MICHAEL Ma turns up the volume for Jimmy Barnes, a vintage Aussie rocker, then smiles when he hears the Red Hot Chili Peppers up next. ''I love the Chilis,'' he says, looking out over one of Phuket's best views.

If music makes the world go around, then Michael Ma's tastes may just help Phuket to move with some of the better up-beats.

Five nights of dance parties this week will be followed by more treats for the ear as the Aussie-Lao-Thai entrepreneur opens the ''flying saucer'' landmark at the Indochine Resort in Kalim and sets about creating a niche market on Phuket.

He's something of a mover on the way to becoming a shaker, having spread the Indochine brand liberally around the globe since 1999, starting from a base in Singapore.

On a tour of the Kalim property, probably better known once as Villa Santi, Mr Ma's enthusiasm for food and music shines through.

Workers are still tromping around the four-level ''flying saucer,'' with the swimming pool on the top deck, but with Mr Ma enthusing over how the place will look when it is finished, it's easy to see what a boon it will be for Phuket's dining future and nightlife.

And the saucer, as well as the resort, possesses what he regards as ''the best view in Thailand.''

''In some places you have jungle, in some places you have ocean front, and in some places you have a city view at night,'' he said. ''In this instance, you get all three at once. It's great.''

Relaxing over a meal a little later and a lot higher up the hillside in one of the completed villa units, looking out across a pool towards Patong, it's easy to see how all this enthusiasm can be justified.

It's been about a year since Michael Ma and his sister Sue took on the Phuket project as their biggest investment yet, and even with the Bangkok violence the view is about as optimistic as it gets in Thailand now.

Ironically, in its early days, the property was at the centre of the biggest environmental debate on Phuket. Michael Ma, though, is a big fan of the International Union for Conservation of nature, the world's oldest and largest global environmental network, and the only environmental organisation with a seat at the UN General Assembly.

Looking at the Thailand color scheme, red . . . yellow . . . green . . . perhaps it's time for Phuket to lead the way. With music to soothe the savage breast, the hillside mix at Indochine may turn out to be a pretty good example.