Asanee–Wasan () is a Thai rock band fronted by brothers Asanee ''"Pom"'' and Wasan ''"Toe"'' Chotikul. Among the band's hits is a 1989 song that puts into verse the lengthy ceremonial name for

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

, "Krung Thep Mahanakhon" ("กรุงเทพมหานคร"). The elder brother, Asanee, is known for his guitar solos and his wild, "rock star" persona. His way of singing ballads is often described as ''broken-heart jiggo'' (''jiggo'' is Thai slang for bad boy, based on ''Gigolo'' in English and Italian). The bespectacled Wasan is known for his sensitive songs and softer, gentler style. Their songs often include a

hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved/bent back or has a deeply grooved indentation, which serves to grab, latch or in any way attach itself onto another object. The hook's d ...

chorus sung by female backing vocalists.

History

The Chotikul brothers were born in Loei Province in Northeast Thailand (Asanee: April 9, 1955, Wasan: March 25, 1957) and moved to

to study. They started out in the 1970s as a folk- rock combo called ''Isn't''. The band name is derived from '' Isan'', their home region in

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. The band participated in a folk song competition and won the award in 1974. After that they released several albums, including ''Sao ngam ta'' (''Beautiful Girl'') and ''Siam Square''. Asanee, wanting to go in a more rock direction left the band, while Wasan continued for a time with Isn't. Asanee joined The Oriental Funk band of Rewat Buddhinan and later Butterfly. The brothers released their first album as Asanee–Wasan in 1986, ''Bah horb fang'' (Carry a lot of Things) with Nite Spot. They were signed to Grammy Entertainment (now GMM Grammy) and released another album, ''Puk-chee roy nah'' (Sufficiency Makeover), which included the hits "Nung Mit Chid Klai" ("A Close Friend") and "Kor Keui Sanya" ("Used to Promise"). In concerts they frequently throw autographed guitar picks into the crowd as souvenirs. They are glued onto their guitar or microphone stand ready to be handed out. When they released their sixth album, ''Rung gin narm'' (Rainbow), they decided not to have any concerts to support the album. Therefore, a guitar pick was included in each copy of ''Rung gin narm'' (though not in subsequent production runs of the album). Besides his work with his brother, Asanee Chotikul has been an influential producer for such bands as Micro and Tanate Waragulnukrao. When Thai rocker Sek Loso wanted to land a record deal, he mailed a demo tape to Asanee, who then released it on his own label, More Music, a subsidiary of GMM Grammy. Asanee–Wasan celebrated with a 20th anniversary concert on May 12–14, 2006 at Impact Arena in Muang Thong Thani. Originally, just one show had been planned, but when tickets quickly sold out, two more were added, which also sold out. The pair also played shows in Nakhon Ratchasima and in

Phuket Phuket (; , , or ''Tongkah'') is one of the Southern Thailand, southern Provinces of Thailand, provinces (''changwat'') of Thailand. It consists of the island of Phuket, List of islands of Thailand, the country's largest island, and another 3 ...

. They were backed by

Fahrenheit The Fahrenheit scale () is a scale of temperature, temperature scale based on one proposed in 1724 by the German-Polish physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686–1736). It uses the degree Fahrenheit (symbol: °F) as the unit. Several accou ...

. In 2011, they left GMM Grammy and co-founded a new company, Music Union, with fellow producers Chatree Kongsuwan, Nitipong Hornak and singer/businessman Vudtinun Bhirombhakdi. Asanee and Wasan have released some singles, available via digital download, with the new company. Artists joining Music Union includes Blackhead, Jamjun Project, Nicole Theriault, etc.

Wasan solo works

In an Asanee–Wasan album, Wasan usually sings lead on only one or two songs. In the remaining songs, he would play guitar alongside his brother and sing backing harmonies. Nevertheless, the song ''Khong Derm'' (Still the Same), one of the duo's hits is sung by Wasan. Another hit song ''Nueng Mit Chit Klai'' was Wasan's work from his ''Isn't'' days and was rearranged for Asanee–Wasan. Wasan has some albums of his own with ''Isn't''. Even after becoming Asanee–Wasan, he released two more solo albums, ''Guitar Toe'' in 1988 with ''Isn't'', and ''Khuen Toe'' in 1992.

Discography

* ''Bah horb fang'' (''Carry a lot of Things''), 1986 * ''Puk-chee roy nah'' (''Sufficiency Makeover''), 1987 * ''Kra-dee dai narm'' (''As Happy As a Lark''), 1988 * ''Fuk tong'' (''The Pumpkin''), 1989 * ''Sup-pa-rod'' (''Pineapple''), 1990 * ''Rung gin narm'' (''Rainbow''), 1993 * ''Bang Or'' (''Ah!''), 1997 * ''Jin ta na karn'' (''Imagination''), 2002 * ''Sen Yai'' (DVD–VCD of concert "Sen Yai" on 2 February 2003, also on cassette, two versions), 2003 * Asanee & Wasan (boxed set of first eight albums), 2006 * ''Dek Lieng Gae'' (''The Shepherd Boy''), 2006 * ''Concert 20th Year'' (DVD–VCD), 2006 * ''Pug Ron'' (''Vacation''), 2007 Singles with Music Union * ''Pud loy loy'', 2012 (Asanee) * ''Khao rai rue plao'' (Is it bad news?), 2013 (Wasan)

References

External links

Asanee biography from matichon.co.th

{{DEFAULTSORT:Asanee-Wasan Thai rock music groups Thai musical duos Sibling musical duos