“I already have a lot of friends here, and have fallen in love with the unrushed way of life in Phuket.”
Singto, aka Singha Tooe, is the son of country singer Chaitung Rungroj, and was born in Buriram. His style is reminiscent of surf rock king Jack Johnson, with an extra touch of jazz.
He taught himself to play ukulele, and won Thailand’s first ever ukulele competition. He now teaches others through his series of instructional YouTube videos.
He initially expected to stay in Phuket for just three months, but ended up staying for three years.
“It started when I was on holiday in Koh Chang, and saw a musician playing in a bar.
“It got me thinking that I could be happy if I could find work on an island playing music at night, and exploring during the day. After many inquiries, I was invited to play at Intro Bar in Phuket in 2007.
“During my time in Phuket, I started writing my own songs. After a while, I wanted to share them with others so in 2010 I went to Bangkok when my friend Kijjaz invited me to make an album for his music company, Pollen Sound (Music Production & Sound Design).
“Kijjaz was the producer for my first album, then he helped make a deal with Believe Records to promote my new album, of which the main single is Yoo Tho Lei Dai Mai (‘Can I Stay Longer?’).
Other songs of Singto’s to check out are his rendition of Somewhere Over The Rainbow, original song Beach Boy, about a Thai boy in a relationship with a foreign girl but actually wanting a Thai girlfriend instead.
Singto’s new album is out in January. For music videos, visit youtube.com/user/tooeleon