and toilets to get natural reverb and different effects. And the bass, guitar and keys were done live through monsters of amps.

It's our music, made our way.

So the riot effects were pure coincidence.

It wasn't out of choice! We'd set aside the time to record way before any of the trouble started.

When we kicked off the process, things were a bit tense on the streets, but nobody had actually died, and I don't think anyone expected it to all suddenly turn the way it did.

Then, a week and a half later, things went from bad to worse. We carried on as usual, though, just as the rest of the city tried to - life shouldn't come to a complete stop, and we, along with everyone else, had work to do.

What do you think of the Thai music scene?

To be honest, I don't think much of it at all. I've always said it isn't the artists' fault that the scene isn't up to any kind of recognition - it's the people at the top of the big record companies and the big festivals who are to blame.

At the end of the day it's all about business. There isn't ever anything different - it's always the same old bands doing the same old shit. You'd never see the same bands playing two years in a row at Glastonbury or Reading [Britain's top music festivals].

Why should new, different bands really try and make a go of their tunes when they know they're never going to play any gigs? Where is the true inspiration supposed to come from if young musicians never get to watch new music?

What we see year in and year out at the [Thai] festivals are the same bands, playing the same songs, and it's very, very boring. It's time for a change. Some risks need to be taken.

You guys certainly never stay in one place for long. Where are you off to next?

The next thing for us is the Baybeats festival in Singapore. This will be our seventh gig in Singapore.

  FLAGS ARE OUT

- Live up to the Standards tonight at Bangkok Rocks on Sukhumvit Soi 19 tonight at 9 and running until late.

- Admission is Bt200, and that includes a copy of the new album. 

- Call (02) 255 5802 or see www.Bangkok-Rocks.com and www.TheStandards.tk.