You will soon be able to purchase the very best of Asto Na Pai right here on this website. New publications, News and Concert Announcements will also be placed here in the near future. Asto Na Pai are recording new songs at the moment and a new cd is on the way. Here is the latest Cd of Asto Na Pai. Please contact us if you wish to buy the cd.
If you like our music you can book Asto Na Pai for your own festival! Please feel free to contact us over our webform.
Asto Na Pai and the World Music Orchestra often play on Koh Tao and on Koh Phangan. Over time we have made a lot of friends around these beautiful islands in the Gulf of Thailand. We have now decided to publish a little web directory listing for our friends websites here.
Music
Scuba Diving
Sailing
Live Aboard
Koh Tao
Koh Phangan
Web Design Internet Marketing and SEO
Business Related Software
All good visas must come to an end however, so Vassilio went back to Thailand to live in a village called Pai, in the north. In the year 2001, Pai was considered a mystic place by travellers, attracting artists and musicians from around the globe, even to this day. New musicians joined the group, like Aedi from Thailand with the didgeridoo and Toni from France with the saxophone. By 2003, old and new Earth Music Tribe members had gathered to record the band’s first album, Utopai, produced by Raoul and marketed by a recording company in Mexico. The whereabouts of this album, which contains only live recordings, are now unknown, but all good things reappear when necessary, so we say Asto Na Pai for now.
Raoul brought his own special blend of Native American music with Toni’s African Jazz grooves. At that time Pin also joined the group. Australian Pin had studied the lira in Greece for many years and so along with Vassilio they highlighted the Greek element making the music sound more Mediterranean with hints of gypsy, Balkan and Indian-Greek latin. By hand of fate, Vassilio then acquired a bouzouki, the sound of which gave the music a completely different feel, further reminiscent of Greek music.
When Bruce joined the group, he began to create lyrics for the songs and now the melodies began to have words. Bruce had been practising with Vassilio for 14 years on and off, however, rarely performing with him and the band.
In July 2007 Earth Music Tribe met Noi, an extremely talented Thai violin player. Noi had opened a bar in Pai, called Phupai. At the same time a Japanese festival was taking place in Pai, where all members from Earth Music Tribe, including Bruce at this point, were playing. As all these musicians gathered in Pai, Vassilio, Noi and the band started to practice new songs, to perform and to record with a new name, influenced by the name of the city Pai. Asto Na Pai was born.
The first Asto Na Pai cd, “Above and Below the Stars”, was finished in September 2007, after 2 months of recording, but only published and sold on a small scale. It is not currently available, though this is to change in the near future. The name of the album was a reflection of the feeling during the recordings, as all the songs were recorded in bungalows, small studios and natural surroundings, enabling the musicians to always play direct from their hearts.
Performances thereafter had fire dancing, chakra dancing, shadow dancing and belly dancing, among others. It was an amazing feeling when one of the dancers once did a yoga session on stage during the band’s sound check. As a result, the feel of the music was influenced by the dancers and the dancers were influenced by the music, all weaving together to produce the magic that is still Asto Na Pai.
Asto Na Pai is now gathered in vibrant Pai, on the north of Thailand, to play at the 2010 Reggae festival on the 30th of January. The band is also playing nearly every night in various venues, so if you find your self in Pai, keep a look out for our next gig.
Musicians now playing with the band in Pai are Vassilio on bouzouki and banjo, Bruce on guitar and vocals, Eirini and Dido on vocals, Kai on drums, Jo on the accordeon, Jack on the bass, Aedi on percussion and didjeridu and other talented musicians join the band occassionally, such as Jackie on the drums, Toon on the trumpet and Toni on the saxophone.
Eliza and Elena also offer their talents performing with the band at the festival and other venues, Elena master of the hoola hoop and Eliza most elegant professional dancer, they are both gracefully adding colour and movement to our gigs. Eliza and Elena will be heading to the South of Thailand, touring with their own band. We wish you both very very well and…break a leg!
We are grateful to enjoy the moment with you all!
The story of Asto Na Pai – Part III
The band toured around Thailand playing in festivals such as Underwater festival in Kho Tao, Reggae festival back in Pai and twice they played in the World Music festival in Bangkok. Musicians were always travelling in and out of the group (Pin was travelling a lot at the time), which effectively meant that percussion sounds, for one, were reducing, but then drummer Kai from East Germany joined the group bringing more modern rhythms like drum and base, reggae and hip hop, so Asto Na Pai adapted the music from the pre-existing gypsy feel. Meanwhile Jack from Thailand began to play the bass so gradually the group changed from a sitting down band, gypsy style, to more musicians standing up giving an even more up beat feel than ever before.
Gianni and Tsoi also joined the group as singers. Gianni, like Vassilio and Andreas, was from Greece. Tsoi was from Korea and she added her own Korean version to some of the songs, like Latino Di Balkan. Thus began her ever-glowing career in singing, which continues in Korea to this day. Tiery from France and Dimitris from Greece later joined in, all at different periods of the history of Asto Na Pai.
In the period of 2008 to 2009, Pin, who is also a very adept sound engineer, returned from his home in Australia to help spark the recording of a new album. The music returned to the feel of world music again, with lyrics now already established and sung in various languages including Greek, Spanish and Korean. The recording sound was now clearer and more professional as Pin brought his own studio to Thailand, thereby achieving better quality of sound. The resulting album is titled “Share the Sun”, also not currently available, though soon to change status. The idea was always to ‘enjoy and share the moment under the sun’!
Asto Na Pai continued to change forms and experiment with rhythms as fantastical percussionist Gui brought his brew of African drums and more percussion were added to the mix. To this day, Gui and Vassilio share a special inter-connection on stage, the sight and feel of which blows audiences away and sweeps anyone managing to still sit, off their chair and up on the dance floor. Asto Na Pai are still recording anywhere and everywhere in Thailand and with technology advancing and musicians bravely catching up, more recording work is being accomplished even through the internet.
At the moment, Ereenie from Greece is singing with Asto Na Pai and the recording of the Greek version of Latino Di Balkan is nearly finished. She is also adding her own special blend of lyrics and melodies, creating together with Vassilio new vibrant songs. The latest, “O Psaronikolas” is about Vassilio’s grandfather, who, even in his old age, was a walking legend among the ladies back in his home village, despite having only one leg left!
Dido from China is also lending her voice to the band, adding Chinese lyrics to some of the songs. George, a good friend of Vassilio with years of experience in filming, is offering his knowledge and expertise by filming and producing Asto Na Pai gigs. Videos and photos will soon be published on our site.
Further information regarding new gigs will be published on this site and within our newsletter as we go along. Feel free to subscribe to our monthly newsletter and all upcoming gigs will arrive promptly at your inbox so that you don’t miss any of our gigs in your area! For more information on what Asto Na Pai are doing now click here.
Asto Na Pai say embrace, share and enjoy the moment under the sun (or below the stars!) and aaasto na pai, file!
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All Asto Na Pai band members - more to be added as more material is gathered. Other talented and experienced musicians have played with the band and created songs across the years. All credit to them, we will add their pictures here as soon as they become available.
20 Photos
The two videos below of Asto Na Pai World Music Orchestra were taken from the Pittalew Art Exhibition 26 February 2010 in Pai, organised by Mr. P-Art in his amazing venue, just a few days before the Pai Reggae festival 2010. This was a night to remember, full of wonderful people and a spectacular fire show from Pot and his team, including other poi masters and dancers. We had a great time!
Dido joins the band on stage, lending her voice and Chinese lyrics to the song Mama Earth.
Big bubbly thank you to George for filming!
The following was filmed at our Asto Na Pai party at the PS Riverside resort in Pai, Thailand, warm hospitality of Mr P-Nikon, right next to the river, under the moonlight.
To Maria Lak for filming, thank you my friend, you rock!
More gypsy music from Asto Na Pai in Koh Panghan, November 2009 at Chuloklum. Magic!
Enjoy!