Meet Thai-Belgian Alt-Pop songstress, Violette Wautier
ALTHOUGH still a relative unknown to audiences outside her native country, Violette Wautier has become one of THAILAND’S BEST-LOVED TALENTS IN film AND music, in the course of a few years.
She first captivated the country with her audition on “The Voice Thailand Season 2 back in 2013,” and her career to date has already received accolades and critical acclaim as singer- actress, with her musical endeavors leading to chart-topping singles and glowing coverage from Time Out, Bangkok Post and Fungjai. For the screen meanwhile, she won the Suphannahong Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2016 for her performance in “Heart Attack,” before being nominated again in 2018 for “Die Tomorrow.”
Wautier no doubt hopes she can replicate her domestic success with an international audience for her brilliant debut album “Glitter and Smoke” under Universal Music (Thailand).
Perhaps unsurprisingly for an artist with one foot in the movie world, the album has an undeniable cinematic quality to it.
From the Mellotron flute intro of opening track “Smoke” (a song which saw Wautier break the YouTube record for the most viewed English-language song by a Thai artist), her album proceeds to fuse introspective lyrical story-telling with a lush, dreampop-inflected production, right through to its concluding electro-pop anthem “All That I Can Do.” Nestled in between are singles “Drive,” a heartbreaking alt- pop ballad about a relationship on the brink of collapse; “Brassac,” an irresistible 80’s synthpop- influenced track about a short-lived summer romance, and “I’d Do It Again,” an anthemic electro- pop gem which reminisces about young love, showcasing Wautier’s ability to move effortlessly across varied musical terrain without losing her distinctive sound.
Although based in Bangkok, a Western influence on Wautier’s sound is evident, and not just in her effortless switching between English and French lyrics. Fans of Sweden’s Oh Land, Canada’s Lights, the USA’s Lana Del Rey and the UK’s The xx would all find familiar musical touching points across Wautier’s album. Among the qualities that ensure she nevertheless carves out her own sonic space is Wautier’s immediately recognizable airy vocal, which ties together the broad mix of shimmering synths, reverb-drenched pianos, and dreamy percussion that provide the backbone of the album.
Get to know more about this Thai-Belgian wonder in this exclusive interview arranged by Janine Fenequito of MCA Music.
How are you and how are you coping with the pandemic?
I’m good! Right now, everything starts to open up here in
Bangkok. We can go out. We just need to wear face mask.
What is your new single “I’d Do It Again” all about?
“I’d Do It Again” is about a heartbreak or a break up. That when you look back, you see it as a beautiful memory even though there’s gonna be a bad part as well. But you really see them as a beautiful memory that if you have to do it again, you’ll probably do it again.
What inspired you to write the song?
It’s a break up that inspired me to write it. I wrote the song from a very personal experience.
Why did you call your album “Glitter and Smoke?”
To me, people have a lot of sides to themselves. This album itself has the dark side, the bright side like glitter has fun, bright and shiny that it represents happiness. And smoke is gloomy and dark at the same time and I think it represents a very different thing and mix of them together is the album.
Which song in the album describes your current state of mind?
I would say it’s “All That I Can Do.” The song itself celebrates the album being fun and looking through every memory and seeing them as something to cherish. It feels nice and warm to look back to those memories. All the lyrics represent that.
You are of both Thai and Belgian cultures shaped you in music or influence YOUR SOUND?
I would say that this affects my personality and how I think in life. Thai and European cultures are very different. It’s almost like opposites and I get to see the difference of it. I get to choose the inbetweens. So, I see how wide it is like this is Thai and this is Belgian and I see the middle. It affects my music because of my personality like who I am today and I’m trying to embrace everything that I am. So, I put what is myself in there like I put my French speaking part in my music. In the future I will probably talk about something Thai there.
What is music to you?
Music is my life right now. I feel like my music is my baby.
Follow the author on Instagram: markbonifacio25.