In the spotlight: COUNT THE THIEF

Expat band delivers moody, ethereal music in style
WORDS Adam Purcell PHOTOGRAPHY Jaran Lakkanawat

“SIRI knows my band!” Any aspiring musician in the digital age would love to be able to make this claim. Of course, to get to the stage where Apple’s operating system can recognize your music by sound alone requires hard work, dedication, experimentation and, most importantly, the talent to pen an album that you can actually sell online. Last month, after several weekends spent holed up in Vintage recording studios, Udom Suk, Bangkok-based band Count The Thief did just that – releasing its debut album, New Role, on iTunes and officially becoming, for want of a better word, Shazamable.
    
Not that Count The Thief needs affirmation it exists. Over the past 18 months the band has been a regular fixture on the Bangkok live music circuit, and the band’s dedication to its craft – constantly tweaking its sound, tightening its act, improving with every performance – has seen it build a loyal fanbase who follow the band from dingy bar to highbrow pub and back again, all in the name of good music.

Formed by British expats Danny Duncombe (Bass and vocals) and Toby Willems (drums and vocals) alongside Canadian Dave Lefor (guitar), the band draws from a melting pot of ideas, with each member bringing different musical influences to the table.
    
“Toby’s taste in music is terrible, real folky,” jokes Lefor, when The BigChilli meets the band for a burger and a beer outside the recording studio. “If I had my way, the band would sound a lot more emo.”
    
“You just don’t know what good music is,” Willems hits back, “so it’s a good job you didn’t get your way.”
    
“It’s all about compromise,” explains Duncombe, slurping a Heineken, a grin on his face. “We all get in the room, start jamming, and all meet somewhere in the middle. It’s what makes our sound unique – probably best described as progressive indie rock.”
    
While the trio, who met as colleagues at the same international school in 2013, are witty and fun and dispense rapid fire jokes with the ease of seasoned comedians, get them on stage or in the recording studio and things soon turn serious.

Pictured, left to right: Danny Duncombe, Toby Willems, and Dave Lefor

“It’s all about integrity,” says Willems. “We want to make good music and we treat this much more than just a hobby. We’re passionate about what we do, and when we’re in the zone, there’s nothing else quite like it.”
    
Watch Willems drumming live and you’ll get a sense of that passion.

“We call it his ‘in the zone gurn face,’” explains Duncombe, mimicking Willems’ facial expressions as he pounds the drums. “His enthusiasm always fires us up.”
    
Duncombe, the band’s lead singer and bass player, is a Manchester native whose accent is Mancunian verging on Scouse. Unlike world-famous Manchester born artists such as Noel and Liam Gallagher, however, he keeps his vocal delivery free of any regional brogue – his lyrics, abstract, thought-provoking, come across loud and clear.
    
“We want listeners to take their own meanings from the songs so we don’t like to talk about the lyrics too much,” he says. “And that’s the beauty of our art. Everyone can take something from it.”
    
What about the band’s name? Should we take from that that you’re not too fond of grammar?
    
“Hahaha. Not at all,” says Lefor. “It’s a vague reference to a book that Toby read.”
    
“To cut a long story short, “says Willems, “it’s basically an old Eastern-European folk tale about a war in which the bad guys lose because of a cunning plan by a soldier from the good guys, who lures cows away from the enemy’s side, so that he can treat his comrades to a morale-boosting and energy-lifting feast. Because of his efforts, his side wins, and he is given the title ‘Count The Thief.’ I thought I’d steal the name for our band.”

As the purveyors of moody, ethereal, thought-provoking music, don’t be surprised if the next thing the band steals is your heart. Shazam.

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DAVE LEFOR

Best gig you’ve ever played? 
Playing to a bunch of alternative punk kids in Myanmar. They are so crazy about the music, as the scene is just blossoming.

Worst gig you’ve played? 
Ones with technical issues. Amps breaking, cables not working, strings breaking, etc. so, we've had a few haha.

Favourite song from your new album? 
I like Exchange/Replace the most. It's the softest song by a mile, but it's really beautiful... Almost Chili Peppers-esque.

What advice do you have for people who want to form their own bands in Bangkok?
Respect goes a long way for Thais. Keep your egos checked at the door every night.

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TOBY WILLEMS

Biggest influence? 
That's a tough one, love so much different stuff. But if you're a drummer check out Veronica Bellino. She's pretty sweet.

Best gig you’ve ever played? 
Have to agree with Dave on that one. Playing in Myanmar was amazing to be part of such a passionate emerging scene.

Worst gig you’ve played? 
With Count the Thief or ever? There's been a lot.

Favourite song from your new album? 
New Role.

What advice do you have for people who want to form their own bands in Bangkok?
Don't bother. It's f***ing hard and it's getting harder.

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DANNY DUNCOMBE

Biggest influence? 
Radiohead.

Best gigs you’ve ever played? 
Myanmar and Udon Thani. The next gig we play?

Worst gig you’ve played? 
Playing hungover sucks.

Favourite songs from your new album? 
New Role and Exchange/Replace for me.

What advice do you have for people who want to form their own bands in Bangkok?
Work your balls off.

New Role is available to purchase now on iTunes: 
https://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/new-role/id970541652

Listen to the band’s music and read about upcoming performances at 
www.countthethief.com

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