Niall Jozef Murrey is the lead singer and songwriter of “The Sangsom Massacre”, a Bangkok-based indie band. In this interview he talks about the band’s debut music video called Ignorance is Strength and his music philosophy.
Music is your passions. How did it all start?
From a young age I was fortunate enough to have brothers and sisters who would take me to gigs, buy me CDs and expose me to great music like Prince and Nirvana. Then during the mid-90s when Britpop was at its peak, I, just like every other teenage boy in Britain, decided to pick up a guitar and write a few songs. I formed my first band in Glasgow when I was 16 and have been involved in this pretty much since then.
You have just launched Ignorance is Strength, your first music video. Tell us about this project.
This one was taken from our first EP ‘The Verses of Vice’. We usually open our set with this as its energetic and a bit edgy. The title is “stolen” from George Orwell but the rest of the lyrics are what you make of them. I guess you might label this as something along the lines of ‘alternative rock’ but we prefer not to pigeon-hole ourselves.
Where did the inspiration for this music video come from?
The idea for the video was loosely influenced by the movie Under the Skin (starring Scarlett Johansen) and it features Russian actress Oxana as the main character. It is also a performance video shot in black and white in an abandoned old mansion on the outskirts of Bangkok. We didn’t want to contain ourselves too much with a concept on the day as it was a collaborative effort but we are delighted with outcome and it was a privilege to work with such cool directors – Jesse Maddox, Ronnie Smith and Jaturong Hirankarn.
What does the name of your band stand for?
The Sangsom Massacre / T.S.M
SangSom is a famous Thai whisky. Massacre is in the dictionary if you care to look it up. I thought it sounded pretty rock’n’roll… definitely more memorable than most bands names.
Who are the other members of the band?
The band has been going for two years now. Our drummer Ulysses Garcia has been there from the beginning alongside me. After a few changes in the line-up John Bailey joined TSM as a guitarist and eventually switched to bass. Finally, Ash Wynn joined the band as our second guitar player this year.
How would you describe your music philosophy and style?
All or nothing. There’s no point in doing music half-arsed if you want to play live so we don’t see it as a project or a hobby to kill the time. You have to work hard at it and put in the hours. We have invested a lot of time and money in it but it’s worth it because we are all committed and passionate about doing this properly.
We’re pretty pleased with the first EP, essentially its guitar driven and heavy but the songs are also quite melodic and poppy if you strip them down to an acoustic guitar.
Currently we are working on new songs for the second album and we have bought a lot of new equipment and ideas, not just guitars. The new songs won’t sound like the old ones as we are more interested in creating soundscapes and experiences. Our music is progressing.
Who influenced you the most in your music career?
Mozart.
Do you have any planned appearances or gigs for the near future?
Thursday 17th September @Moose, Ekamai. We are then heading to China and Hong Kong on tour on 25th September.
With the advent of so many ways to promote and sell your product, do you think it’s possible for indie musicians to make a name of themselves even if they don’t have a big record company behind them?
Absolutely. Most record companies just screw indie bands anyway so you can’t rely on that, especially at present where there is a total disconnect between indie music and the mainstream. What we are aiming to do is to tour as far and as wide as possible, build our reputation, get experienced and get our material out there.
The people we rely on are people who are passionate about the music, not the money. People like Joe Delaney at Rhubarb and Custard, Matthew Fischer at Fattys, Wuttikorn at the Layers and Degaruda have done so much to help us set up gigs in exciting venues across Bangkok without ever expecting a big pay off.
On the flipside there seems to be an under-current of local bands and privileged kids who take, take, take and demand exorbitant fees for half-baked shows. I wasn’t really used to this kind of mentality in Glasgow to be honest. Back home no one gives a f*** who you are or how much money your parents gave you. Money doesn’t buy respect; and I wish it that was the case here in Thailand. Anyway, back to the original question… we absolutely don’t need any the approval of anyone who is driven by money. It’s not what we are about. Most of the record companies here don’t have a f***ing clue about music.
What are some of the promotional tools a musician can use to find listeners?
Blogs such as this one, The Rock Philosopher Dave Crimaldi, review websites like Coconuts and city magazines like Big Chili, Mango Metro, or Guru in The Bangkok Post. All of the above have had extremely positive reviews of our stuff and it shows we must be doing something right.
Also check out Facebook fan pages, YouTube and music sites such as Bandcamp, where you can support musicians like us by buying a track or an album.
Thanks for your straightforward answer. I’m looking forward to seeing you perform live. In the meantime, I invite all my readers and fans of indie music to check out the band’s Facebook Fan Page , the website and their YouTube channel.
And now, listen to Ignorance is Strength!
great article, always good when people follow their passion and it works out