the impossibles: raroeng chon

this week's post comes courtesy of radio personality & record-collector extraordinaire jesse kaminsky. you can hear his weekly fm broadcast the intercontinental on wmbr cambridge, wherein he plays music from just about anywhere you could think of.

band: ดิอิมพอสซิเบิ้ล (the impossibles)
album: ระเริงชล (raroeng chon)
tracklist:
01. ระเริงชล (raroeng chon)
02. จูบฟ้าลาดิน (chup fa la din)
03. มิสเตอร์สโลว์ (mister slow)
04. สาริกาหาคู่ (sarika ha khu)

the impossibles were the biggest of thailand's western-style pop ('string') groups throughout the "import-substitution" craze of the 1970's. this 45 rpm e.p. collects the band's songs from the 1971 (พ.ศ. 2514) film of the same name, starring sombat methani, phetchara chaowarat and sangthong sisai. the songs run the gamut from smooth, harmonic ballads & wah-funk to a noisy drum-driven finale, featuring friends from the film! lots of fun to be had, in spite of the short runtime.

chaichana bunnachot: nam ta luk khoei

singer: ชัยชนะ บุญนะโชติ (chaichana bunnachot)
album: น้ำตาลูกเขย (nam ta luk khoei)
tracklist:
01. น้ำตาลูกเขย (nam ta luk khoei)
02. คนไส้แห้ง (khon sai haeng)
03. รักสาวบ้านนา (rak sao ban na)
04. ยืมเงินแต่งงาน (yuem ngoen taeng ngan)
05. พี่ไปเพื่อชาติ (phi pai phuea chat)
06. เสน่ห์สาวภูธร (sane sao phuthon)
07. น้ำตาพ่อตก (nam ta pho tok)
08. หัวอกช่างตัดผม (hua ok chang tat phom)
09. คนดีที่โลกต้องการ (khon di thi lok tong kan)
10. กรรมกรแท๊กซี่ (kamkon taxi)
11. ไม่ไปแล้วกรุงเทพ (mai pai laeo krung thep)
12. ปีใหม่แล้วแก้วตา (pi mai laeo kaew ta)
13. ผมแล้งใจ (phom laeng chai)
sung by ยงยุทธ เชี่ยวชาญชัย (yongyuth chiaochanchai)
14. เพลินเมืองเหนือ (phloen mueang nuea)
sung by ยงยุทธ เชี่ยวชาญชัย (yongyuth chiaochanchai)
15. อย่ามีคู่เลย (ya mi khu loei)
sung by ยงยุทธ เชี่ยวชาญชัย (yongyuth chiaochanchai)
16. เจ็บใจจริง (chep chai ching)
sung by ยงยุทธ เชี่ยวชาญชัย (yongyuth chiaochanchai)

chaichana bunnachot was one of the earliest practitioners of luk thung and has remained a favorite throughout the years as both a singer and songwriter; he now holds the prestigious title of ศิลปินแห่งชาติ (silapin haeng chat) or "national artist". chaichana grew up in chachoengsao province, working on a mango plantation, admiring his uncle's ลิเก (like) troupe, and learning to sing all manner of folksong. eventually, he & his brother left for bangkok, where they sang at bus terminals throughout the city and earned some renown as street performers. chaichana soon turned his talents towards the new style being pioneered by khamron sambunnanon, which would come to be known as luk thung. soon he came to the attention of songwriter and bandleader พยงค์ มุกดา (phayong mukda), who would pen his early hits. chaichana would go on to become one of the most influential luk thung singers, and was a mentor to many of the biggest stars to follow him! please enjoy these wonderful tunes!

moderndog: soem sukhaphap

band: โมเดิร์นด็อก (moderndog)
album: เสริมสุขภาพ (soem sukhaphap)
tracklist:
01. บุษบา (butsaba)
02. กะลา (kala)
03. ...ก่อน (...kon)
04. มานี (mani)
05. พรุ่งนี้ (phrungni)
06. เธอ (thoe)
07. ชีวิต (chiwit)
08. ทุเรียน (durian)
09. บางสิ่ง (bang sing)
10. หมดเวลา (mot wela) [demo]

moderndog were real pioneers in thailand's independent rock scene. this cassette, their 1994 (พ.ศ. 2537) debut, was likewise the inaugural release of historic thai indie label bakery music. they would go on to be the biggest act in thailand at various points, and likely most modern thai bands would acknowledge a debt of gratitude to them. their sound bears influence from contemporaneous western "alternative rock" bands, groups such as faith no more, radiohead or bad brains, and they boast an impressive range of dynamic and song style. many might recognize them from wisit sasanatieng's film หมานคร (ma nakhon) or "citizen dog", which featured heavily (and in numerous iterations) their hit "...ก่อน" (track 3 on this album). enjoy the sounds of moderndog!

khwanchai phetroiet: chot mai pen man

singer: ขวัญชัย เพชรร้อยเอ็ด (khwanchai phetroiet)
album: จดหมายเป็นหมัน (chot mai pen man)
tracklist:
01. จดหมายเป็นหมัน (chot mai pen man)
02. จดหมายไม่เป็นหมัน (chot mai mai pen man)
sung by ขวัญอ่อน ตลาดสด (khwanon talatsot)
03. ลาก่อนเมืองใต้ (la kon mueang tai)
04. คอยพี่กลับเมืองใต้ (khoi phi klap mueang tai)
sung by เดือนเพ็ญ อำนวยพร (dueanphen amnuayphon)
05. คนร้อยเอ็ด (khon roi et)
06. แดดร่มลมตก (daet rom lom tok)
07. เกิดมาจน (koet ma chon)
08. ไกลบ้าน (klai ban)
09. ไกลน้อง (klai nong)
sung by ขวัญอ่อน ตลาดสด (khwanon talatsot)
10. รักอันตราย (rak antrai)
11. โอ้แม่ปิง (oh, mae ping)
12. ไผ่บ้าตะวัน (phai ba tawan)
13. เมามายา (mao ma ya)
14. ไม่จริงขอจาก (mai ching kho chak)

this week we hear from khwanchai phetroiet, a poor lad from thailand's isaan region. he got his start singing with the band of molam ฉวีวรรณ ดำเนิน (chawiwan damnoen), but found fame in the luk thung arena of the mid-70s. after a couple hits, he suffered a bad injury while out on tour, and took to drinking heavily. though he made a slight comeback in the 80s as a member of superstar phumphuang duangchan's band, his health was poor and he died shortly after. perhaps befitting his biography, khwanchai was great at soft slow laments, and often drew influence from isaan local music. i'm also intrigued by the use of sound-effects here; the 2 lead singles are dominated by slighltly bizarre synthesizer replications of birdcalls & car horns. be sure to check out angela sawyer's guest post at radiodiffusion, more sound-effect laden luk thung courtesy of สุริยา ฟ้าปทุม (suriya fapathum), who happens to be a northeastern balladeer just like khwanchai! were sound-effect singles an isaan "thing" in the 70s?