khana so sai thara chiang mai: dontri so

artist: คณะ ซอสายธารา เชียงใหม่ (khana so sai thara chiang mai)
album: บรรเลงพื้นเมืองของชาวลานนา ชุด ดนตรีซอ (dontri so, banleng phuen mueang khong chao lanna)
tracklist:
01. ทำนองปั่นฝ้าย (thamnong pan fai)
02. ทำนองล่องน่าน (thamnong long nan)
03. ทำนองเพลงอื่อ (thamnong phleng ue)
04. ทำนองพระลอ (thamnong phra lo)
05. แหย่งลานนา (yaeng lanna)
06. ทำนองตั้งเชียงใหม่ (thamnong tang chiang mai)
07. ทำนองเชียงแสนเงี้ยว (thamnong chiang saen ngiao)
08. ทำนองพม่า (thamnong phama)
09. จ้อย (choi)

this cassette was a generous gift from our pal sam of the (now sadly defunct) archive of southeast asian music.

today, our second from the sai thara ensemble of chiang mai! as with the previous entry, they're playing a music called so, but while the last album featured just the namesake fiddle along with sueng (plucked, fretted lute) and a team of pi (free-reed bamboo pipes), here they're joined by some drums and cymbals, plus what sounds to be a khlui flute and perhaps even a strummed acoustic guitar? recently, this group showed up in korean magpie tapes' mix for discostan on nts radio and there they're the "khana sai thara combo", boasting a mostly electronic line-up and backing male and female vocalists, so clearly they've employed a wide range of configurations throughout their recording career. enjoy!

khana sai thara chiang mai: pi so

artist(s): คณะ สายธาราเชียงใหม่ (khana sai thara chiang mai)
album: ปี่ซอ ดนตรีพื้นเมืองเชียงใหม่ (pi so, dontri phuen mueang chiang mai)
tracklist:
01. ตั้งเจียงใหม่ ; จะปุ ; ละม้าย (tang chiang mai ; cha pu ; la mai)
02. เงี้ยว (ngiao)
03. พม่า (phama)
04. อื่อ (uea)

this week's cassette is part of a generous bequest gifted to us by educator cliff sloane, a former professor of ethnomusicology and founder of asianclassicalmp3.org, a major influence behind this blog.

this week, fantastic music from northern thailand! the sai thara ensemble of chiang mai play a music called so, which though originally named for the lead fiddle, has become metonymic for the vocal style which it most frequently accompanies. there are no vocals on this particular album, though, because as the cover states, this "minus-one"-style recording is entitled for your practice in the so vocal art! along with the namesake fiddle, our ensemble also features sueng (plucked, fretted lute) and a team of pi (free-reed bamboo pipes). enjoy!