After being away from the spotlight for two years, Tor+ Saksit Vejsupaporn is back with a brand new album. His return marks a big turning point not only as an accomplished musician but also as an experienced artist.
“Working on the new album didn’t take long. What actually took a long time was the preparation. It was the longest 2 year process I'd ever experienced.” Tor+ talked about his brief hiatus from the music scene.
Although Tor+ took a long break to readjust a balance in his life, it was still not the “miracle pill” that would propel him back to work. The solution he found was to “create a different mind-set and a new process of working”. It was the classic struggle that all musicians face during their growth as an artist.
“During my break, Mr. Neil Thompson, Deputy Managing Director of BEC-TERO, kept checking on my wellness constantly. I told him I was stressed and didn't think I wanted to go back and work the same way I did before. I needed to change. I needed someone who could be with me, walk with me and work with me. Mr. Neil understood my struggles and advised me to see Po.”
“Po”, or Po-Posayanukul, is an experienced producer-songwriter who's been behind the success of many artists from Slot Machine, 60 Miles and Better Weather. He is also credited as an important part in Bodyslam’s past successes. Through Po’s guidance, Tor+ was able to break through the troubles holding him down.
“I talked to Po about so many things that I forgot we were actually working. We become close friends, like two long lost brothers that found each other. We discussed life, our viewpoints, what I wanted to do and how I was looking to change things around. We kept talking on and on until I felt more confident to get back to writing songs. And one day, it all came out on paper. The words, the feelings, it just flowed. After that, it took us about a year to have new materials for the album.”
This was the first “work as a team” experience for Tor+ - Saksit Vejsupaporn. Especially with an Australian world class producer like Charles Fisher, the man behind the success of great artists like Air Supply, Olivia Newton John, Ace of Base and Savage Garden to name a few.
“It was Khun Neil who came up with the idea that Po and I should work with another producer, to see if we can create something new and different to reflect my growth as an artist. At that time, we had about 10 new songs which we felt were good. It was then when Mr. Neil suggested us another producer and informed us he was a senior, pretty much like a father to us (laughing), and has been in the business since the era of Air Supply. We sent Charles Fisher a few songs to get some feedback and to make a long story short, within a few weeks we flew out to work with Charles in Australia.”
“Charles taught me how to work in a much more relaxing way. He said, ‘I know you’re a talented pianist and also a solo artist, but that doesn’t mean you need to put grand intros in all of your songs. You write a simple song, you play it simple. You don’t need to over-do it and try to be more relaxed with it.’ This was the first time I learned to be a different kind of artist then I was previously. I had a great time and learned so much from this experience.”
If Po-Posayanukul was the one who dug Tor+ out of his rut, Charles Fisher was the man who taught Tor+ how to take it easy on himself and be more relaxed when creating music.
“Fark Ma Kab Duang Dao is pop contemporary with a bit of rock and some electronic in it. When we were working on it in Australia, Po suggested using more synthesizer then piano. I liked the idea, so I tried it and showed it to Charles who said the song sounded grand. He said the song was perfect for opening the album. We later changed a little bit of this and arranged a little bit of that until it turned out to be a very catchy and unique song. It sounded fun to me and I had a feeling it might be even better played live.”