'You can't just forget your roots,' says singer-songwriter Pong Nan, explaining why he's making a return to the Fringe Club next Wednesday.
Pong launched his career in 2000 at the Central live music venue, where he was spotted and later signed to Sony BMG. Next week's solo performance will be Pong Nan's first show at the Fringe for two years.
'Every time I go back, it's like a homecoming. I haven't done an acoustic solo show for a long time. I really want to do it again, but me and my record label have very different perspectives,' he says.
'They know how I started and they tend to not want me to go back to the Fringe so often, because it reminds people of how I started out. They want me to get bigger and bigger [venues], but I want to pay homage to how I started and where I came from.
'I really had to persuade Sony to let me do it. I lined it up myself and just told them that I'm doing it,' he said.
Back in 2000, the musician played piano every few weeks at the intimate venue. Pong gradually established a reputation with his melodic songs and impressive keyboard skills, and earning himself more invitations to perform.
'At that time, I had released some of my songs on MP3.com and then I really wanted to try performing those songs live. The Fringe is the only place with an acoustic piano - a lot of live venues don't have one. That was how I started,' recalls the singer, who took his first piano lesson at the age of five.