Some DJ sets are special. They’re moments that reach a crowd on a deep enough level that will be remembered for a long time. When Meltmode and Tissanai got behind the decks in Rover’s backroom in late August, that was one of those defining moments. The pair delivered a set of house music that was incessantly bouncy, maintained a solid groove throughout, and switched up its percussion, melodies, and instrumentation repeatedly. The 75-minute-long set was full of vibes, humor, and Thai references. It also happened to have a tracklist made entirely from their own production.
The set—part of Pissawong Record’s club takeover last month—was two years in the making. That’s how long it took Meltmode and Tissanai to produce all of the music, and this was the first time they’ve ever played a whole set of their own tunes. It’s a rare accomplishment in the Thai house and techno scene, one that may only have been done before them by the notoriously prolific local producer DOTT. Although a bunch of the tracks from the Rover set have been released online, they’ve kept a lot of it to themselves, only playing them while DJing. And there’s plenty more music where that came from. “I have quite a lot of work that I haven’t released yet,” Tissanai says. “I want the tracks to be more complete, I want more feedback before I consider them finished.” Most of the music from that night will eventually be released though, they say.
Pissawong played an outsized role in making this happen, and pushing local DJs to produce was a large reason they started the label in the first place. Meltmode and Tissanai met when the label was putting together one of their compilations. The label helped create a community to keep them engaged, and it pushed Tissanai towards production specifically. “I started producing because it’s not enough to just be a DJ these days,” Tissanai says. “You need to have your own original tracks to stand out now.” Meltmode, who studied music production at university, agrees. He points out that good DJing is a skill in itself, a thing that many quality producers haven’t mastered themselves, but that releasing your own music really helps define a DJ’s style and connect with listeners. Both of them have been DJing for several years but only released their first production last year, dropping the tunes on Pissawong.
Another thing that makes the set notable is its wealth of Thai references, something also uncommon in the scene. There are the samples from old TV show Pee Hah, remixes of classic songs like Petch Osathanugrah’s “Dance Uncle” and Suraphol Sombatcharoen on “Winter is Coming,” the appearance of the Father’s and Mother‘s Day song “ใครหนอ,” and the flip of rapper Tangbadvoice’s “Lin Tid Fire.” They like to tug at people’s nostalgia (depending on how old you are) and to keep a crowd smiling. While their vibe is lighthearted and funny, they take their craft seriously. Meltmode spends a lot of time digging for old records and manipulating the samples he finds. Sometimes he recreates Thai melodies by memorizing them and then replaying them on a synth. They’re even calling the sound “Thai house,” encouraging more people to embrace the idea. “I hope that what we and Pissawong are doing will inspire a new generation of DJs to pay more attention to Thai culture,” Meltmode says.
