Photos: Pattanapong Hirunard
Sitting at a café in an office building where he just finished his latest television interview, Tachaya “Keng” Pathumwan was met with a flowing line of excited office workers congratulating him on his latest achievements. He’s an easy target to spot: dressed in all black with a sleeve of tattoos, numerous ear piercings and a Johnny Bravo-like hairstyle, “Keng The Voice” as he’s better known after his stint in the singing contest is the latest name in the pool of talented Thais that have made the country proud.
It was at the World Championship of Performing Arts (cited by some as the Olympics of aspiring performance artists) in Los Angeles, California, earlier this month where Tachaya scooped five trophies, 14 gold medals, four silver medals, one bronze medal and three special awards, making him the biggest winner since the competition’s conception. What’s most admirable about the 27 year old, is that he won all of them by sticking firmly to Thai culture and roots. Embracing the traditional, he spins the old to make it cool. Really cool.
At the competition he signed up in 10 solo singing categories, seven instrument plus singing categories, and two solo instrumental categories. But it was his performance of the solo instrument, jakae (the traditional Thai three-string zither) that got him into the grand finale.
“Everything changed from what I had initially thought,” he said. “I never thought that the jakae show would go that deep into the competition. What I’m most apt at is singing, which I thought would lead me into the deepest rounds.”
The video of his performance shows Tachaya in a black cape, half of his face covered in a fanged mask of an ancient god, working the instrument with theatrical flourish, more like a pianist, squeezing fast notes out of the instrument not particularly known for such melodies.
Tachaya graduated from the department of traditional Thai music at Mahidol College of Music. But his interest in Thai instruments began during his middle school years, where he was able to play every traditional instrument as well as sing traditional numbers. His speciality instrument is the flute, which he put on a show in The Voice Season 2; Tachaya was the runner-up in that competition but his confidence, talent and extravagant wardrobe managed to make him the most recognisable face of the show.
At the competition in LA, he chose the jakae to compete for several reasons.
“I felt that the flute, my favourite, doesn’t have that ‘amazing’ quality to it if you bring it out to battle on the world stage,” he said. “We also only have one minute to perform, so I chose the jakae because there’s lots of techniques and tricks involved, and it looks raw and fierce [while playing].” It’s also the most practical to transport out of the other Thai instruments, though his jakae did get quite a beating and lost a leg when it got to LA.
Nineteen traditional songs were rearranged and prepared, and 23 otherworldly outfits by Thai fashion designers and students were created for the competition alone. Throughout the competition, Tachaya’s friend and coach Pakorn Nuyee fine-tuned every single performance as well.
“We had to choose songs that could show our full potential within one minute,” he said. They ended up choosing the old traditional song Krudrat Yiab Gruad (The Garuda Stomping Pebbles).
“Hard, but easy to listen to and it shows off the skills. We did things that have never been done before with Thai instruments like lifting up the jakae. Just playing the instrument alone isn’t enough. We had to bring it on; from the clothes, to the face to the hair, it can’t just only be an instrumental performance.”
His grand finale costume — the giant, poofy braided jacket, was designed by a Rangsit University student. It was actually prepared for his singing act, which he didn’t qualify through, and he had already used up the costume prepared for the instrumental finale (the black-studded jacket he brought to the interview) in the semi-finals.
“The [poofy] costume’s inspiration came from Ganesh,” Tachaya explains. “I didn’t think that I would wear it to sit down and play. It was for standing and singing. But once the lights were on me while sitting down and playing in it, it was a whole different feeling — a positive feeling too.”
With Tachaya’s epic number of trophies and the news of his flamboyant show in LA in the headlines, the singer has brought back some interest to Thailand’s traditional music scene. It’s yet another case of Thai culture being accepted abroad before it arouses enthusiasm back home.
“Thai people don’t see the importance [of traditional music]. It’s something we’re used to seeing, so we don’t feel that it’s special,” he said. “When foreigners see that it’s special, we go ‘OK it’s special then’. But I also see it as a good thing, as it’s bringing back interest in Thai instruments.”
Even going on an international level competition like the WCOPA, Tachaya and his team paid all the expenses out of their own pocket, with the Tourism Authority of Thailand chipping in last minute to give a small amount of support.
“I was disappointed when I sent in the forms and organisations answered back that they won’t be sponsoring us due to different reasons,” he said. “Thais have talent, but sometimes we don’t have the support. We should be more human. But I can’t blame anyone. Everyone has their own opinions, and I’m just responsible for my own part and that’s it.” It’s hard being a performing artist in Thailand, according to Tachaya. “I come from a cultural background and people here don’t really digest culture. Before, I was just promoting my album and songs. My life was a straight line, and an artist’s life in Thailand is just that. So I chose to go to the WCOPA in order to show what I truly am. I didn’t expect that it was going to be like this. I never thought I would receive this many medals. It exceeded all of my expectations.”
Before returning to Thailand after the competition, Tachaya was approached by some foreign producers interested in working with him. However, after commenting that Tachaya’s English wasn’t good enough to go global, he is now set on proving them wrong.
“I feel that Thai songs can be famous worldwide as well and it’s not the language that’s the obstacle,” he said, speaking animatedly. “I believe that Thai songs sung in Thai can go international as well. We just have to prove it. That’s my dream.”
This source first appeared on Bangkok Post Lifestyle.