Singer-songwriter Pong Nan will be going full circle with his concerts next week. The 31-year-old, who has enjoyed a surge in popularity and visibility on the Canto-pop scene over the past two years, wants it known that this show is about getting back to basics.
'The concert is just going to be me and the 88 keys on my piano,' he says. Hence the title of his show, 88+1. 'I want to strip away the glitz and glamour and tell people that the old piano boy is still here; I haven't changed.'
Music has always been an important part of Nan's life. His parents made him learn piano at age five, hoping he would pick up classical music. But Nan had other ideas. 'I was playing Canto-pop tunes instead,' he says, laughing.
At 11, Nan and his family moved to Canada, where he says his bond with music strengthened.
'My parents were always working and I was an only child,' he says. 'All I did was listen to music.'
Growing up in the 90s, when alternative music was on the rise, Nan felt out of place on the piano. 'Everyone had that 'guitar is cool' mentality, the piano just didn't have the same appeal,' he says.