sai sai mao: kau yon phe tang

singer: sai sai mao
album: kau yon phe tang
tracklist:
01. kam moen luk kuun mi
02. theung nam mae haang
03. hak neung hak sawng hak saam
04. puun suup yuuch luu
05. aay jaay nuuw yuu
06. kaw yon phe taang
07. jaay te hak yaw
08. ngeun saam pe mak saaw sa the
09. maw
10. mong hung jaeu
11. yon suu pan suu
12. kaw ne taang
13. hak kan mii taa jaeu
14. hak moen jaay mii phaeu
15. mong
16. kaw hak te mong paeu yuu

this week, songs from shan rock icon sai sai mao! a member of the shan (or tai yai) ethnic group, sai sai mao (จายสายมาว in thai) was born in burma, in mu se on the border with china, and often traveled with his grandfather between northern thailand and taungyi in shan state. at age 15 he picked up the guitar, and 3 years later was performing for shan communities in chiang rai. sai sai mao's broadcasts on radio thailand were eagerly received both locally and across the border in burma, where his songs, such as "likhommai panglong", about burma's unfilfulled promise of shan independence, were banned. sai mao cut most of his albums in bangkok or chiang mai while serving in the shan state army, the rebel faction who funded his recordings. enjoy sai sai mao!

many thanks to alif silpachai for transliteration from shan script!

yui yatyoe: yui pen sao laeo 3

singer: ยุ้ย ญาติเยอะ (yui yatyoe)
album: ยุ้ย เป็นสาวแล้ว 3 (yui pen sao laeo 3)
tracklist:
01. ขึ้นเอ๊า ขึ้นเอา (khuen ao khuen ao)
02. โชคดีที่รู้กัน (chokh di thi ru kan)
03. จดหมายค้างคืน (chot mai khang khuen)
04. สาวนาแดดเดียว (sao na daet dieow)
05. โสดจริงหรือเปล่า (sot ching rue plao)
06. รอวันแต่ง (ro wan taeng)
07. เจ๊าะแจ๊ะจัง (chochae chang)
08. ไม่เชื่อหรอก (mai chuea rok)
09. โทษฉันได้ไง (thot chan dai ngai)
10. ปิดประตูตีแมว (pit pratu ti maeo)

this week some "modern" luk thung... from 1995 (พ.ศ. 2538) to be precise. yui yatyoe had been a performer in the band of phumphuang duangchan since the age of 9, and after phumpuang's death, was looked to by many as the best hope of filling the gap left by her early passing; few singers beside yui could come close to matching phumpuang's range vocally or emotionally, or exude the same coquettish charm. in fact, yui proved such an effective substitute that rumours abounded of her being a secret daughter of phumpuang.. though not many believe that nowadays. her sound is typical of the 90's guitar & keyboard workstation-driven pop luk thung.. some very catchy tunes!

phraiwan lukphet: kham tuean khong phi

singer: ไพรวัลย์ ลูกเพชร (phraiwan lukphet)
album: คำเตือนของพี่ (kham tuean khong phi)
tracklist:
01. คำเตือนของพี่ (kham tuean khong phi)
02. วิวาห์สะอื้น (wiwa sauen)
03. น้อง (nong)
04. เสียงจากไพรวัลย์ (siang chak phraiwan)
05. เปลี่ยวทรวง (plieow suang)
06. เห็นใจน้องแล้ว (hen chai nong laeo)
07. แม่ผักบุ้งบ้านดอน (mae phak bung ban don)
08. แม่สาวน้อย (mae sao noi)
09. คำประนาม (kham pranam)
10. ดาวจำลอง (dao cham long)
11. แม่ชานอ้อย (mae chan oi)
12. แผ่นดินแหลมทอง (phaen din laem thong)
13. ใต้เงาโศก (tai ngao sok)
14. เมีย (mia)
15. ผัว (phua)
sung by สมศรี ม่วงศรเขียว (somsi muangsonkhieow)
16. เขย (khoei)
17. เหลือทน (luea thon)
18. ลั่นทมสะอื้น (lan thom sauen)
19. สระบุรีที่รัก (saraburi thi rak)

today we hear from one of the most beautiful voices in luk thung... that of the esteemed phraiwan lukphet! born in phetchaburi province, phraiwan was sent by his parents at an early age to join a local ลิเก (like) theatre troupe. however, it was the world of popular music which called to him, and he left to join somphong wongrakthai's "bangkok cha cha cha" band. after this group dissolved, phraiwan was entrusted to suraphon sombatcharoen, in whose company he recorded the early hits collected on this cassette. in time he left suraphon's collective to persue a solo venture, and with the aid of songwriter phaibun butkhan, won massive renown. his singing resonated through the film world especially, where he provided themes to many of the biggest motion pictures, two of which (mon rak luk thung and phlae kao) have been featured here. enjoy the bittersweet nostalgia with phraiwan lukphet!

rock khong khoy: sieow woi

band: ร็อคคงคย (rock khong khoy)
album: เสียวโว้ย (sieow woi)
tracklist:
01. เจิ๊ตเอ๋ยเจิ๊ต (choet oei choet)
02. เสียวโว้ย (sieow woi)
03. ร็อกคงคย (rock khong khoy)
04. ตอบร็อกคงคย (top rock khong khoy)
05. ไอ้หนุ่มก่อสร้าง (ai num ko sang)
06. ทานอเนียงนอ (tha no niang no)
07. เขมรอกหัก (khmer ok hak)
08. กลองยาวคงคย (klong yao khong khoy)
09. วอนวัยรุ่น (won wairun)
10. รักมีพิษ (rak mi phit)
11. เขมรพลิกคลวน (khmer phlik khluan)
12. ลำซิ่ง พอกันที (lam sing pho kan thi)

this week something quite different.. kantruem rock from isaan! kantruem (กันตรึม) is the music of the khmer people in the southern edge of thailand's northeast, on the border with cambodia. much like contemporary molam, modern kantruem is characterized by elements of the minority's folksong superimposed upon local thai pop song structure. rock khong khoy from surin were one of the first hit bands of the genre, and i believe still perform, albeit with a rotating roster.. i'm not sure whether this was their debut, but i know it features their original line-up, some of whom have since died. the sound is very rough, synth-violin over drum machine, with rhythmic vocals sung in khmer surin dialect. enjoy!