Same Same but...
While in Thailand I kept seeing a TV ad for the latest single by a pop group called Same Same. This duo, Clint and Bob Moffat from Vancouver (imagine identical twin cousins of Greg Rusedski) were, according to the Same Same website, "Members of one of the world's most successful pop/rock bands in the 90's [sic], The Moffatts." One of the world's most successful bands I have never heard of, but hey, who's splitting hairs?
Same Same is a clever name, not only because the duo are identical twins. As anyone who has spent much time in Thailand, China or other parts of the Far East knows, 'same same but different' is a popular 'wrong but right' local variation on standard English that is used to describe two things that are similar or, when ordering food, to give two people the same meal on separate plates or in separate bowls as opposed to sharing one dish. ('Same same but different' t-shirts are also very popular with 'farang' (western) tourists in Bangkok - I even brought one back myself.)
The Same Same single getting the heavy promotion was a tracked called 'Farang Ja', the first ever duet between a Luk Thung (Thai traditional music) singer and a farang vocalist. The Thai singer in question is Arpaporn Nakonsawan, a woman who has sold more than 32 million records.
'Farang Ja' is part of a carefully thought out marketing strategy by Same Same's label, Sony BMG. The debut album is being released in six countries, but the release has been staggered to "allow the band to travel from country to country for promotion," says the website. Thailand and The Philippines set the ball rolling, followed by Malaysia and Indonesia, with Taiwan and China finishing things off. The album includes a duet called "Without you" that has been recorded in five different versions, each with a different Sony BMG artist singing in her native tongue while Same Same sing in English (although their harmonies have been recorded in whichever local language is necessary for each of the different markets). Reminds me of when The Beatles used to sing in German before their huge success made English the de facto international language of pop. As China flexes its muscles on the world stage maybe Mandarin will take over that role in future?
Same Same is a clever name, not only because the duo are identical twins. As anyone who has spent much time in Thailand, China or other parts of the Far East knows, 'same same but different' is a popular 'wrong but right' local variation on standard English that is used to describe two things that are similar or, when ordering food, to give two people the same meal on separate plates or in separate bowls as opposed to sharing one dish. ('Same same but different' t-shirts are also very popular with 'farang' (western) tourists in Bangkok - I even brought one back myself.)
The Same Same single getting the heavy promotion was a tracked called 'Farang Ja', the first ever duet between a Luk Thung (Thai traditional music) singer and a farang vocalist. The Thai singer in question is Arpaporn Nakonsawan, a woman who has sold more than 32 million records.
'Farang Ja' is part of a carefully thought out marketing strategy by Same Same's label, Sony BMG. The debut album is being released in six countries, but the release has been staggered to "allow the band to travel from country to country for promotion," says the website. Thailand and The Philippines set the ball rolling, followed by Malaysia and Indonesia, with Taiwan and China finishing things off. The album includes a duet called "Without you" that has been recorded in five different versions, each with a different Sony BMG artist singing in her native tongue while Same Same sing in English (although their harmonies have been recorded in whichever local language is necessary for each of the different markets). Reminds me of when The Beatles used to sing in German before their huge success made English the de facto international language of pop. As China flexes its muscles on the world stage maybe Mandarin will take over that role in future?
posted by Justin Toland at 12:41 am
1 Comments:
just stumbled in while googling about the moffats. they wre pretty big in canada. i heard they were quite successful in germany and southeast asia back then as well.
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