NATIONAL OPERA COMPLEX by Tanat Teeradakorn, released 31 October 2025
- ACT-1 - REMINISCENCE [PRELUDE]
- ACT-2 - RAM WONG WAN-MAYDAY
- ACT-3 - STARLIGHT OF FAITH
- ACT-4 - PUER MUAN CHON [FOR THE MASSES]
- ACT-5 - DASI MANNAN SEGYE [INTO THE NEW WORLD]
- 6 - INTERLUDE_[SOFT OPERA]
- 7 - CLUBPARASITE MEGA-MIXXX [BONUS TRACK]
Multi-disciplinary artist Tanat Teeradakorn announces the release of his latest EP, NATIONAL OPERA COMPLEX, on 31st October 2025. In conjunction with the launch, Tanat will provide an exclusive preview of the new single, ACT-3-STARLIGHT OF FAITH, which will be streaming on 2nd October.
Originally commissioned for his acclaimed solo exhibition NATIONAL OPERA COMPLEX at Gasworks in London (2025), the EP is structured as a five-act opera that reflects on the pervasive influence of media on politics, economics, and culture. Drawing inspiration from five seminal songs pivotal in Thailand’s activist history—from compositions during the transition from feudalism to capitalism to revolutionary anthems written during the 1973 Thai uprising—the work explores the political agency of sound in shaping ideology, memory, and dissent.
Imagined as a soundtrack for a Ram-vong dance tutorial video, NATIONAL OPERA COMPLEX delves into how sound impacts the mind, body, and cultural identity—seeking to inspire unity, emotion, and solidarity amidst contestations over sound’s role in societal control and resistance.
In the contemporary landscape, music remains a powerful medium for collective memory and political expression. In Thailand, protest songs such as Puer Muan Chon (For the Masses) and Seang Dao Heng Sata (Starlight of Faith) have historically united diverse social groups in moments of upheaval and resistance, passing from one generation to the next while evolving in meaning and context. Tanat’s EP juxtaposes traditional Thai sonic elements like Pi, Gong, and Ching with diverse genres from Morlam and Sai-Yor to Hardcore, Gabber, Trance, and Pop, creating a sonic hybridity that mirrors the layered cultural production of contemporary Thailand.
NATIONAL OPERA COMPLEX offers a sonic portrait of time, representing the enduring stories of struggle, memory, and resilience embedded in Thai history. By reappropriating suppressed histories and amplifying marginalized voices, Tanat’s work underscores the power of sound to evoke collective emotion and document the ongoing fight for justice.
About Tanat Teeradakorn
Tanat Teeradakorn (b. 1991, Bangkok) is a Bangkok-based artist working across sound, music, performance, printmaking, installation, and graphic design. His work interrogates the circulation and construction of cultural narratives through fragments of biography, memory, data, and history, often blending traditional and contemporary sonic elements to explore cultural hybridity and social critique. Recent performances and exhibitions include CHAOS MANDALA: NATIONAL COLORATION COMPLEX at Bangkok CityCity Gallery, Gasworks London, Transmediale Berlin, and CTM Festival Berlin.
