The algorithm made me do it

Some instruments seem destined for Bangkok. Saxophones in neon bars. Guitars on makeshift stages. Even an occasional sitar wafting through an incense-lit cafe. But a five-string banjo? Not exactly. Yet that’s what Sunny – Chanasinj ‘Sunny’ Sachdev – chose as his pandemic obsession. What began as an algorithm-fed curiosity has spiralled into a community movement, pulling the unlikely sound of bluegrass into the city’s rooftops, beer halls and YouTube feeds.

Through Bluegrass Underground Bangkok, rooftop jam sessions and even a road trip to North Carolina, Sunny has positioned himself at the centre of a scene few expected to exist in Thailand. He calls it community-building, but it feels like something stranger and more cinematic: an offbeat soundtrack to Bangkok nights, carried on strings that once belonged only to Appalachian hillsides.

We caught up with Sunny via email – a fitting medium for a conversation that meanders between banjo twang, superhero comics and the quiet revolution of turning Bangkok into a hub for Irish reels and American roots music.

The accidental banjo player

Sunny admits it was never part of a plan. ‘YouTube algorithm! It turned my friend into a flat earther, and me into a banjo player,’ he writes.

It wasn’t just novelty. He had long been drawn to older traditions, even if he hadn’t labelled them. ‘Medieval-sounding Irish tunes would sneak into my playlists at house parties, confusing everyone. I suspect a lot of it came from video games too. But now it’s all I listen to. The music feels like an adventure, carrying the weight of history, something bigger than myself.’

There’s also the sound itself – bright, sharp, with a tang of familiarity.

 “Banjos are super cool and twangy and stuff. There’s something that resonates with my internal Indian sitar-y twang as well. Many levels.” 

Rooftops and secret clubs

The pandemic forced intimacy. Instead of disappearing into online feeds, Sunny and friends climbed upwards. Rooftopia Bluegrass Band was born on Bangkok rooftops, where open air became the only safe stage.

‘The skyline definitely shaped the name,’ he explains. ‘For a couple of years, we lived in a world where we mostly existed on rooftops, hence Rooftopia. The energy was like sitting in a convertible with the wind blowing through and music blasting on the radio. It never felt isolated, but like a secret club that hacked the pandemic and kept camaraderie alive.’

That sense of fellowship, he points out, is baked into the genre. ‘This music started as just that – a way of socialising. Before TVs or radios, people would turn up at each other’s doorsteps with instruments to talk, drink and share tunes.’

From hidden hams to YouTube virality

Sunny is quick to admit his day job – community building and events – bled into his music life. When he first began recording Bluegrass Underground Bangkok, the aim was to coax more musicians out of hiding. Instead, he also attracted audiences.

‘I think what people connected to most was the ‘exotic' instrument variety and the jam dynamic,’ he says. ‘Musicians here were playing for themselves, bouncing energy off each other, sitting within the crowd. It was closer to Irish session style, where you aren’t separated from the audience by a stage.’

That intimacy became the engine. His YouTube channel doesn’t only showcase him, but spotlights Thai artists who found their way to banjos and fiddles through wildly different paths. ‘This music is not mainstream here, so the story of how people discover it is always part of a side-quest. Next, I’m going to interview an ice-cream cart guy who plays Tony Rice-inspired guitar while pedalling around town blasting bluegrass. Mind-blowing.’

Beer, comics and the larger vision

Sunny’s projects blur into one another. The Bluegrass Brewery Project, for example, feels less like a marketing stunt than a continuation of his restless community-building.

‘People come to craft breweries with an open mind to try something new,’ he says. ‘It was the perfect place to find an audience for unexpected sounds. And brewery owners here are always open to experiments. It takes vision to run a craft brewery in Thailand with the laws in place, so they’re naturally curious. We almost always fill the place up. Breweries remain our first choice for jams.’

His past ventures explain the impulse. With Kraftka, it was sneakers. With The Roach, it was a comic about a crime-fighting superhero. ‘There’s so much connection,’ he insists. 

“Traditional music was passed from person to person just like old stories. Tunes have journeys and histories, often about railroads, hardship, even murder. They’re more like tales than pop songs about feelings.”

Lessons from North Carolina

In 2023, Sunny travelled to North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, with a banjo in the back of a rented pickup. He attended Pete Wernick’s Jam Camp, then stayed on for MerleFest, one of the United States’ biggest roots music gatherings.

‘The experience gave me clarity,’ he explains. ‘I didn’t just want to build a band to showcase myself, but to create a community where people can come together and make this music flourish. That was the beauty I felt on that trip.’

It also demystified bluegrass’s supposed Southern roots. ‘Being a ‘hillbilly’ style is a misconception. Some of the best players are from big cities like New York or Chicago. And the banjo itself comes from an African instrument. This music is already a melting pot of cultures, so I felt right at home. The only focus is getting the right sound, the right twang – or ‘nyah’ if you’re Irish.’

The future in Bangkok

For Sunny, the next frontier is Bangkok itself. He wants to transform how people experience traditional music – and the rules are strict.

‘Two rules: no amplification, no stages. I want people to experience it as it was in the past. Walk into an old-timey tavern, candlelight, stories behind tunes, musicians at the centre with listeners around them. We become the vibe rather than the focus. That’s how it should be.’

It means smaller, more intimate venues, but that’s deliberate. ‘Those in the city can escape and be transported for a few hours to another place and time.’

His vision extends further. ‘Thailand can be the regional hub for bluegrass, old-time, and Irish music. We already have musicians visiting constantly, unplanned jams, festivals, sessions. Our second South Eastern Old Time Gathering is coming up in November, celebrating both bluegrass and Irish traditions with performers flying in from all over the world.’

Sunny is also clear about what feeds him outside the music. ‘It’s being with my kids. They’re my biggest teachers. I’m trying to teach my son an instrument so we can be a band together. Family bands are common in the US and Ireland. It’s not looking great for my own family band, but I’m not giving up.’

And if he could play with anyone? The dream isn’t far-flung.

The beauty of less mainstream genres is you can reach the top players easily. They’ve already appeared in my videos. But one unreachable star remains – Steve Martin.

‘Yes, the comedian. He’s an amazing banjo player with his own scholarship. We may not see him in Thailand soon, but one of his scholarship winners may play at our festival.’

A Banjo’s place in Bangkok

What emerges is not a quirky side project but a broader ambition. Bluegrass in Bangkok is less about novelty than about intimacy – about turning music back into a conversation rather than a performance.

Sunny seems both amused and deadly serious about it. He’s a man who jokes about algorithms making him a banjo player, then spends hours describing the exact seating arrangements that will keep traditions alive.

And as Bangkok prepares for the return of the South Eastern Old Time Gathering at Public House Bangkok this November 28-30, the city’s soundtrack expands once again. Not EDM, not karaoke, but the unexpected twang of a banjo echoing against skyscrapers.

In the end, Sunny’s story feels less like cultural transplant and more like homecoming. Bluegrass, after all, has always been a hybrid – African roots, Irish reels, American storytelling. Why shouldn’t Bangkok be the next verse?