Thursday, February 17, 2011

luk thung: classic & obscure 78s from the thai countryside




hope everyone will forgive a moment of self-promotion here:
the album that david murray & i (& many others!) have been working on is finally available on dust-to-digital/parlortone records! compiled from dave's incredible collection of 78s, this album features 14 beautifully-restored classic early-60's luk thung recordings from the likes of suraphon sombatcharoen, waiphot phetsuphan, phloen phromdaen, suchat thianthong & many more! none of these songs have ever been available outside of thailand before (and few have even seen re-release domestically!). they represent a critical moment in luk thung's history, when internationally-minded pop stars began looking to local folk sounds for inspiration. as a result, you'll hear wild accordions & latin horn sections mingling with thai hand drums & finger cymbals, while singers wail & swagger about life's simple joys & struggles. the lp is pressed on high-quality vinyl with a 6-page full-color insert filled with history & images. if you're without turntable, the album can also be got on itunes and amazon! i hope everyone will check it out, i can't recommend it highly enough!

order here!

preview:
Phloen Phromdaen – “Ruedu Haeng Khwam Rak (Season of Love)” by dusttodigital

25 comments:

øשlqæda said...

just got me own copy & it slays. congrats

peter said...

thanks so much! needn't mention that it means a lot coming from you!!

gilhodges said...

Fantastic, Peter. Congratulations! Dust-to-Digital doesn't miss a beat, thus it's no surprise you're involved in this project. Can't wait to dive in head first.

peter said...

thanks doug! again, it means alot!

nicholab said...

peter- i simply can't wait to pick this up. good for you, sir!

peter said...

thanks thanks thanks!

Holly said...

Being sadly turntable-less & anti i-store I must wait for amazon ... but I'm really excited!!! Congrats!

peter said...

thanks holly! it shouldn't be long...

Anonymous said...

Congratulations, Peter! Thanks to you and David for preserving and making available a piece of Thailand's musical heritage.

I just got my download from iTunes. The sound quality is superb and the songs are fab. Great job!

BTW, is there any way I can acquire a digital copy of your liner notes?

peter said...

thanks so much, dave!
check your inbox

peter said...

and yeah, jon ward (of excavated shellac) did an incredible job with the transfers!

Anonymous said...

Mastering was by Michael Graves of Osiris Studios....

peter said...

ah thanks, dave... great work done by both those guys!

Ethan said...

Congratulations! Just bought the iTunes version, and I'm loving it. I'd love a gander at those liner notes too, if it's not too much trouble. Here is my proof of purchase. Thanks!

peter said...

hi ethan, thanks so much! send me an email.. you can find my address on the blogger profile

Anonymous said...

Dave, Peter, and Mike Graves did an excellent job. And the design rocks.

Á Go-Gojira said...

This looks absolutely fantastic!!! Ordered my copy of the LP today from Honest Jon and looking very much forward to hear this comp. Actually I've been hoping for something just like this, a comp not focusing so much on the "western" rock/pop influenced Thai music. If it's not too much work I'd love to get my hands on the tracklist (artists & song titles) in Thai script.

peter said...

thanks so much gojira!
that's exactly the idea we had in mind for this project... i'm really glad to hear you're into it!
here's the tracklist in thai:

01. สุรพล สมบัติเจริญ - สวยจริงน้อง
02. ชาญ ชัยนาท - บ้านนาผาสุก
03. อาเนี้ยว ท.ท.ท. - อุทยานดอกเบี้ย
04. น้ำผึ้ง บริบูรณ์ - นาคกำพร้า
05. สุชาติ เทียนทอง - น้ำตกนางลอย
06. ณรงค์ นามชัย - ผ้าห่มหัวใจ
07. เพลิน พรหมแดน - ฤดูแห่งความรัก
08. ไวพจน์ เพชรสุพรรณ - เบิ่งอ้ายซิสาว
09. เตือนใจ ขวัญจิต - เมียทหารผ่านศึก
10. เริงชัย เมืองสมุทร - ตามนกน้อย
11. อนุชา ณ ท่าเรือ - กล่อมขวัญนาง
12. ไวพจน์ เพชรสุพรรณ - ชีวิตรักนักร้อง
13. มิตต์ เมืองแมน - ผู้หญิงร้ายเหมือนไฟ
14. ไวพจน์ เพชรสุพรรณ - ขุดทอง

Á Go-Gojira said...

Thanks! It's been somewhat of a problem with some of the earlier compilations of Thai music, especially the "Thai Beat A Go Go" series and the Sublime Frequencies releases, that they have both badly transliterated names and little or no information about the artists. ZudRangMa at least included the tracklist in Thai script on their comps, and if you're lucky enough to own a microscope you can even read it! ;-)

peter said...

yes i agree!
for this project i used the royal thai general system just as i do here. i think that there is a tracklist in thai on the lp jacket (though it may be only song titles.. there is however, plenty of information on the artists in the liners!) we even gave the project a thai title on the cover (ลูกทุ่ง: แผ่นครั่งสปีด 78 อมตะและลืมเลือนจากบ้านนอกไทย)
i'm excited to hear what you think!

Anonymous said...

You expect us to pay for a bunch of MP3s you ripped from old records and tapes? LOL.

peter said...

i think you misunderstand.. of course i don't expect you or anyone else to pay for anything, and the mp3s that i rip from records and tapes will always be freely available here.

what i'm talking about in this instance is a high-quality vinyl record carefully transferred from dave's collection of 78rpm records by jon ward and remastered by michael graves at osiris studios. my only contribution was doing translation and writing the liner notes. i feel like the guys who put this together created something on a different level than what i do here for free, and i think that a lot of people might consider it worth a purchase.

gilhodges said...

Peter, the work you (and David Murray and Dust-to-Digital, etc.) are doing is unassailable. In light of the unending supply of free treasures being shared here there and everywhere, it is a joy to be able to support a project such as this. May there be many more.

Á Go-Gojira said...

Finally got my copy yesterday and I only have one complaint: the title doesn't end with Volume 1 and a promise of more to follow ;-)

Really, the whole package is truly a work of art. Lovingly compiled great music, awesome cover art, and well-written informative liner notes. In short it's 12 inches of perfection! Thank you Peter, David Murray, and all others involved in this project :-)

peter said...

thanks so much, gojira & doug! i'm really glad that you guys are enjoying the project, it means alot