The yearly Samui bike week festival took place on 6-7th May and the highlight of the festival was a performance by one of Thailand’s most , – Sek Loso.

Fronted by singer-guitarist-composer Seksan Sukpimai (aka Sek Loso). The band was formed in the mid-1990s in Bangkok. Its name is derived from a play on hi-so, Thai slang for socialites and the upper class (from English ‘high society’), and is meant to reflect the group’s humble origins. It is one of the first Thai bands to achieve success on the international music scene, having played festivals, including South By Southwest and Glastonbury, and to be produced by a Western record producer.

Seksan, the son of an itinerant rice-farming family, moved to Bangkok at age 12 and found work in a shop owned by an aunt, making jewelry. He also worked in a factory that made air conditioners. In 1991, inspired by his favorite artists, including Guns N’ Roses and Carabao, he saved up enough to buy an inexpensive guitar, learned some chords and talked his way onto the stage at one of Bangkok’s best-known live-music venues at the time, The Austin Pub. Within a year, the 17-year-old singer-guitarist was leading the house band, playing covers of Thai rock, indie and pop, as well as Green Day, Nirvana, the Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix.

Having sold over 10 million albums worldwide Sek Loso has achieved cultural icon status in Thailand with his charismatic performances.