Acclaimed artist Phum Viphurit returns with a funky, cosmic pop track that marks his riveting transition in sound and character.
His new single “The Other Side” finds the Bangkok-born singer-songwriter exploring creative
inspiration in different disciplines that encompass and connect storytelling, dance music, and
humor. Phum himself will also debut a music video on the official Phum Viphurit YouTube
channel.
The Loverboy act recently teased the arrival of “The Other Side” on his Instagram page, leaving
his feed completely blank. He also dropped a couple of cryptic videos that show him
transitioning into a different creature—a metaphor for a shift in musical direction and songwriting
style for his new era.
Enter Paul Vibhavadi, the loveable anthropomorphic sloth you might recognize from the cover
artwork of Phum’s second album. The Greng Jai Piece that has also become his logo and the
main character of “The Other Side”. “He’s basically a hybrid of Sloth and human who tries his
best to fit into city life and the pacing of it. But he’s a sloth, he’s not meant to be in the city,” says
Phum, who’s so in tune with Paul that you can see him literally turning into the sloth in his recent
hilarious Instagram posts. (That’s also Phum dressed up as Paul in The Other Side’s music
video.)
“The Other Side” traces Paul’s quest to find somewhere he truly belongs. “He finds a mythical
map to Himmapan, this magical forest in Buddhist culture that is neither heaven nor hell. It’s a
peaceful limbo where time doesn’t move and he can just exist in peace and solitude, and that’s
all a sloth wants,” says Phum. “He decides to leave everything behind and follows the
directions, but before he makes it to the forest gateway, he stumbles across a tribe that
worships sloths and they think he’s the Lisan al Gaib. He’s not, but he fakes it because he loves
the attention even though he knows it’s wrong and he’s not the one they’re looking for. So ‘The
Other Side’ is an introduction to the world of Paul Vibhavadi and the lyrics speak about the rules
of the tribe and how a sloth should be.”
Besides introducing the audience to the world of Paul, “The Other Side” also showcases a
musical style that Phum has always been a fan of but hadn’t had the chance to explore in his
material until now. “For the longest time I’ve been into an early 2000s house and I always knew
that I wanted to incorporate my guitar playing into that type of BPM,” he says.
This combination of new approaches makes “The Other Side” the perfect choice as the first
single from Phum Viphurit’s upcoming EP PAUL VIBHAVADI VOL. 1, which is due for release
on October 17. “I think it’s the perfect introduction that brings the audience gently into this weird
and wacky world. And it also introduces the new sonic elements, the house music element of it
all,” he says.
Overall, “The Other Side” is just the beginning of the surprises that Phum Viphurit has in store.
Along with the other new tracks he will soon unveil, it’s sure to leave a deep impression on old
and new listeners alike. “It feels like Act 1 of a movie I’m making, to look at it from a creative
perspective,” he says. “I hope people interpret it however they want. That would be my greatest
wish.”
Follow Phum Viphurit on social media:
● YouTube : @PhumViphuritOfficial
● Instagram : @Phumviphurit
● X : @phumviphurit
