If there’s anything we’ve learned from H 3 F, it’s to never take life too seriously. 

Since 2018, the Thai funk band have made it from their bedrooms in Bangkok to stages all across the region by simply having fun and being authentic to who they are. Right from the start of their music careers with their debut EP, they set out to be the kind of artists who are never afraid to make fun of themselves. 

Five years on, H 3 F are still the same friends who make “cheesy lyrics and sloppy grooves” and have a great time doing it. 

“We’ve always had the idea to make a band and write songs; and of course, we want to travel the world and we want to be heard—but be heard in a sense of who we are, not just for the sake of being heard but we just want to represent what we love,” H 3 F’s frontman Gong Thepvipat tells Bandwagon. 

“We have been doing that for five years now and we really love what we do. I would have not believed it, like no way in hell a kid in Bangkok [would reach these places]. Five, six years ago, I was still playing video games in my home and it was like, whatever happens happens. We're really grateful that somehow the music we like connects people.”

The way they look at their journey so far also reflects the approach they have to their music. Mainly born out of sporadic jams and inspired by the beautiful mundanities of life, H 3 F—which is rounded out by guitarist Ping Arakern, bassist Mhom Thanabatr, and drummer Max Thakorn—create the kind of music that’s as easygoing, comforting, and welcoming as their friendship. 

Whether it’s a cheesy love song or a sarcastic croon about being sad, their discography is a heartwarming collection of relatable stories. 

Their sound, which has only gotten better and clearer throughout the years, is made up of fragments from a whole list of artists they admire, from blues icons like Albert King to contemporary soul acts like Durand Jones & The Indications.

In fact, when talking about some of their most influential artists, the members light up with such glee as they go into detail about how each of them has inspired the band’s ever-evolving sound. 

“[We like this] band we just discovered called Durand Jones & The Indications. We really liked their work and it inspired us to be like ‘hey, if you like Motown, just go for it’ because they did go for it in 2022. They released a new album which is straight up 10 songs of proper Motown soul and we were like ‘wow, there's someone doing it like that’ so it inspired us to do that,” explains Gong. 

“One more would be Michael Kiwanuka; I really like his lyrics and how he encapsulates his psychedelic inspiration into his pop songs. I really liked how he used that and that's a big inspiration for me. The next one would be Black Pumas. This is like a new band [for us] too and they are straight up so funk, they're really good and we aspire to be like that,” he continues.

Their many influences and inspirations piece together a distinctive whirlwind of blues, funk, and psychedelic rock, which fully takes form in their latest album Chalawan Sound. 

A title taken from Thai folklore, the record is reminiscent of the Thai funk scene in the 60s and 70s as they lean further into the realms of psychedelic rock with heavier basslines and gnarly riffs. 

“As a whole, we're really into blues, funk, and psychedelic rock. On our first and second album, we were a bit younger so our style was not refined, and it took time. So I think this album has actually always been our [goal] at first but we never got the chance to do it like this. I think this album is like a stepping stone for us, from the first and the second album, like recording-wise, tone-wise, the whole tone of the album. It's our favourite style of music,” shares Gong. 

Like their previous albums, Chalawan Sound takes us through many avenues of stories and experiences all unified by one sound born out of a good ol’ fashion jam session. 

“I did not write [most of the tracks] first and asked the guys if we can work on it. We just jam it out and see how it feels and I think that's where it comes together. I can't explain why but I think it's just a natural instinct when you jam with people; we've been together for like four years so it's like playing with friends,” explains Gong. 

Even when bringing on collaborators and fellow Thai acts Benjamin Varney and Phum Viphurit for the album, their music-making process follows the same plan: jam it out and see where it goes. 

“To be honest, having the opportunity to work with [Phum and Benjamin] is like reassurance for us that we can work in this direction,” shares Gong. “It worked out better than we expected and I think the result of that gave us confidence in how we're going to make this album. All the credits to Ben and Phum for [going with] this work process and workflow, it was like a pat on my shoulder that we can do it this way, especially If we like it and it feels good [to us].”

Expanding on the creative process with Phum for ‘Catwalk’, Gong shares that the song—which eventually became a soft satirical track about society’s need for approval and emphasis on your number of followers and likes—was made one random thought after another. 

“At first, Phum and I weren’t really thinking about the message we were going to say but the first day we met, the first thing that came out of Phum’s mouth was the first two sentences of the song: Whatever you want, whatever you need,” he shares.

“It was out of nowhere and he just said that out of context and when you hear that, it could be a lot of things like a love song or something else. So, I told Phum, whatever happens, I’m going to make you sing those two sentences and we just constructed a story around that. Also, in the first two days when we did the demo, I recorded it on my phone and I named it ‘Catwalk’ out of nowhere because it sounds like a catwalk song.”

Whether they’re exploring heavier soundscapes as they did with Chalawan Sound or writing stories of friendship and love like in 2019’s Family Product, you can always count on H 3 F’s creative process to be as fun as it always has been since they first started all those years.

Even with five years under their belt, the band are still continuing to grow, both in their sound and friendship. “We started out and never thought we're a very good band, we never had that in our head. Our tagline is ‘cheesy lyrics, sloppy grooves’, we’re still making fun of ourselves and even now as we're maturing a bit,” says Gong. 

“We had some ups and downs along the way, like when COVID hit, but at the end of the day, we're still friends. We're still the same nonsense bunch of people having fun.”

As they move forward, H 3 F are still waiting to tick a couple more countries across Asia off their wishlist. 

“The only ones we haven't had a chance to go to yet are the Philippines, Indonesia, South Korea, and Malaysia. Mainly, Indonesia and the Philippines because I see that we have a lot of followers there, I don't know why but we hope to see all of them soon—maybe in the next six, seven months,” says Gong. 

But regardless of where they’re at and what stage they’ll be taking over next, the band just hopes everyone stays on board their crazy, wild ride. 

“This is like a standard answer but it’s an honest answer, we really do hope people enjoy the music like how we did when we were making it,” Gong continues. “If you do enjoy [Chalawan Sound], we would appreciate it more if you also go back to our old songs and just see how we grew up. Hopefully, [you can join us] on our journey for as long as we can make music. So in case, we do drop four or five or six more albums, you can see how we grow.” 

Listen to H 3 F's Chalawan Sound here.