Indie rockers Apartment Khunpa get sentimental on their latest outing

The five indie musicians collectively known as Apartment Khunpa, whose music infuses funk, jazz, blues, hiphop and rock, are probably best known for playing numbers that sound more like jams. So fans will be surprised to find tem opting for a more structured approach on their latest album, “Somros Lae Para” (“Marriage and Responsibility”).
“I’ve been spending a lot of time at my new piano, so our new album is much more mellow,” says singer and songwriter Tul Waitoonkiat. “That’s why it doesn't feel like jam but instead tells a story.
“I wrote seven of the 11 songs while I was suffering from a broken heart, so that’s another reason it sounds softer,” he adds. “But I hope fans will like it.”
Pals of the band, among them man o the Kingdom’s best known musicians, feature on the tracks including the first two cuts “Lipstick Bon Lipstick” and the title track.
“There’s more structure because the songs were recorded in a studio unlike our previous numbers, which were taped live,” says guitarist Piyanart “Pump” Jotikasthira, who together with fellow guitarist Gun “Ball” Rujinarong, drummer Tassarerk “Ja” Limsila, and bassist Pukun “Mai” Sunsuriya makes up the band.
Piyanart compares making an album to travelling to a new destination, discovering new experience and communicating with new people.
“I’m now interested in South American and African rhythms like the samba, which will be on our new album,” he says. “But we’re still a jam outfit at heart.”

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Blasts from the past
>> Apartment Khunpa has been on Thailand’s music scene for eight years and is known for straighttalking lyrics that address politics, nightlife, music business and pop culture.
>> Their debut album was 2002’s “Bangkok Love Story” and the second single, “Kampang” won them Song of the Year at the Fat Awards in the following year.