decha nita-in: long singapore

artist: เดชา นิตะอินทร์ (decha nita-in)
album: ล่องสิงค์โปร (long singapore)
tracklist:
01. ล่องสิงค์โปร ตอน 1 (long singapore, pt. 1)
02. ล่องสิงค์โปร ตอน 2 (long singapore, pt. 2)

this week, some classic ubon lam! from the esteemed ratchabut stereo label, we'll be hearing beloved molam decha nita-in. i have several of his cassettes and his name is spelled differently on every one, making the metadata (and research) a bit trickier. i can tell you though that decha, from ubon, was the son of molam teacher chanphen nita-in, and an early partner to banyen rakkaen, placing him in an esteemed lineage. this recording is classic voice and khaen, with a good deal of humorous dialogue between decha and several interlocutors, creating an atmosphere as like to a social drinking session as to a recording session. there's also a subtle metallic chirp going on, and while i prefer to imagine that some nearby cicada singing bled into the recording, more likely it's just some tape defect that i haven't run into before. anyhow, enjoy!

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oichai daen-isan: molam brake taek

artist: อ้อยใจ แดนอีสาน (oichai daen-isan)
album: หมอลำเบรคแตก (molam brake taek)
tracklist:
01. เด็กในโอ (dek nai o)
02. สาววันบ่กล้าเสี่ยง (sao wan bo kla siang)
03. อิสานบ้านเฮา (isan ban hao)
04. ผัวสามสไตล์ (phua sam style)
05. น้ำตาปรี่ที่ญี่ปุ่น (nam ta pri thi yipun)
06. ครูบุญธรรมจำบ่ได้ (khru buntham cham bo dai)
07. สาวดำรำพัน (sao dam ramphan)
08. จีบพี่โก๋ (chip phi ko)
09. แฟนหายใจละห้อย (faen hai chai la hoi)
10. โฉนดหัวใจ (chanot hua chai)
11. มอเตอร์ไซค์ทำแสบ (motorsai tham saep)
12. คิดถึงทุ่งลุยลาย (khit thueng thung lui lai)
13. อยู่ก็เสียใจไปดีกว่า (yu ko sia chai pai di kwa)

this week, the first from our batch of recent acquisitions: we've got oichai daen-isan with a set of non-stop molam-luk thung! oichai is from chaiyaphum, the daughter of very poor itinerant peddlers, and had little formal schooling. her love of singing, however, brought her family advantage; as they traveled from town to town selling charcoal, oichai would sing songs to attract customers. after her father's death, she struck off on her own and lived a turbulent young life, sneaking to bangkok with a singing group who cast her out, cutting her hair short to avoid harassment in the slums, further disguising herself as a boy to live on temple grounds, and generally hustling to get by in the city as a dishwasher, street vendor, and finally nightclub singer. at last she met narong rotcharoen, president of topline diamond. although she considered herself a luk thung singer, the label saw potential for her in the modern molam scene, and particularly their brake taek or "brake failure" style, marked by continuous medley-type sets. achan num phuthai was brought in to lead the band, and the album was a best-seller. according to oichai, though, so many people were involved in the recording that no one made much money off it individually, and her follow-ups failed to repeat its success. she lost interest in a musical career as a main income, and went back to food service¹. today, you can find her selling yam naem (crispy rice salad) from a street stall in the bangkok suburbs, although she still performs occasionally as a singer. enjoy!

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khana samakkhi siang tham: thet lae prayuk rueang "phu hak kin nang, phu sang kin kraduk"

artist(s): คณะ สามัคคีเสียงธรรม (khana samakkhi siang tham)
album: เทศน์แหล่ประยุกต์ เรื่อง ผู้ฮักกินหนัง ผู้ซังกินกระดูก (thet lae prayuk rueang "phu hak kin nang, phu sang kin kraduk")
tracklist:
01. ผู้ฮักกินหนัง ผู้ซังกินกระดูก ม้วน 1 ตอน 1 (phu hak kin nang, phu sang kin kraduk, vol. 1, pt. 1)
02. ผู้ฮักกินหนัง ผู้ซังกินกระดูก ม้วน 1 ตอน 2 (phu hak kin nang, phu sang kin kraduk, vol. 1, pt. 2)
03. ผู้ฮักกินหนัง ผู้ซังกินกระดูก ม้วน 2 ตอน 1 (phu hak kin nang, phu sang kin kraduk, vol. 2, pt. 1)
04. ผู้ฮักกินหนัง ผู้ซังกินกระดูก ม้วน 2 ตอน 2 (phu hak kin nang, phu sang kin kraduk, vol. 2, pt. 2)

last month i was lucky enough to attend the annual candle festival in ubon ratchathani, a spectacular event based around the parading of huge, elaborately decorated candles which takes place at the beginning of buddhist lent (and is depicted on this cassette's cover art). while i got a handful of excellent tapes while i was there, this one was actually a gift of a year or two back from my friend alexandra, who picked it up at the amazing ratchabut stereo in ubon (a site i was also lucky enough to revisit!). the recording (spanning a 2-tape set) is of thet lae isan, a melodic and expressive form of sermonizing that is composed in klon (the same poetic form used by molam). the group samakkhi siang tham is made up of phra khru thongsuk satchawaro, ketkaeo sangwuttho and bunma warathammo, and the content is based on a famous local folktale. i'm not sure whether or not it bears any specific connection to the candle festival, so if you know please comment.. in the meantime, enjoy!

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