Surrounded by a natural stage of towering cliffs and rolling hills, nearly 60 acts will take the stage at a music festival two hours outside of Bangkok this weekend. A kind of anti-commercial concert, the Stone Free Music Festival accepts no sponsors and focuses on the music, the artists and the audience. While this means no dazzling lazer or pyrotechnic shows, it’s certain to mean a lot of original Thai and foreign acts of all shapes, sizes and sounds. Stone Free is a labor of love by 37-year-old musician Wannarit “Pok” Pongprayoon, who along with a handful of friends started the fest three years ago in Saraburi province. Wannarit, founder of Panda Records and front man for his own experimental act Stylish Nonsense, is held in high regard by earnest music makers for his commitment to taking risks and building communities to cultivate a scene in the Thai capital. Coconuts Bangkok spoke to him about what Stone Free is and is not.
CB: How did Stone Free get started?
WP: It started when I first saw the ideal place to host the concert in Saraburi province. I went there to shoot a music video for the band Chladni Chandi, and I saw an empty field surrounded by a giant rock wall. I immediately thought I should try to play music or host a concert there but definitely not a typical fully-equipped concert. I aimed to create the sounds and instruments to fit the surrounding nature. I wanted to experiment with a lot of things such as creating sounds off the soils, grasses and rocks, or playing music on top of the cliff to see what it sounds like when you stand under it. I thought about hosting a concert that is unique and different because I had always been disappointed with the music scene in Thailand, especially the modern sound mixing systems done by people who only understand popular, mainstream music. Here they disrespect music and judge artists only by their popularity. I never intended Stone Free to become a just another music festival but a gathering of people who are willing to listen to different music by artists they might not have heard of. Also, my friends had the dream to host a music event, so we invited the bands and artists we knew, starting from the Panda Records folks that I’m familiar with, and then the freelance artists and the bands from indie labels. I believed they also desired to play and experiment with new music.
The first Stone Free was held on Dec. 4, 2011, for a whole day. There were 18 bands, both Thai and foreign. There was no time schedule, just a queue of artists. The audiences started coming in at dawn. They explored the area, took photos and camped out. My friends and I played acoustic instruments at different spots in the field just like we imagined, and in the afternoon, the shows from our artists began. The last band finished their performance in the early morning of the next day. It was an event without sponsors, just volunteer artists who paid for their trips to play music there. The admission fee was only 100 baht. It went well without any problems.
Wannarit “Pok” Pongprayoon performing with Stylish Nonsense at the Buk Ruk Street Art Festival in February of last year. Photo: Zanyasan Tanantpapat
CB: Some people believe there is no music scene in Bangkok. That it’s corporate crap by Grammy kids or cover music by everyone else. What would you tell those people?
WP: Those companies abuse music and make a business out of it. They encourage kids to become famous and worship success from fame. This kind of business takes advantage of the consumers and halts social development. The current entertainment industry doesn’t want new musicians. They want producers and actors who can play music and are easily controlled like machines. And for the children who are learning music, I want to say there is so much to discover from music. You can start by learning the old tunes and then create new ones by yourselves. That’s where the fun is!
CB: What does a Stone Free artist sound like?
WP: We like artists who are great at performing live while sticking to their own style. They should be on trend but not popular because we want the audience to meet new music and new artists they never knew existed. If they are well-known, they must be able to bring a new performance to the crowd. All bands receive the same payment, whether big or small. In the first two festivals, most of our artists play post-rock, alternative rock, and indie pop. This actually reflected the music trend in Thailand at that time. The most important thing is they have to understand what Stone Free is all about and support the music industry.
CB: Stone Free’s independence means no AIS-sponsored production values. Last year shit dragged for way too long between sets, as everything was do-it-yourself. Any improvements for this year?
WP: No sponsors mean no excessive luxuries. The last thing we want is another music event that seeks for benefits. Also, sponsors come with conditions and creativity limitations. The only downfall was we lack the experienced staff who know how to handle things. Some bands that don’t have much experience performing live take a long time for their preparation, but of course Stone Free aims to help indie artists practice and gain experiences in live performing, including how to prepare and adjust the equipment. Without professionals, the last Stone Free took a long time between each set. Some of the equipment was damaged during the acts, and we learned a lesson from it. This year, we have backup equipment to allow more time for artists to prepare between sets, and we added a fixed time table and more staff, which worked well in the last Noise Market event.
CB: Last year you held a benefit after the event to pay all your bills. You don’t make money doing this. So why are you doing this?
WP:It’s true that we haven’t even paid all of the expenses in the last Stone Free until now. That benefit event was held for people to show support in the Thai music industry. We made an announcement on our Facebook to thank the audience and apologize for any mistakes. We posted our account number for those who snuck into the event without paying and the attendees who wanted to help out. But in the end, we had some donors who didn’t even attend the festival.
I think Thais don’t realize how to support music events in the right way. They cheat for free music and entertainment and say it’s not fair to sell more expensive food at the event. They don’t have any idea how much expense it takes. The admission fees of nightclubs and big concerts are much more expensive compared to an indie music event and we don’t even have sponsors. What would the artists live off if their fans don’t support them? It’s true Stone Free doesn’t make a profit, but our staff want to continue hosting great experiences. Personally, I think every baht is worth it as long as we can host a unique live music performance in Thailand.
CB: What do you want people to experience for themselves at the festival?
WP: To experience live music, the kind that you haven’t listened to before and meet people who also open their hearts to new sounds. The outdoor concert is definitely different from the urban concert in a hall.
CB: Anything else you’d like to add?
WP: Stone Free has inspired us all: the organisers, artists, and audiences. We hope there will be greater music festivals in the future. Also, the name Stone Free was taken from a song by Jimi Hendrix. The event was inspired by a scene in the movie Hedwig and the Angry Inch. The lead character played in a music festival that had only one audience member, and it was so quiet you could hear the wind blow. That’s the image I always dreamed off. I also want to thank Tokin Teekanun for the cool graphic designs, my folks at Panda Records, Khun Tor from Old Gun Town Records, all the artists who have performed their hearts out and the audiences who love our show. I thank you all.
The festival begins Friday and continues through Sunday in Kanchanaburi province, about two hours west of Bangkok. Tickets are THB1,500, and due to the natural environment, the audience is limited to 1,000 people. Information on how to buy tickets is available here.
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Here’s some photographs from 2012’s Stone Free II in Saraburi:
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Additional reporting by Prae Sakaowan
