Petch lights up the fretboard with her new single Black Neon — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
Tunes by 14-year-old fret wizards from Thailand are few and far between. And no wonder. After all, few 14-year-old fret wizards from Thailand are like Petch. Discovered busking on the streets of Bangkok, Petch (aka Vimolwan Saisathit) was playing the guitar before she could talk and spent her youth in her bedroom perfecting her style.
Her latest single Black Neon showcases an impressive talent that belies her age — and justifies all those years in her bedroom. It’s the perfect title for the tune as well, all glossy alt.rock melodies and brooding guitars. As Petch explains: “Black Neon is the story of two teenagers living for the night, two runaways escaping their day to day lives. I really liked creating the guitar parts for the track and it’s a great song to play live.”
Petch was unleashed on an entirely unsuspecting TV audience when she appeared on Asia’s Got Talent at eight years of age, being told by 16-time Grammy winner David Foster that she is “destined for great things.”
During Covid, she spent lockdowns producing her own videos, covering Metallica, Joan Jett, Nirvana and Motörhead songs as she showcased her developing style and built the courage to perform live. Eventually, her version of Deep Purple’s Smoke On The Water caught attention of the industry.
Petch’s debut single Hatemail kickstarted her career in December 2023, just after she turned 14. In June came the followup — the electrifying 9 Volter, which blended the shadowy dread of Garbage with the gloriously deadpan highs of female-fuelled grunge. Her debut EP is due in August and she’ll be hitting the road with her all-Thai teenage band, with a full season of touring in Europe slated for 2025. And if that’s not enough, Petch is also an advocate of music helping teenagers during difficult years, and actively helps others find solace and focus through guitar playing.
Check out Black Neon above, hear more from Petch below and follow her on Facebook, TikTok and Instagram.
