After surprising fans with his story-driven conceptual single “The Other Side”, Bangkok-born singer-songwriter Phum Viphurit goes even deeper into the world of his alter ego Paul Vibhavadi on “Balter Baby”, the second single from his upcoming EP PAUL VIBHAVADI VOL. 1. Released to streaming platforms on October 9, 2024, this dance-oriented piece is Phum’s first instrumental-only track that showcases another side of his musical tastes and capabilities. An animated music video for “Balter Baby” by Shea Oracheski and James Bedggood based on Phum’s concept will also debut on the official Phum Viphurit YouTube channel.
In terms of narrative, “Balter Baby” picks up just before where “The Other Side” left off, in which the lovable sloth Paul Vibhavadi is grappling with his newfound adulation amongst a sloth-worshipping tribe he stumbled upon during his journey in search of the magical forest of Himmapan. “I wanted to expand on a part of the previous music video when it shows the tribe worshipping him, almost like an Ari Aster, Midsommer-type dance,” says Phum. “So it’s showing Paul in the trance of that, what he was feeling in that dance sequence.”
Intriguingly, Phum opted to convey this chapter of Paul’s story via an instrumental track with no vocals, once again pushing the boundaries of his music in the process. “I’ve done instrumental-heavy music, but always with glimpses of my voice. This one’s purely for people to dance to,” says Phum. “Honestly, if you go through the last fifty of my liked Spotify songs, I would say 45 of them are instrumental music. When I’m looking for inspiration, I try to write lyrics over pre-existing instrumentals, and I wanted to deconstruct that method by, ‘Hey, what if I can capture someone’s attention or move their head along to this three-minute house track that’s guitar-based with some synths?’ It was an interesting challenge, but also fits within the theme of the story.”
Regarding the specific influences for “Balter Baby”, Phum says, “I listened to a lot of Modjo, a dance group from the 2000s. I also listened to a lot of Seventies Motown, funk and disco. But most of it was led by the visual, because I directed the ‘The Other Side’ music video and was pretty heavily involved in the animation process for the ‘Balter Baby’ video. So I was thinking of Paul’s story and what particular soundtrack would suit this scene.” Indeed, the music of “Balter Baby” perfectly complements the video that takes us into Paul’s mind as his immersion into this new world that has embraced him sees him grooving along like a retro dance video game character.
The choice of “Balter Baby” as a single also further emphasizes the boldness of Phum Viphurit’s exploration on the PAUL VIBHAVADI VOL. 1 EP, while still making sense within the context of the project. “I felt like it was going to introduce a new house-inspired song like ‘The Other Side’, I needed a bit of a continuation before I break from that tempo and texture, so ‘Balter Baby’ was the most natural selection to me,” he says. “It’s like, ‘Hey, it’s not just a one-off thing.’ I’m playing with the idea of trance, movement and motifs throughout the whole EP.”
The end of the “Balter Baby” video sees Paul Vibhavadi enclosed in a glowing orb as he floats away from that tribe, and the audience is free to draw their own conclusions – or look for more answers when the PAUL VIBHAVADI VOL. 1 drops on October 17. “I know it’s quite a conceptual piece of work, and there’ll be many different interpretations of it,” says Phum. “But I’m so excited to show my creativity and make people feel something again with this next piece of work.”
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