Numcha and Her Good, Indie-Pop Vibes

Meet Thai indie-pop singer/songwriter Numcha. At 28, she’s inching her way to becoming the next international artist to look out for. She has played shows in Taiwan, Japan, and Hong Kong. She has also appeared on the main stages of the Very Festival, LUCfest, and 88rising’s Double Happiness Festival. In turn, she has also garnered hundreds of thousands of listeners worldwide and shows no sign of slowing down in her trajectory.

Of course, it’s still all about the music she has created. Sharing her experiences while strumming chords and creating sing-songy melodies that effortlessly resonate, Numcha recently released her four-song EP hewantscoffeebutiamtea, which she describes as an “emotional rollercoaster of feelings.” Some of those were experienced by her, and others she witnessed: “I saw a lot of people who tried to be fine through a thunderstorm, and I witnessed how they came out stronger and fresher,” the artist shares.

PULP.PH had the opportunity to chat with Numcha and asked her a few Qs to get to know her better.

PULP: How did you first get into music? Was there a song or artist that inspired you enough to write your own songs?

Numcha: I’ve dreamed about being an artist since I was a kid. I grew up in a family of musicians, so it was very easy to get inspiration from them. I was eventually admitted into a music college in Thailand and spent four years learning and getting to know more about myself in the field when I graduated.

There are so many artists who I get inspiration from: Tom Misch, Taylor Swift, Raveena, Rex Orange County, Hippo Campus, The Strokes, and a whole lot more. They’re my “forever favorites” because they have their own style of making music, and their songwriting is so unique. After seeing them, I wanted to express things in my own way too. It was so cool to me that I started making music and chasing my passion. I want to bring that same quality of work with good aesthetics to all my listeners.

PULP: How has the journey been so far as an artist in Thailand?

Numcha: So far, it’s been amazing. I never get bored with my stuff. I always have fun challenging myself with new experiences, and I can see more things and meet new people because of my job.

PULP: Why indie pop? What attracted you to the genre?

Numcha: When I was a teenager, I mostly listened to many artists like Corinne Bailey Rae, Alicia Keys, PJ Morton, Hippo Campus, and the like. But then I found indie pop, and I’ve been interested in it since then, mainly because of the sound and the catchy aesthetic. Both are things that I can easily relate to. It’s like making an art piece when writing songs in that vein. But I’m in love with so many genres—there’s always new inspiration to discover, and all these music genres radiate their charm when I listen to them.

PULP: Tell us about the creative process behind “Afterglow.”

Numcha: I wrote afterglow as the third track of the EP while I took a flight to Taiwan to perform at a gig. It was so fun writing things on the plane while everybody was sleeping. It was so calm and chill. What’s funny is I wrote the melody and lyrics for the verse part in a different place, but the melody for the chorus wasn’t coming easily. Then, one day, I had a dream where I was singing in a dark blue-ish galaxy, and I was standing in front of my crush—who happened to be a big bird! And I sang to him: “Your body and soul got me losing control,” so I forcefully woke myself up and immediately wrote these lyrics in my notebook.

For the recording sessions, I worked with a friend who happened to be the lead singer and producer with a band called DEPT. I worked with him previously, so it was easy to start sharing ideas, sounds, and things that inspired me, and we figured out how to incorporate all that with my music and style. It was really fun, and then we hooked up with another mate and finished the recording in one day.

PULP: So you mentioned the EP is an emotional rollercoaster. What do you aim to accomplish with this collection of songs?

Numcha: Yes, it’s not just about the stuff I went through, but the stuff a lot of friends and other people had to experience and overcome…this is dedicated to them. At least you know yourself better after the toughest of times, and you find that you have many reasons to breathe.

Listen to “Afterglow” here.

Interested listeners can follow Numcha on Instagram and YouTube.