When you need a pull-the-curtain-back music talking show, this episode of The Wayne Ayers Podcast by Tsunari is just the thing. The Thai Trinidadian multi-hyphenate glides through themes with charisma and clarity, whether it be selecting her next single or what she wants her music to be remembered by. She is a frank businesswoman, a jocular artist, and quite a woman of her time in possessing both.
New Music Alert: Fans in the Driver’s Seat.
Tsunari sits on one of the two potential releases of her next attack, and she is leaving the decision to the fans. The sonic palette of both records is similar, and both use flip samples, but they are quite different in mood. One leans girly and glossy. The other is smooth with a tougher core. She chuckles and acknowledges that the latter one has a polite warning label attached.
“I’m talking my sh*t on it. Hey, don’t mess with me. Still, Tsunari is not a full-on gangster. Not yet.”
Look forward to a preview on her socials and to a poll making Nari Gang A&R the day. Visuals are on her mind, too. She is a responsible artist operating as an independent. She already has a basic visual prepared, and as the song progresses, she is willing to revert to a full video.
EP Incoming, Album Loading
The following half a year is planned. It is ready, and there are some singles planned ahead of the full release. She has already begun work on the second project, which she describes as being more grown. That one feels like an album. She speaks it in the same tone in which people speak when they make announcements. Some nervous, much excited, all prepared.
Her liberation ideology is zen-like. She never becomes the ultimate ruler of any particular song. She treats every song as a possible seed that can relate to its end-users in the future. TikTok and syncs have taught all of us that a record that was last year, or ten years ago, can all of a sudden own a timeline.
The Tunes That Made This Chapter.
Revenge Bawdy was one this summer, and it still rings a chord. A breakthrough in voice and point of view, it was written after a long relationship had ended. A winking heartbreak record. A glow-up in motion.
The one she plays at the gym and the one she describes as more dynamic is Better Than That, which was released in May. The podcast even drifts into a little sing-along. It is pop-R&B with the hook that is a pain in the neck to listen to and hum twice.
Each song can access a new audience. Any song could transform my life, the life of my family, and the life of two cats.
Thai Hip Hop, Then and Now
Tsunari spent her childhood internalizing the things that her elder years had in common with her siblings. Dajim’s early names of Thai rap were house words. The star of hip hop shot up during the period of 2017-22. It was the in-thing in the market, and it was bleeding at all corners. Rapping was being done even by the country singers. This mainstream wave is no longer hot, but the community is established. Infrastructure exists. The energy is there. Visibility and, more importantly, women on the mic is now the mission.
Trinidadian Bases, Future Merger.
She has never visited Trinidad, and as such, she desires to get it right. It is planned to visit Carnival, have a bite to eat, ride the spirit, and then go to the studio. She glows when thinking about a Calypso or Soca mixed with Thai music in the pocket. It would be happy, swinging, and very her. A return through a new sound.
How, When, and the Reason Why.
Her artistic existence passes. Every project is a chapter that has a concept. Party with Nari was the first EP that presented the origin story. The second one examines relations and all their ups and downs. The next one will repeat the page.
That is why her catalog already reads like a book. You might begin at track one and have a travelogue of identity. Not only where she has been geographically, but where her heart has been.
A Childhood Song That Stayed
Her identity was formed growing up as a mixed-race person in a Thai town where there are nearly no Black faces. The song Beautiful by Christina Aguilera was a lifesaver. The lyric still lands. It is no accident that her own documentation leans toward empowerment accompanied by melodies.
Influences, Dream Tables, and a Supergroup Only She Could Imagine.
Her taste runs wide. Britney, Christina, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Sade, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Busta Rhymes, and Coldplay are all her constituents. Pharrell and Rodney Jerkins are dream producers. Had time been different, she would have hired Quincy Jones to have a session with them in order to witness the magic.
Dinner with legends. Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Beyoncé, and Rihanna. Jokes, shade, wisdom, and most likely a four-part harmony over dessert would be that table.
Tour fantasy. A three-man band that is completely illogical, but would sell itself. Tsunari, Frank Ocean, and Coldplay. Big feelings, soft edges, stadium scale.
On Repeat Right Now
She spins Destin Conrad’s Whimsy, SZA’s Ctrl, Rihanna’s Loud, and never goes much further than Frank Ocean’s Channel Orange. It is a mood board that describes the velvet in her voice and the bounce in her beats.
Independent and Global
Tsunari has re-invested in being independent and global after Warner. She is tactical when it comes to rollouts, unashamed that she is her own loudest supporter, and sensible about timing. Her career is one that can be taken on the road. She is not chasing virality. She is cultivating memory.
Thailand, Thailand, Thailand.
Her tips to first-timers are gold. Islands such as Lipe and Phi Phi to daydream about turquoise. The postcard coastline of Krabi. Koh Samui for an easy escape. Chiang Mai up north to see temples and eat. Isan to keep warm and to celebrate, and her own origins. Bangkok to learn to be a modern city.
The Legacy She Wants
If the charts are the scoreboard, her legacy is the game itself.
“Stay true to who you are. Streams and charts are great, but if you lose your identity then what is the point.”
That is the heart of Tsunari’s interview. A fearless insistence on joy, culture, and honesty. Music that can party and still say something. A voice building a bridge between Bangkok, Port of Spain, London, and wherever you are pressing play.
