Forget Bangkok, Chiang Mai's Making Noise with a New Music Project!

Move over, Bangkok! There's a new sheriff in town, and it's rocking a Chiang Mai sound.

Forget the usual centralized Thailand music scene, a fresh initiative called My Hometown Project is here to turn the volume up on the vibrant (but often unheard) music emerging from secondary cities like Chiang Mai.

This isn't just about cranking out tunes, though. My Hometown Project, spearheaded by Thanaphol Chumkhammool (aka Fender, a local music veteran from Solitude Is Bliss and View From The Bus Tour), is making a bold statement. After a decade spent navigating the indie scene in Chiang Mai, Fender's seen firsthand the challenges faced by local artists.

So, he's decided to fight fire with… well, music media!

My Hometown Project is a music media platform with a mission: to challenge the one-sided Thai music narrative and shine a spotlight on the diverse, electric music scenes blossoming outside Bangkok.

Think of it as a platform amplifying the voices of all those talented artists who deserve to be heard – the hidden gems, the underground rockers, the genre-bending mavericks making waves in their own backyards.

So, are you ready to discover Thailand's next big musical revolution? Keep an eye out for My Hometown Project – it's rewriting the soundtrack of Thailand, one city, one song at a time.

Fender's journey began 12 years ago when he moved from Chiang Rai to Chiang Mai to pursue a career in music. Over the years, he observed a glaring imbalance: despite Chiang Mai's rich musical diversity and its recognition as a "Music City," local artists earn significantly less than their Bangkok counterparts and struggle to find quality venues and audiences for original work.

This disparity sparked the inception of My Hometown Project, aimed at advocating for decentralization and empowering local artists. The project's details and crowdfunding efforts were hosted on Cheewid, a platform supporting various social initiatives. The campaign reached 91% of it’s goal raising over 195,000 THB.

The My Hometown Sessions

An integral part of an ambitious online and offline project, My Hometown Session EP01 is now available on YouTube, designed to be family-friendly. It includes a talk show with five prominent figures from Chiang Mai's creative scene, discussing the topic of localism interspersed with live performances of original music by View From The Bus Tour.

The session aims to foster a cozy, engaging atmosphere where complex issues like localism and decentralization can be more accessible and relatable.

My Hometown Project uses music and discussions to raise awareness of local social and political issues in Chiang Mai, fostering cultural appreciation and decentralization conversations. This musician-driven initiative also hopes to attract tourists during off-seasons and become a model for other Thai artists to showcase their local scenes.

This initiative marks a significant step towards reshaping how we perceive, engage with, and value the cultural narratives of Thailand's diverse communities.

Stay updated and engage with the project using the hashtags: #myhometownprojectCNX #myhometownsessions
#showsaroundmyhometown #ViewFromTheBusTour
#VFBT #chiangmaimusic