Futon

The Band

Futon are a Bangkok-based band who spend their time playing electronic music and looking excruciatingly cool. The band consists of: Gene, the group's Thai singer; Momoko, the group's only girl, from Japan; David, a Brit; and Bee, who's also British and used to be a DJ on FMX, a Bangkok radio station of yesteryear (before it became 'Virgin Hitz' and started playing Blue and F4. Thanks, Richard Branson). In 2005 the band were joined by Simon Gilbert, who used to play drums with Suede (yes, Suede- I told you these guys were cool!).

The Music

A brief mention in the NME described Futon's music as "like an ice cream headache but nice". It's got an infectuous beat, and takes inspiration from underground music scenes new and old- there's electroclash influence, there's a Thai cover of the Stooges' 'I wanna be your dog', and there's just a lot of downright weirdness. The lyrics deal with the more debauched side of the Bangkok lifestyle, and the vocals, often by Gene or Momoko, massacre the English language in a way I thought only the best J-pop girl-groups were capable of.

Never Mind the Botox...

Their first album, released in 2004, is called 'Never Mind the Botox' and comments on everything under the scorching Bangkok sun. My personal favourite is the hilarious 'Gay Boy' which, of course, is about Bangkok's materialistic, trendy gay scene and includes a take on Bowie's 'heroes': 'I, I can be gay, and you, you can be led astray' (most of their other lyrics are not particularly printable on this lovely site). Other highlights include 'Steak', a bitingly critical anti-chauvinism tirade set to a great stomping beat and 'Morning after pill' which sounds almost like Marilyn Manson would if he happened to live in the backstreets of Bangkok.

Love Bites

Their second album, Love Bites, was released in 2005. Musically, they've developed and sound more like an actual band, thanks to the addition of ex-Suede drummer Simon Gilbert. The tracklisting promises more of the same, with song titles like 'Token Hetero' and 'Dead Husband Collection', but they seem to have mellowed down and one can actually find what appear to be several love songs on this album. Quite nice ones, too.

The Link