khana arab bombay: nasib prayuk

artist: คณะ อรับบอมเบย์ (khana arab bombay)

album: นาเสปประยุกต์ (nasib prayuk)

tracklist:

01. นาเสปประยุกต์ ตอน 1 (nasib prayuk, pt. 1)

02. นาเสปประยุกต์ ตอน 2 (nasib prayuk, pt. 2)

this week, another installment of fantastic thai-muslim music!  this cassette features a prayuk or "applied" version of the malay nasib.  for a description of that genre, let me defer to jon ward, of the inimitable excavated shellac: "nasib, or "song of fate" ... is an aching, slow lament; a deeply melancholic popular song type which is built around the singer’s misfortune in life ... the origins of the nasib derive ... from indonesian/malaysian stambul theater music ... where theatrical groups would perform musical dramas, many with stories which had origins in india or the middle east ... nasib is sung by a singer who is in fact playing – or at the very least channeling – a character or situation from these classical stories, rather than singing [t]he[i]r own blues."  here the characters of nasib take one step further in their journey!  in it's prayuk form, thai nasib seems to stress group participation, with a solo singer & chorus trading call & response, as well as greater variations in tempo.. whether these are local innovations or a return towards the genre's theatrical routes, i couldn't tell you.  i also wish i could say more about our performers, khana arab bombay, but i can't find anything.  any further information would be greatly appreciated... until then, enjoy!

sobah wongmasoh & kue baby

artist: ซอบะห์ วงษ์มะเซาะ + กื้อ เบบี้ (sobah wongmasoh & kue baby)
album: รวมเพลงภาพยนตร์อินเดีย 3 (ruam phleng phapphayon india 3)
tracklist:
01. bobby (บ๊อบบี้)
02. zindakyja (ซันดากียา)
03. khudakawa (ฮูดาคาวา)
04. pholo kata (ปูโล คาตา)
05. yadoky (ยาดูกี้)
06. tumbill (ตุมบิล)
07. yatumha (ยาตุมฮา)
08. jallte (ยัลเด)
09. rona (โรนา)
10. amere betee (อเมรี บีตี)
11. rimkim che (ริมคิม ซี)
12. jalterajal (ยัลเตราจัน)

as a lucky follow-up to last week's indian-derived material, today we have bollywood sounds of a different stripe.  just the other day, i came across a great arab-malay tape shop in bangkok.  among their collection was this cassette featuring sobah and kue, past members of bangkok's own baby arabia (recently the subject of a fantastic documentary), doing takes on classic filmi tunes.  unfortunately, i don't know a great deal about contemporary thai-muslim music, but i would guess that these melodies reached thailand's islamic community by way of malaysia/indonesia, where they had played a major role in the development of that region's famous dangdut genre.  to my ears, this tape bears definite dangdut influence... i know some readers here are much more knowledgeable about this scene than i, so if you know anything further, please contribute!

phleng thai tham nong india

artist: various

album: เพลงไทยทำนองอินเดีย (phleng thai tham nong india)

tracklist:

01. หนี้กรรม (ni kham)

sung by สุมิตร สัจจเทพ + ยุพิณ แพรทอง (sumit satchathep & yuphin phraethong)

02. ขอทานรัก (kho than rak)

sung by สุมิตร สัจจเทพ (sumit satchathep)

03. รักเธอเสมอ (rak thoe samoe)

sung by สุมิตร สัจจเทพ + ยุพิณ แพรทอง (sumit satchathep & yuphin phraethong)

04. อย่าหลอกฉันนะ (ya lok chan na)

sung by สุมิตร สัจจเทพ + ยุพิณ แพรทอง (sumit satchathep & yuphin phraethong)

05. ช้ำเพราะจน (cham phro chon)

sung by สุมิตร สัจจเทพ (sumit satchathep)

06. คนใจร้าย (khon chai rai)

sung by เพชร โพธาราม (phet photharam)

07. อานุภาพรัก (anuphap rak)

sung by ยุพิณ แพรทอง (yuphin phraethong)

08. มนต์เสียงเพลง (mon siang phleng)

sung by ชาตรี ศรีชล + ยุพิณ แพรทอง (chatri sichon & yuphin phraethong)

09. โฉมนาง (chom nang)

sung by ชาตรี ศรีชล (chatri sichon)

10. อย่ามาหลอกฉัน (ya ma lok chan)

sung by ยุพิณ แพรทอง (yuphin phraethong)

11. ธรณีชีวิต (thorani chiwit)

sung by ชาตรี ศรีชล + ยุพิณ แพรทอง (chatri sichon & yuphin phraethong)

12. มารักกันเถอะ (ma rak kan the)

sung by ชาตรี ศรีชล (chatri sichon)

13. สวรรค์บนดิน (sawan bon din)

sung by ยุพิณ แพรทอง (yuphin phraethong)

14. วอนลมฝากรัก (won lom fak rak)

sung by บุปผา สายชล (buppha saichon)

15. รอยรักรอยมลทิน (roi rak roi monthin)

sung by ไพรวัลย์ ลูกเพชร (phraiwan lukphet)

here it is!  the first major find since returning to bangkok: a greatest hits of thai songs featuring indian rhythms!  although tracks 7 to 14 have been featured on this blog already, this collection is full of great new tunes from phraiwan lukphet, phet photaram and the star of the show, sumit satchathep!  sumit was born to a family of indian silk merchants in bangkok's bang rak district.  although his upbringing instilled in him an appreciation for the music of his mother country, his surroundings influenced him as well, and at the height of the brief 70's luk thung-bollywood craze, the scene found its first bilingual voice.  teaming with chatri sichon's former partner yuphin phraethong, sumit had a run of duet & solo hits in the late 70's.  the first track here, written by surin phaksiri, was his biggest single... most versions today have clipped the flute intro because a skip in the master recording, but i decided to leave it in.  hope you enjoy!