namphueng mueangsurin: rueam anre

artist: น้ำผึ้ง เมืองสุรินทร์ (namphueng mueangsurin)

album: เรือมอันเร (rueam anre)

tracklist:

01. อันเร (anre)

02. กัจปะกา (katchpaka)

03. จะอังกรอง (cha ang krong)

04. ตำเร็ยยูลได (tamre yuldai)

05. ซันตูจ (santuch)

06. เบริญ (broen)

alexandra was out in surin recently and, of course, brought back a bag full of great old khmer tapes from the city!  while my natural inclination would have been to save this one, really why not just start with the best of the lot?  namphueng mueangsurin is at the head of surin's kantruem traditionalist revival movement, electing to minimize the thai & international influences in her music as compared to the genre's more popular, modern practitioners.  while this is certainly a bold move, namphueng has won a devoted audience for it, and her recordings will almost invariably be found  wherever kantruem music is sold.  the music on this cassette is simply beautiful, a carefully-paced interplay between drum & fiddle supporting namphueng's soulful voice.  it's a real treasure... enjoy!

preview:

dueanphen amnuaiphon: to lom chom thung

this week's post comes courtesy of mr. peter, who numbers among the most prolific concert-goers in thailand (probably #1, among foreigners). he & his wife make it to over 100 luk thung shows a year, and as you might imagine, know quite a bit about the music.

artist: เดือนเพ็ญ อำนวยพร (dueanphen amnuaiphon)

album: โต้ลมชมทุ่ง (to lom chom thung)

tracklist:

01. ไม่อยากจะหวัง (mai yak ja wang)

02. โต้ลมชมทุ่ง (to lom chom thung)

03. เขาคงลืมเราแล้ว (khao khong luem rao laeo)

04. สาวชาวนา (sao chao na)

05. ตั้งอยู่บนความจริง (tang yu bon khwam ching)

06. ลำล่อง ฟ้าสั่งน้อง (lam long fa sang nong)

07. ไม่เคยเกลียดเธอ (mai khoei kliat thoe)

08. คิดถึงรอยยิ้ม (khit thueng roi yim)

09. พอใจหรือยัง (pho chai rue yang)

10. เลยวันสัญญา (loei wan sanya)

11. ทีใครทีมัน (thi khrai thi man)

12. ลำล่อง อกสาวเดือนเพ็ญ (lam long ok sao dueanphen)

our star today is dueanphen amnuaiphon, and despite her currently touring live act (and despite the fact that i've shared a song of her's here before!) i actually know less than i should about her.  what i can tell you for sure is that she is a prime practitioner of the thongchan sound!  along with sathit thongchan, a. pochana & others, she's a representative of achan khamkoeng thongchan's "thongchan promotions" collective based out of roi et in the 80's & 90's.  the thongchan sound is uptempo & danceable molam marked by fairly dense, electronic tracks highlighting the sax & keyboards... just try to not have a good time listening to this one.  thanks, mr. peter!!

preview:

  MRPT152 by monrakplengthai

phra wetsandon chadok

artists: พระอาจารย์ มหาสดใส เตชธโร, พระอาจารย์ มหาสุรัตน์ สุติรโต, พระอาจารย์ มหาทองดา โชติปัญโญ + พระอาจารย์ มหาสมเด็จ สุวณโณ (phra achan mahasotsai techaro, phra achan mahasurat sutinto, phra achan mahathongda chotipanyo & phra achan mahasomdet suwanno)
album: พระเวสสันดรชาดก (phra wetsandon chadok)
tracklist (1) (2) (3):
01. กัณฑ์สักกบรรพ (kan sakkabap)
02. กัณฑ์ฉกษัตริย์ (kan chokasat)
03. กัณฑ์นครกัณฑ์ (kan nakhon kan)

it's thet mahachat season in thailand, and so today i'd like to share this epic boxed-set, featuring a northeastern take on the sermons.  thet mahachat (or "the great birth sermon") is the reading of the vessantara jataka (phra wetsandon chadok in thai), the final and most popular of the tales concerning the buddha's past incarnations.  celebrated throughout southeast asia, the story features prince vessantara & his journeys, wherein he exemplifies the virtues of charity & selflessness.  our monks here orate using thet lae, the unmistakably isan style of sing-sermonizing.  after a brief instrumental flourish, they launch forth with the final 3 of the jataka's 13 chapters (chapter 10 "the words of indra", chapter 12 "the six kshatriya" & chapter 13 "the return to the city" [i assume it also features chapter 11 "the great king", but i don't know the text well enough to identify it]).  these are old tapes and have a good bit of mechanical noise, but if you can get through it, you'll find a great document of a unique & compelling tradition.  it's a 3 hour set, so i've kept with the original tape divisions and put it up in 3 parts.. make sure you get all three, and enjoy!

preview:
  MRPT151 by monrakplengthai