sai sai mao: ahmadaya shan tei su mya

artist: sai sai mao
album: ahmadaya shan tei su mya, vol. 2
tracklist:
01. yuen mok ha pa pi le
02. pong nong mi kay
03. khaaw jaam khay han
04. te hak naang ko
05. mo hum
06. taang hak naue pan
07. pen loy waasanaa
08. hue kwaang lot meng pueng
09. unknown title
10. instrumental
11. nong khay yu laue
12. loe se maak ho tsaue
13. pi naang me haang
14. kwaam hak naue tsaue
15. en aan kaang tsaue
16. kop mi wot sang
17. am soe lay moe pong yaan
18. unknown title
19. instrumental
20. instrumental

this week we have another fantastic album from shan rock icon sai sai mao! a member of the shan (or tai yai) ethnic group, sai sai mao was born in burma, in the chinese border town of mu se, 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 early albums in chiang mai or bangkok while serving in the shan state army, the rebel faction who funded his recordings. an estimated 75% of popular music in burma consists of "copy songs" (foreign songs rewritten in local languages), and sai mao is no exception. his songs are quite reliant on chinese melodies, though i feel that he imbues them with a nostalgic sentiment and unpolished urgency very much apart from the originals. hope you enjoy!

many thanks to alif silpachai for help with shan script!

thongcharoen dalao + bunchuang denduang: khui khueang rueang sa u

artist: ทองเจริญ ดาเหลา + บุญช่วง เด่นดวง (thongcharoen dalao + bunchuang denduang)
album: คุยเขื่องเรื่องซาอุฯ (khui khueang rueang sa u)
tracklist:
01. คุยเขื่องเรื่องซาอุฯ (khui khueang rueang sa u)
02. ลูกจ้างเมีย (luk chang mia)
03. พ่อบักเติ่งคนดี (pho bak toeng khon di)
04. ซาอุดิฯขุมทอง (saudi khumthong)
05. อย่าห่วงพ่อบักเติ่ง (ya huang pho bak toeng)
06. ได้เต่าเสียหมา (dai tao sia ma)
07. อย่าลืมเมียซาอุฯ (ya luem mia sa u)
08. เสียงสะอื้นจากหนุ่มซาอุฯ (siang sauen chak num sa u)
09. พ่อพระในดวงใจ (pho phra nai duang chai)
10. สั่งแม่บักเติ่งไปซาอุฯ (sang mae bak toeng pai sa u)
11. เสียงสั่งจากเมียซาอุฯ (siang sang chak mia sa u)
12. ตามหาคุณนายตีนเปิ่ม (tam ha khun nai tin poem)
13. สีโต่นเซียงเลิ่มซาอุฯ (si ton siang loem sa u)

lately i've been interested in the whole saudi arabia-isaan connection, especially as evidenced through the music of the period.. we've heard it in modern, electronic molam luk thung with phimpha phonsiri, then in a more acoustic, ensemble-oriented setting with the phetphalanchai sisters, and now we'll end with thongcharoen & bunchuang, two staunch traditionalists! backed only by the sound of khaen, these 2 expert singers from udon thani spin rhythmic tales of thailand's middle-eastward migrants (and their loved ones left behind). i don't know a great deal about the singers themselves, but they are much beloved in isaan, and i imagine that thongcharoen dalao is of some relation to khen dalao, national artist and molam of the first degree. these classic, minimal molam mokhaen arrangements are always a delight for me... hope you feel the same!!

sam phalang sao: won chao pho phalan chai

artist: สามพลังสาว (sam phalang sao)
album: ลำเพลินวอนเจ้าพ่อพลาญชัย (lam phloen won chao pho phalan chai)
tracklist:
01. วอนเจ้าพ่อพลาญชัย (won chao pho phalan chai)
sung by พิมพ์ใจ เพชรพลาญชัย (phimchai phetphalanchai)
02. บ้าคนละอย่าง (ba khon la yang)
sung by พิมพ์ใจ เพชรพลาญชัย (phimchai phetphalanchai)
03. รักข้ามโขง (rak kham khong)
sung by พิมพ์ใจ เพชรพลาญชัย (phimchai phetphalanchai)
04. ตื่นเถิดชาวไทย (tuen thoet chao thai)
sung by พิมพ์ใจ เพชรพลาญชัย (phimchai phetphalanchai)
05. จดหมายก้านสุดท้าย (chot mai kan sut thai)
sung by พิมพ์ใจ เพชรพลาญชัย (phimchai phetphalanchai)
06. เป็นเพียงความฝัน (pen phiang khwam fan)
sung by พิมพ์ใจ เพชรพลาญชัย (phimchai phetphalanchai)
07. เหมือนคนมีเวร (muean khon mi wen)
sung by พวงประกา เพชรพลาญชัย (phuangpraka phetphalanchai)
08. เบื่อการรอคอย (buea kanro koi)
sung by แจ่มนภา เพชรพลาญชัย (chaemnapha phetphalanchai)
09. คนที่โลกลืม (khon thi lok luem)
sung by วิชัยน้อย (wichainoi)
10. ห่วงหนุ่มซาอุดิฯ (huang num ''saudi'')
sung by พวงประกา เพชรพลาญชัย (phuangpraka phetphalanchai)
11. น้ำลงส่งรัก (nam long song rak)
sung by พวงประกา เพชรพลาญชัย (phuangpraka phetphalanchai)
12. หน้าหนาวผู้บ่าวบ่ออาบน้ำ (na nao phu bao bo apnam)
sung by แจ่มนภา เพชรพลาญชัย (chaemnapha phetphalanchai)

last week we had some "modernized" molam sounds, this week maybe a bit less so.. here's a fantastic tape from sam phalang sao ("3 tough girls"), phimchai phetphalanchai & her sisters. all i know about these three is that they hail from roi et in thailand's northeast, and i think phimpchai was more sucessful as a solo artist & in duet with thepphon phetubon.. i have never heard of phuangpraka or chaemnapha besides this tape. in addition to the great vocal work from the sisters, these songs are packed full of isaan sounds; lots of khaen, plenty of so fiddle, some great phin & full band grooves and even the exceedingly rare phin hai, a set of jars with rubber bands stretched across the mouths, which produce a low, rhythmic sliding pitch.. plus some weird futuristic synth sounds for good measure! interestingly enough, the saudi arabia theme crops up here too.. cool to see how these 2 streams of molam (this week's & last's) could be basically contemporaneous.. enjoy!

phimpha phonsiri: nam ta mia sa u

artist: พิมพา พรศิริ (phimpha phonsiri)
album: น้ำตาเมียซาอุฯ (nam ta mia sa u)
tracklist:
01. น้ำตาเมียซาอุฯ (nam ta mia sa u)
02. สาวหมอลำจำได้ (sao molam cham dai)
03. หลบหน้าที่มาเลย์ (lop nathi malay)
04. ทนหนาวไม่ไหว (thon nao mai wai)
05. รักสิบล้อ (rak sip lo)
06. รักคนขับรถ (rak khon khap rot)
07. ตามหาสามี (tam ha sami)
08. คนรักที่ฉันรอ (khon rak thi chan ro)
09. อกหักเพราะรักครู (ok hak phro rak khru)
10. พูดแทงใจดำ (phut thaeng chai dam)
11. บ่ลืมถิ่น (bo luem thin)
12. รอวาสนา (ro watsana)
13. กลัวตกอีแต๋น (klua tok itaen)
14. ทิดหวังนั่งเศร้า (thit wang nang sao)
15. น้องแดงแกล้งหยอก (nong daeng klaeng yok)
16. สงสารช่างซ่อม (songsan chang som)

this week, we've got some great "modern" isaan sounds from phimpha phonsiri! phimpha, from chaiyaphum, was one of the earliest stars to mix luk thung & molam sounds, in a style which dominates thailand's country music scene today. with capable songwriter soraphet phinyo at the helm, she delivers a great collection of luk thung isaan, with a rock band backing and even would-be indian & arabic flourishes, owing to the album's lyrical content... phimpha is chronicling the trials of a wife whose husband has left to work in "sa u", the thai nickname for saudi arabia, which drew a steady stream of migrants from thailand in the 80's, before it was cut short by the blue diamond affair. enjoy!

thanin intharathep: pan din hai pen dao

artist: ธานินทร์ อินทรเทพ (thanin intharathep)
album: ปั้นดินให้เป็นดาว (pan din hai pen dao)
tracklist:
01. ปั้นดินให้เป็นดาว (pan din hai pen dao)
02. คำพรจากคนจน (kham phon chak khon chon)
03. แต่วันนี้ไม่มีอีกแล้ว (tae wan ni mai mi ik laeo)
04. คิดถึงทุกลมหายใจ (khit thueng thuk lom haichai)
05. จอมนางบนกลางใจ (chom nang bon klang chai)
06. พรวันเกิด (phon wan koet)
07. เพ็ญโสภา (phen sopha)
08. ผมไปไม่พ้น (phom pai mai phon)
09. ขังด้วยรัก (khang duai rak)
10. บริจาครัก (borichak rak)
11. จับกระแต (chap kratae)
12. คนหนังสือพิมพ์ (khon nang sue phim)
13. เหมือนไม่เคย (muean mai khoei)
14. คนจะรักกัน (khon cha rak kan)
15. ชั่วนิจนิรันดร (chua nit nirandon)
16. เนวีบลู (navy blue)
17. นกขมิ้น ตอน 1 (nok khamin, pt. 1)
18. นกขมิ้น ตอน 2 (nok khamin, pt. 2)

just got back from a trip up north, with a downright glut of tapes in tow. i'll be getting to these soon, but as i often like to punctuate a return to bangkok with some old local music, this week let's enjoy the smooth sounds of thanin intharathep! thanin is from samut sakhon, just outside of bangkok, and was a champion of local singing contests before being discovered by thai music legend payong mukda. payong got thanin in with suthep wongkhamhaeng's "suthep show", and from there out his celebrity was sealed. often billed as thailand's frank sinatra, thanin brought a young, attractive face to the slow, romantic, jazz-tinged ballads of luk krung, and is still a favorite among old bangkokians. hope you enjoy!

and a special dedication (albeit belated) to alexandra!! สุขสันต์วันเกิด!!

khana mai sak: kham mueang disco

artist: คณะ ไม้สัก (khana mai sak)
album: คำเมืองดิสโก้ (kham mueang disco)
tracklist:
01. อุ๊ยคำ (ui kham)
02. สาวมอร์เตอร์ไซค์ (sao motorcy)
03. หยุบมือกำ (yup mue kam)
04. คนสึ่งตึง (khon sueng tueng)
05. แก๋งเนื้อ (gaeng nuea)
06. ผักกาดจอ (phak kat cho)
07. บ่เกย (bo koei)
08. ฮักอ้ายซักคน (hak ai sak khon)
09. เมาตายห่า (mao tai ha)

about to head up north for a bit, so i thought it'd be fun to share some old northern tunes! khana mai sak is the band of kitcha manophet, brother of jaran manophet, the biggest name in lanna pop music and progenitor of the "folksong kham mueang" movement. while jaran's music displayed an acoustic american-style folk-rock sensibility, kitcha & his band were more interested in the bangkok "string" sound, derived from international disco & funk music. it's interesting to hear jaran's minimal, nostalgic ballads transposed to such a groove-oriented setting, replete with effects-laden electric guitar solos and some ghostly synth sounds. the second side of the tape features the same backing tracks, but with a chorus of kids [คณะ นกแล (khana nok lae)] taking over the vocal responsibilities (you can find that one in a separate file here). hope you enjoy!!