takako nishizaki & bruce gaston: daowadueng = indra's paradise

artist(s): takako nishizaki & bruce gaston
album: ดาวดึงส์ (daowadueng) = indra's paradise
tracklist:
01. เทพทอง (thep thong) = golden angel
02. ลาวเสี่ยงเทียน (lao siang thian) = oracle of light
03. ดาวดึงส์ (daowadueng) = indra's paradise
- (เหาะ) (hoe) = sacred flying song
- รัว (rua) = miraculous tremolo
- ตะเคิง = takhoeng
- แขกเจ้าเซ็น (khaek chao sen) = dance of the shiite muslims
04. ลาวกระแต (lao kratae) = laotian chipmunk
05. เขมรไทรโยค (khmer sai yok) = tales from the waterfall of saiyok
06. เขมรพายเรือ (khmer phai ruea) = cambodian rowing song
07. ฟ้อนเงี้ยว (fon ngiao) = hill-tribe dance

this past weekend, the thai music scene lost three beloved artists; molam phonsak songsaeng, string star ot khiribun, and classical fusion musician bruce gaston. the bangkok-based american composer/multi-intrumentalist gaston was a chula professor, co-founder with bunyong ketkhong of the ensemble fong naam, and active in the thai film industry as a composer of incidental music. he passed away sunday, october 17th at the age of 74. today's 1987 cassette finds him paired with violinist takako nishizaki, accompanying her primarily on piano but also with a range of both electronic and thai classical instruments. for more information, refer to the fairly extensive english-language liner notes which are included with the download. enjoy!

yotrak salakchai: ao nae

artist: ยอดรัก สลักใจ (yotrak salakchai)
album: เอาแน่ (ao nae)
tracklist:
01. เอาแน่ (ao nae)
02. ช้ำดวงใจ (cham duang chai)
03. เกี๊ยะลอยน้ำ (kia loi nam)
04. ยอดรักเมา (yotrak mao)
05. รักซิ่ง (rak sing)
06. ไม่เหมียนเดิม (mai mian doem)
07. จากเธอด้วยดวงใจ (chak thoe duai duang chai)
08. เมาตาสาย (mao ta sai)
09. วันครึ้มใจ (wan khruem chai)
10. คืนส่งตัว (khuen song tua)

this week, another great cassette from the late police corporal yotrak salakchai! yotrak was from phichit in northern thailand, the youngest of 8 kids. after losing his father at age 7, he and his siblings started singing ramwong music in local bars to help support themselves and their mother, earning enough to finance their schooling. after high school, yotrak himself moved down to nakhon sawan for a steady gig at a restaurant, where he started in with luk thung style (particularly the songs of phraiwan lukphet) and was picked up by a local radio dj, who passed him onto impresario chonlathi thanthong. under chonlathi, he came to be one of the biggest names in luk thung, from the late 70s until his untimely passing in 2008. this 1986 cassette on phanom nopphon's label (nopphon promotion and pictures, later nopphon silver gold co., ltd.) finds yotrak in hi-nrg disco mode, with songwriting from suchat thiangthong and arrangements by chittakon buaniam. i thought the cover photo may have been a still from one of yotrak's many film appearances, but it's actually from a music video shot to promote the album.. enjoy!