In an exclusive video for EastEast, Thai artist Pisitakun Kuantalaeng teaches us the steps to cooking up a delicious Pad Siew, accompanied by a song from his new album, appropriately titled, "Pad Siew." This is no accident—each track from Kuantalaeng, Pisitakun's latest release on Chinabot Records, is named after a iconic Thai dish and met with a sonic pairing that evokes the musician's own memories of their intersection.
When you hear the big sound system in the morning and smell of the food, the big hit from the chili and fish sauce, it means we have some ceremony.
My name is Pisitakun Kuantalaeng. My last name is “Kuantalaeng” (ควรแถลง). It means "should make a statement." One of the biggest moments of change in my life was when I moved from moved from Asia to Europe. The thing that reminds me of Thailand the most is the food and sound. These elements remind me of many parts of my life.
This album presents the food and sound that I like in Thailand. Each song uses the name of a Thai food and the sound that I am familiar with. Many times the food and sound is part of a particular ceremony.
The global image of Thailand is centered on food and the traveling. Many times when you have a conversation with your friend in another country, they will mention the food or their travels in Thailand, but the thing that on my mind is always politics.
There are Thai restaurants everywhere in Europe presenting this image of Thailand. I would like to open a Thai restaurant to cook the food and sound that I miss in Thailand, where the food you eat and the sound you hear gathers people together and makes you feel like home again.
