Play It Cool rides an ebullient wave of cool, soft vibes… There’s a glossy 70s sheen to the sound, filtered through Sofia Coppola celluloid, creating an evocative sense of emotional vulnerability.
Citing influences that include Tears For Fears, The 1975, and The Strokes, SEKI’s sound thrums with the fuzzy cool of the latter, but with all melodic guitar picking and earnest emotion of the former… Play It Cool is about feelings of social anxiety and insecurity related to making the first move on a romantic partner — something that SEKI betrays when singing lines like, “She’s really out of my league”.
SEKI himself hails from Thailand, but he developed an appreciation for a variety of sounds, from the Bee Gees to The Psychedelic Furs, when childhood trips enabled him to shop for old cassettes in Bangkok’s clear markets. Perhaps that early exploration explains how Play It Cool has a sense of European sophistication too — the propulsive drums and tight rhythms feeling crisp-and-modern, akin to acts like Phoenix, whilst still evoking the 80s.
In an effort to promote the release of Play It Cool, and encourage people back out to explore the Bangkok music scene, SEKI has partnered with five music venues in the city to hide hundreds of copies of QR codes. The first person to find each of five unique codes will win a Fender Monterrey speaker and a Spotify Premium subscription, with an additional five Spotify subscriptions up for grabs for five runners-up. To get started, follow SEKI on Twitter.
Check out Play It Cool below: