yaboihanoi ญาบอยฮานอย is a Bangkok-born-and-based artist making electronic music
with an uncompromising use of tuning systems, melodies and rhythms from Thailand,
paired with the palette of modern bass music and a touch of AI generated sound.
“If anyone’s got the recipe for making truly interesting, unique AI music, it’s Bangkok artist and researcher Lamtharn (Hanoi) Hantrakul, better known as ญาบอยฮานอย / yaboihanoi.”
–Sonar Music Festival 2025
1st Place Aritficial Intelligence (AI) Song Contest 2022
Winning track was determined through international vote and professional jury.
“The use of AI to create the melody and the intonation and effects of that electric oboe line [ปี่] is a combination I have not seen before”. Ajay Kapur, 2022 Jury and Director of Music Technology at CalArts in the USA.
My submission อสุระเทวะชุมนุม (Enter Demons and Gods) celebrates the unique melodies from my home of Thailand by using modern AI to analyze and generate sounds which align with the tuning of original Thai music.
Lamtharn Hantrakul a.k.a ญาบอยฮานอย yaboihanoi
Short
Lamtharn Hantrakul is an award-winning AI Sound Artist / AI Research Scientist reimagining Thai classical music through electronic music with a touch of generative AI. Known by his stage name “ญาบอยฮานอย yaboihanoi”, his dance music is unique in its uncompromising use of Thai tunings made possible through technologies like AI-based sound synthesis. His work challenges how technology can empower arts and culture form Southeast Asia, fusing his unique background as composer and 8 years as a programmer in the tech industry (ex-Google/TikTok). He has has been featured by international media including Deutschlandfunk, Scientific American, BLAQLYTE Magazine and Fast Company as well as festivals such as SONAR and INTUR.
Medium
Lamtharn Hantrakul is an award-winning AI Sound Artist / AI Research Scientist reimagining Thai classical music through AI and electronic music. Known by his stage name ญาบอยฮานอย yaboihanoi, his electronic dance music is unique in its uncompromising use of Thai tunings made possible through technologies like AI-based sound synthesis. His goal is to empower and challenge modern Thai and ASEAN traditions through the fusion of arts and sciences.
yaboihanoi is the winner of the 2022 AI Song Contest, an international music competition, where his song อสุระเทวะชุมนุม (Enter Demons and Gods) used AI to analyze and synthesize electrifying melodies tuned exactly to the Thai ปี่ใน “Phi Nai”. One of the 2022 Jury members Ajay Kapur, who also serves as the Director of Music Technology at CalArts in the USA, commented “The use of AI to create the melody and the intonation and effects of that electric oboe line [ปี่] is a combination I have not seen before”. In today’s music, Thai classical melodies are often altered to fit those of western tunings (e.g. tuning a ระนาด “Ranard” to fit C Major on the piano). Instead, yaboihanoi is pioneering the use of music AI to adapt to Thai tuning (e.g. train an AI to operate in original Thai Ranard tuning). By following melodic inflections and tunings only found in Thai instruments like the ปี่ Phi, yaboihanoi is able to create modern electronic music that feel distinctly “Thai”.
yaboihanoi has written commissioned works combining Thai and AI music for artists including พินรี สัณฑ์พิทักษ์ (Pinaree Sanpitak. Bangkok Arts Bienalle 2022), designer ศรัณย์ เย็นปัญญา (Saran Yen Panya. Cartier Collection 2023) and most recently choreographer พิเชษฐ์ กลั่นชื่น (Pichet Klunchun. Taiwan International Festival for the Arts 2024). His work has been featured by international media including Deutschlandfunk, Scientific American, BLAQLYTE Magazine and Fast Company.
itsyaboihanoi@gmail.com
Stage Plot / Technical
Standard projector for visuals
2 x stereo out from Audio Interface