The life beat of Bangkok: Why the Thai capital holds power and inspiration for UK singer, Sophie Ellis-Bextor

As far as career renaissances go, British singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor arguably eclipsed Kate Bush running back up the charts.

Ellis-Bextor’s 2001 disco pop hit, Murder On The Dancefloor, found newfound airplay as a 2023 global earworm thanks to the success of Emerald Fennell’s film Saltburn and a subsequent pick-up by the TikTok generation.

While the 46-year-old’s eighth and most recent album, Perimenopop, includes songs that drove further recognition — a viral COVID sensation posting songs from her kitchen — it remains the 2000 single Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love) that heralded a pivotal turning point in her life.

Shooting the song’s video — Ellis-Bextor sang vocals on the track by producer / DJ Spiller — in Bangkok as a naive 21-year-old proved a formative period that led the now married mother of five to continually explore and seek inspiration through touring and travel.

“Little did I know back then how many places Groovejet would take me — it set me up to experience travel in ways I had never experienced before.

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“It’s a song that allowed me to take that leap of faith as a solo artist and move from the indie genre to the dance scene. I really did like dance music, and thought, ‘OK, let’s do this and see how it goes.’

Bangkok wasn’t a city I really loved, but it represented a place really far away from the reality I knew in the UK. Being in Bangkok really kind of helped me build up the resilience required when you travel, because it can be quite a quite a lonely experience when you first go somewhere where you haven’t been before or know anyone.

That’s what the city felt like to me when I was so young. I had no idea what it would be like, hadn’t really experienced the culture before and being there for a week forced me to grow up and really lean on myself to get through it all.

“Making the video clip was sobering in a way; to have the time to wander around Bangkok on my own, being cognisant of all humanity and realising you are sharing this planet with so many other people. That’s what I felt when I was there.

But that time in Bangkok really cracked it open for me too. It really opened my eyes to the busyness, the lights, the madness of it all.

For my fifth studio album Wanderlust, in 2014, I went to Eastern Europe for a songwriting session which was like a fairytale for me. My sixth album Familia was inspired by Latin America — visiting places like Mexico and Cuba and has a party-spirited atmosphere.

My seventh album Hana was inspired by Japan. I hope all these albums inspire those listening to want to go travelling too, to these destinations.

Travel definitely opened my way of thinking. It’s a refreshing way to write — and from the first moment I step on a tour bus or get to the airport, I am already processing my thoughts differently.

I am lucky I get to do this for a living, I know it’s one of the biggest privileges in the world to be able to see it, be welcomed into new cultures and embrace their way of life.”