Studio 88 Residency Reflections

Collaborators (L to R): Suteera Fankaew (Aod), Gabriel Phway, Palita Sriwaboot (Fiws), me, Lin Myat, Kongkiat Ruennoy (Geng)

When I arrived at Studio 88, I had only met some of the musicians once before, and one of them never before. On the first day we improvised for hours. No plans, no expectations. A spirit of generosity allowed us to listen, respond, and create something beautiful that only existed for those moments. It's a kind of magic that happens when you strip away everything except the music itself.

Morning Ritual

Having my own studio space was a gift. Every morning, I'd settle in with my looping app, building layers of sound, finding patterns, getting lost in repetition until something new emerged. Those solitary morning sessions became a meditation, a way to center myself before the chaos—the beautiful chaos—of afternoon collaborations. And for the first time, I was able to finish writing a song. The result of unstructured play, letting go of expectations, and allowing ideas to simply emerge in their own good time.

Beyond the Music

Unexpected inspiration came from interacting with the visual artists in residence: painters from Laos and the Czech Republic, filmmakers from Thailand. We shared meals, and invited each other into our creative worlds. Their approaches to composition and texture, and moving personal stories, seeped into how I thought about resonance. And I was able to bring them into my world of sound and patterns.

What I'm Taking With Me

I came to Studio 88 with questions. I'm leaving with even more questions—but they're better questions now. Deeper ones. The kind that will keep me making music for years to come.

This residency reminded me why I started making music in the first place: not to have answers, but to explore. Not to arrive somewhere, but to enjoy getting lost along the way.

I'm grateful. To the artists who shared their time and talents. To Studio 88 for creating the space. And to whatever force brought us all together at exactly the right moment.

The music we made together exists only in our memories now. And somehow, that makes it even more precious.