Thaiboy Digital has made a name for himself over the years as an integral member of the genre-contorting crew Drain Gang, but his singular voice has elevated him to new heights from Swedish community where he made a place for himself to international reknown. Through his forced exodus from Sweden, he has created a new world for himself, utilizing past struggles to forge a path that gleans inspiration from collaboration and a fervently global outlook. Thaiboy’s record ‘Legendary Member’ is out now on Year001.

You’ve called debut album ‘Legendary Member’ “a big trip for sure, all the way from the beginning to the next place”. Would it be wrong to take this comment literally, seeing this piece of work as a snapshot or more cohesive narrative of the way you’ve moved from place to place throughout the years?
Yeah, you could say so, but what I meant was more that while I made the album it was a big trip; from Stockholm to London and then Bangkok in between, and once it was done the album took me to the next place.

And - would you view this “next place” as referential to a forward-thinking attitude of always looking for new ways of self expression within a continuously shifting lifestyle and sound?Yeah, a next place is like once you accomplish your dreams, you go on to the next place to accomplish the next dream, kind of.

It’s easy to say that in 2019, music can be created and shared easily, communities can be forged across borders and connections can be made faster than ever via social media and the internet, but how important does that face-to-face connection remain to you?
It is the most important connection for sure, and making this album was all done face-to-face. Nothing was recorded without having all the guys around. It has a lot to do with the energy and ways to use that, it can’t really be done over internet like that. When we’re all in studio you can really feel the vibe without us playing any songs, and once we start recording that’s when we go to where we’ve never been before, and take it to the next level.

You’ve mentioned how the new record is responsive to “the exact moment right there in the studio”. Do you feel that immediate intimacy is reflective of the specific environment that you record in, and do you think that there’s a vibe or energy of a place that inspires you to create the best work?
Yeah like I said, the energy plays a big part. Say if I would record "Legendary Member" without being there with my bros it wouldn’t even sound close to how it sounds right now. Its a lot like Bladee said the track “Victim”; “2 steps forward 1 step back” - it was a lot of those. A good place is great, but what is a place without the right people?

Another facet of the industry in 2019 is the pressure for continuous output - do you struggle with this when you’ve said in the past not being allowed to live in Sweden has slowed your process making music with your closest collaborators?
Yeah it did slow me down, but I didn’t stop making songs even though I was here in Bangkok even though it wasn’t the same. Somewhere in the middle of all that I was like "shit don't even feel the same, like how we use to do it in the beginning" so I sort of backed out bit after that. But luckily my bros started to visit me in Thailand and the first time they came we did “AvP", and last time they were here we did "Trash Island". It's international time now, we’re global and we can go anywhere we want, so it's not really a problem like that anymore. Thailand is a beautiful place and it's very nice to be here, but I wish to come back to Sweden and live there again like I used to.

Despite this, your output remains pretty prolific- how do you continue to cultivate that, and what made you decide this was the time to release a full album as an individual, although there are still prominent handprints of Drain Gang across many of the tracks?
A lot of have happened in my life and most of the stuff I can’t really share here, so there was just a lot of feelings in me that I wanted to release. And also I haven’t done an album for a long time, so it was the right time to get on with it. But I didn’t expect it would come out like this, it's really beyond my expectations in every way possible, one of the best things I’ve done in my life for sure. And I've said it a lot, but you already know it's mostly thanks to my guys, they really were with me through hot and cold, put me on to that bless life.

When the last EP “S.O.S" came out, you had mentioned how you “spent the summer in Sweden, but [your] heart was back in Thailand.” I imagine you’ve spent quite a lot of time feeling conversely, and I’m interested to know how your relationships with the places you’ve set down roots has developed, and how it led to this record and your current attitude towards the places you feel the most at home.
It's hard to explain, but it's like Thailand is where I am now and I had to go through quite a bit to have a place where I can call my home, a place of peace here in Bangkok. My heart is also here with my girlfriend, it's very bliss. But my state of creativity in my mind is with my bros; I go to Sweden like 1-2 times a year so it's all good right now and I have a home here in Bangkok. But for the future I want to make another home in Sweden, maybe no more divide I’ll guess I’ll just have two homes.

The subject of immigration has become more fraught and relevant than ever. Do you see yourself as an artist with the potential to utilize a creative force to come out on top in your own continuing struggles with deportation?
Yeah I hope so, we really did a lot of impossible tasks with me doing what I do. Every time i´m at the embassy they don’t really believe me that I was gonna go here and do this and that, but now they look at my passport they don’t ask me many questions anymore. I really look forward to when we can just can travel around the globe and enjoy the world without the complication, because a lot of people can do that right now, but hopefully soon everyone can do it too.

How do you see situations such as Brexit having an effect on the future of creating music, touring, etc.
They gonna have to go the embassy for visa more often I guess, like me, but don’t let that stop you from turning the city up for sure.

The overall vibe of ‘Legendary Member’ to me feels a bit more optimistic in its overall feel, while still very much connected to the anxious, downbeat production that has kind of defined the “sad boy” aesthetic Drain Gang has constructed over the years. Looking both inwards and outwards to the world at large, do you feel your outlook has shifted?
Yeah for sure, I start to see the beauty in the little things and I pay more attention to the small details in life I think. Before it was like Big Mansion, Big Yacht, G5 and a G6, maybe it still is but its also the peacefulness stuff, like sunrise and a good day.

What do you think the future holds for Thaiboy Digital, Drain Gang, or anyone else?
Turning your city up for sure and next level songs for you to listen and elevate.