Sek Loso, the Thai rock star

Loso is a Thai rock band led by singer-guitarist-composer Seksan Sukpimai (Sek Loso). 

The group was formed in the mid-1990s in Bangkok in Thailand.

You will find many songs, some with translations, in the Videos - Thai music or by clicking here: Sek Loso

Presentation

The name of the group is a play on the word hi-so, a popular Thai term for the upper class (in English, high society): Lo, for Low, indicates the modest origins of the group members.

Since 2001, its name has become Sek Loso.

They were one of the first Thai groups to achieve international status.

They have performed at numerous festivals including South by Southwest in Austin and Glastonbury.

Members of the Loso Group

Seksan Sookpimai singer and guitarist
Apirath Sukhajitr bass player
Kittisak Khotkham drummer

After the album Loso The Red AlbumApirath and Kittisak join the Fahrenheit group.

Seksun then made his album with English people, the group was now called Sek Loso.

Sek Loso at a concert in Germany

Members of the Sek Loso group

Seksan Sookpimai singer and guitarist
Eric Lavansch drummer
Christopher Borsberry bass player
Paul Arthurs rhythm guitarist
Tom rhythm guitarist

Sek's journey

Seksan, the son of an itinerant farmer, moved to Bangkok at the age of 12 and found work in a jewellery shop owned by an aunt.

He also worked in an air conditioning factory.

In 1991, inspired by his favourite artists, such as Guns N' Roses and Carabao, he saved up enough money to buy a cheap guitar, learnt a few chords and started his journey on the stage.

It starts in one of Bangkok's most famous live music venues: the Austin Pub.

Within a year, and at the age of just 17, the singer and guitarist was leading a house band, performing Thai rock, pop music, as well as Green Day , Nirvana , the Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix.

Sek's first album

In a few years, Sek wrote 10 songs.

Together with drummer Kittisak Khotkham and bassist Apirath Sukhajitr, Sek recorded the tracks overnight and sent the demo tape to Asanee Chotikul of the famous Thai Rock Duo: Asanee-Wasan.

Called " Lo Society" The band's demo tape was released as an album in 1996 under the label "Asanee de indie" and distributed by GMM Grammy (Thailand's largest recording company).

It has sold 1.5 million copies.

Loso Group Celebrity

The group went on to release eight albums, each selling less than a million copies and some 3 million copies

Among the band's most popular songs are Som Sarn "( Thai: ซมซาน) which can be translated as "hesitant".

Another big hit was Pantip, with its refrain "ja Mai Pai Pantip" (I'm not going to Pantip).

The song is about a man who has a date with his girlfriend in Bangkok and then takes her shopping at the World Trade Center, MBK Center and Siam Square, but refuses to take her to the Pantip Plaza because his ex-girlfriend has a shop there.

Sek solo

After the release of the 2002 live album, Sek broke up with the band Loso to go solo. Kittisak and Apirath will form a new band together: Fahrenheit.

Sek released his first solo album on 7 August 2003, and duetted with Thai pop music veteran Bird Thongchai for the 2004 album Bird Sek.

Sek, meanwhile, had aspirations beyond the Thai music scene, he wanted to start an international career.

He had read biographies of his idol Jimi Hendrix and thought that to achieve international fame he had to go to England like Hendrix.

In 2004, he moved to London and enrolled in a school to learn English, after six months of intensive learning he could speak.

He began writing songs for English-language commercials and advertised for a bassist and drummer to form a new Loso, with auditions requiring candidates to play the entire Hendrix album, Are You Experienced.

The new Sek Loso group

Once formed, Sek took his new band, drummer Eric Lavansch (Eric Loso) and bassist Anthony Wilson (Eddie Loso), to Thailand for a six-month tour.

On this tour the band was followed by crowds of fans.

Sek created new songs with the help of Tim Carr, an American writer living in Thailand who had worked with bands such as the Beastie Boys , Megadeth , Ash and Cornershop.

A demo tape of the tape was sent to some producers, the first to respond was Owen Morris , who had produced albums by Ash, Oasis and The Verve but Morris was unable to produce the songs because Grammy GMM took care of them before he was introduced to Sek.

After seeing the band perform in front of 50,000 people at the PattayaMorris is duly impressed.

Morris would later produce three songs from the demo album, 'I Wish I Could', 'I Just Wonder' and 'Fly Away', along with 'Love Is My Religion' and two 'rave-ups' that were improvised and developed in the recording sessions for the debut SEK album in English, 'For God's Sake', which would be produced in December 2006.

Sek also records a few songs in Thai with Owen Morris, "Chun Mai somme oiy" (ฉัน ไม่ สำออย), "Karm chun pai korn" (ข้าม ฉัน ไป ก่อน) and a punk version of "Pantip" included in the 2005 compilation, Sek Loso: The Collection.

Eric and Eddie will return to the UK after the recording is complete for a well-deserved break with their families.

For various reasons Eddie Loso left the band after recording a Yamaha commercial with Sek in London.

Eric then returned to Thailand (with new bassists Hudson Rob and Bonehead) to work on the mixes for the 'For God's Sake' album.

In early 2005, the whole team returned to England to finish the album at Peter Gabriel's 'Real World' studios.

There they were invited to play at Glastonbury and the Patti Smith Meltdown Festival.

After completing the recordings Rob Hudson decided to leave the band, he didn't want to be away from the UK for the long periods needed to do the Thai shows, and then the US tour.

In January and February 2005 Sek took Thai musicians Vorabut Tiaprasert (Tom Loso) on rhythm guitar, Tou Loso on drums and Tok Loso on bass guitar on a very successful tour of Europe.

On their return to Thailand, they performed in March and April on location in Nong Khai, Phuket (where Sek donates his concert earnings for the victims of the December 26, 2004 tsunami), also Krabi, Hat Yai, Thung Song, Nakhon Si Thammarat , Surat Thani and Chumphon.

The tour ended in Bangkok at the Hollywood Awards on 7 April in front of an audience of about 150,000 people.

The band needed a new bass player, Chris Borsberry (a long time friend of Eric's), flew to Bangkok to be "tested" by Sek and was immediately accepted.

Sek had met Chris during the shooting of the Yamaha commercial. Chris had the role of a satanic guitarist.

He was there by pure coincidence, accompanying Eric, the producers wanted him to participate because they liked his evil look.

There was no way that Sek or anyone else would have realised at the time that he could actually play the guitar.

Chris worked in the studio the next day, and two days later he was playing with the band at the 2005 Bangkok Music Festival, in front of a very large audience!

After the death of his father, Sek wrote a limited edition song in his memory called "Tiger" in June 2005.

Only 100 copies of Tiger were produced with a bonus CD of songs from the Pattaya.

Tiger is also featured in the album 'For God's Sake'.

In the summer of 2005 Loso embarks on a busy international touring schedule, with appearances at rock festivals including South By Southwest, Glastonbury Festival and Patti Smith's Meltdown at the Royal Festival Hall.

Bonehead left the band after a few shows on the American tour.

Sek Loso then brought in guitarist Tom Loso from Thailand, Tom would later become a permanent member of the band.

He is an excellent guitarist, he played on the album "SEK The Collection" (2005) and "Black & White" (2006), he is present on the karaoke VCD versions of the albums and also on the concert "Sek Bird" Live (VCD & DVD July 2004).

Bonehead will return to play with the band as a guest for the rest of 2005, including a concert at the World Trade Center in Bangkok on December 20.

The band played its first Middle East concert in Manama, Bahrain, at the Delmon International Hotel on 27 January 2006.

They appeared in "Sood Khon Chewit Thai", a concert at the Impact Arena on 25 April with other Thai bands including Big Ass, Bodyslam, Lanna Commins and Potato.

The VCD 'Sood Chewit Khon Thai' was released in June 2006 and features performances by all these groups.

A new Thai language album, Black & White, was released in July 2006.

Black & White Album

In 2006 the band continued to tour around Thailand to promote the new album: Black & White.

Sek, drugs and rock'n'roll, the scandal

Sek, drugs and rock'n'roll

On 2 December 2011, a photo of Sek, under the influence of drugs, surfaced on the facebook page of his ex-wife, Wiphakorn Sookpimay.

The Thai media widely reported the story featuring the former wife and executives of the Grammy GMM.

Wiphakorn Sookpimay claimed that Seksan was a drug addict, the members of Grammy MGM initially denied the accusation but a few days later, on 19 December, Seksan gave an interview admitting that he had taken drugs.

In the interview, he also asked GMM Grammy to apologise for the stalking and wiretapping he suffered after the story (GMM Grammy strongly denied the accusations).

On 20 December, GMM Grammy announced that the company's contract with Seksan was cancelled due to his drug problem.

New song after his cure, a cover of the Verve: The Drugs Don't Work

Albums of the group Loso

Lo Society (1996)
Lo Society Bonus Tracks (1996)
Redbike Story (1997) (movie soundtrack)
Entertainment (1998)
Best of Loso (CD 1999)
Rock & Roll (2000)
Losoland (2001)
The Red Album (August 2001)
Best of Loso (Karaoke VCD, 2001)
Loso Concert For Friends (VCD 2002)

Albums of the group Sek Loso

7 August (April 2003)
Bird Sek (June 2004) with Bird McIntyre
Bird Sek Live Concert (VCD & DVD July 2004) with Bird McIntyre
Live performance at the Impact ArenaBangkok with Bird McIntyre & Palmy Tiger (June 2005, a CD single, in English)
For God's Sake (English language, Digital Download on the iTunes Store, 2007)
Sek Loso: The Collection (June 2005)
Sood Chewit Khon Thai (VCD June 2006) Live performance at the Impact Arena, Bangkok on April 25, 2006 (Also features Big Ass, Bodyslam, Lanna Commins and Potato)
Black & White (July 26, 2006)
10 Years Rock Vol.1 (VCD November, 2006)
10 Years Rock Vol.2 (VCD November, 2006)
10 Years Rock (DVD November, 2006)
Sek - Album Sek Loso (May 28, 2009)
The 12 years Jai Sung Mah Concert Live performance (June, 2009)
Micro Concert with Sek Loso and Big Ass
Sek Loso - Forever Love Hits. Best-Of 16 Love Songs (CD + Karaoke VCD Feb. 24,2010)
Sek Loso - More (June 2010) CD + VCD, with guests Marsha, Da Endorphine, Khan Thaitanium, Nui Amporn Lampoon & Micro, Dax Big Ass, Toon Bodyslam.
Sek Loso US Tour 2011
Sek Loso The New Album (CD Dec. 23,2010 VCD Karaoke Jan. 20,2011 DVD Jan. 27,2011 )
Love Songs (Vol.1) (CD + VCD Karaoke Dec. 2011)