narathip kanchanawat: tra wai nai duang chai

artist: นราธิป กาญจนวัฒน์ (narathip kanchanawat)
album: ตราไว้ในดวงใจ (tra wai nai duang chai)
tracklist:
01. หัวใจเจ้าชู้ (hua chai chao chu)
02. กลับจากกลอนดอน (klap chak london)
03. ตราไว้ในดวงใจ (tra wai nai duang chai)
04. ขวัญใจ (khwan chai)
05. เฉือนใจ (chuean chai)
06. รักสุดสายรุ้ง (rak sut sai rung)
07. เธอ (thoe)
08. ปรารถนาแห่งหัวใจ (pratthana haeng hua chai)
09. เข็ดรัก (khet rak)
10. คืนเหงา (khuen ngao)
11. ขาดรัก (khat rak)
12. กำแพงรัก (kamphaeng rak)

last time we heard from bangkok soft-rockers chatri.. this week, we'll hear lead singer narathip striking off on his own! i believe this is his debut solo album, released 1985 (the same year as the break-up of chatri). shedding his previous group, he is joined by the already-successful pink panther band, led by wichai punyayan (formerly of silversand). the songwriting is handled by narathip and his wife butsaba kanchanawat (the liners contain an apologetic note about an illness that prevented her from sharing vocal duties on the album, as well). the accompaniment is a bit more electronic than the final chatri album, and pointed towards the increasingly synth-pop angle that narathip's solo career would take. enjoy! 

chatri: rak mai pen

artist: ชาตรี (chatri)
album: รักไม่เป็น (rak mai pen)
tracklist:
01. ภาษาเงิน (phasa ngoen)
02. แสนเสียดาย (saen siang dai)
03. รักไม่เป็น (rak mai pen)
04. จากชายแดน (chak chai den)
05. รักซ้อนรัก (rak son rak)
06. ใคร (khrai)
07. เที่ยวอีสาน (thiao isan)
08. ความหวังใหม่ (khwam wang mai)
09. ฉันรักตะวัน (chan rak tawan)
10. อ้อนรัก (on rak)
11. คู่ใจ (khu chai)
12. หากจะรัก (hak cha rak)
 

this week, bangkok soft-rockers non-pareil, chatri! chatri was founded in 1969 as a folk revival group by 3 students of photography at bangkok technical college: narathip kanchanawat (daeng), prathueang udomkitchanuphap (mao), and khathawut sathantraiphop (pom). initially all played acoustic guitar, though they later added drummer anuson khamkesom (pui), and expanded their instrumental roles, with mao and pom taking on bass and keyboard duties, respectively. they recorded their first album in 1975 and were leaders of the a.o.r. format in thailand until their break-up in 1985. today's cassette features their 11th record, released in 1982 with emi records. in spite of the especially sunny cover art, this outing actually finds them exploring a slightly heavier sound in places, with guitar distortion and fuzz bass joining alongside their typically chirpy leads and smooth harmonies.. enjoy!

 

sairung wimanthong: sao noi khoi khu

artist: สายรุ่ง วิมานทอง (sairung wimanthong)
album: สาวน้อยคอยคู่ (sao noi khoi khu)
tracklist:
01. สาวน้อยคอยคู่ (sao noi khoi khu)
02. รอรับแรงใจ (ro rap raeng chai)
03. จากใจสายรุ่ง (chak chai sairung)
04. เตือนใจวัยรุ่น (tuean chai wai run)
05. ตำราป๊นตุ๊กข์ (tamra pon tuk)
06. สมศรีฮักแต๊ (somsi hak tae)
07. บ่าวสมัย (bao samai)
08. น้ำบ่ไหลเจี่ยวปื่น (nam bo lai chiao puen)
09. หัวอกโช่เฟ่อ (hua ok chauffeur)
10. หนูรักอา (nu rak a)

this week, more great music from lanna! our previous post featured performers from the first and second generations of so recording stars, today we'll hear from the "modernized" generation (circa the late-80s?). i couldn't find any information online about our singer, ms. sairung wimanthong, but the lyrics helpfully hint that she was a disciple of phophin phet-lanna. sung in kham mueang and with some vocal inflections that indicate her so background, the other main musical influence seems to be from luk thung isan stars like phimpha phonsiri or sunari ratchasima (she even quotes ade putra's "si jantung hati" as sunari famously did). enjoy! 

bunsi sanmueang, buason mueangphrao & si-on wangsingkham

artist: บุญศรี สันเหมือง, บัวซอน เมืองพร้าว + ศรีออน วังสิงห์คำ (bunsi sanmueang, buason mueangphrao & si-on wangsingkham)
album: ซอน้ำตาเมียหลวง (so nam ta mia luang)
tracklist:
01. ซอน้ำตาเมียหลวง (so nam ta mia luang)
02. ซอแอ่วสาวปั่นฝ้าย (so aeo sao pan fai)
03. ซอหาคู่รัก (so ha khu rak)
04. ซอตำรายาตลก (so tamra ya talok)
sung by จันทร์ทิพย์ เรือนรักเรา (chanthip rueanrakrao)

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.

today, more fantastic old lanna folksong! our headliners are the so vocal trio of pho bunsi, mae buason and mae si-on and their recordings from the early 60s with chiang mai's nakhon phanit records, still fondly remembered in the region today. the backing is provided by a group of pi (free-reed bamboo pipes), joined in places by sueng (plucked, fretted lute) and salo (spike fiddle), presumably by nakhon phanit's house band. also included as the final track is a comic number by pho chanthip rueanrakrao, an early star of the scene since the 78-era. enjoy!

tueanchai bunphraraksa: khong beng du dao

 

 

artist: เตือนใจ บุญพระรักษา (tueanchai bunphraraksa)
album: ขงเบ้งดูดาว (khong beng du dao)
tracklist:
01. ขงเบ้งดูดาว (khong beng du dao)
02. ยายฉิมเก็บเห็ด (yai chim kep het)
03. น้ำตาในสายฝน (nam ta nai sai fon)
04. สาวสลัมน้อยใจ (sao slum noi chai)
05. ลำนำน้ำโขง (lam nam nam khong)
06. มอง (mong)
07. ขึ้นๆ ลงๆ (khuen khuen long long)
08. แม่ค้าปลาสด (mae kha pla sot)
09. หาแฟนแข่งกัน (ha faen khaeng kan)
10. จำใจวิวาห์ (cham chai wiwa)
11. กิน (kin)
12. เตือนหญิงไทย (tuean ying thai)
13. เงิน 8 บาท (ngoen 8 baht)
14. แม่จ๋าเฮ็ดจั๋งได๋ (mae cha het chang dai)

this week, thai-style funk and more from luk thung diva tueanchai bunphraraksa! tueanchai was born and raised in central thailand's ratchaburi province. she got her start at a suraphon sombatcharoen concert in her hometown, when she asked the legendary singer if he'd put her on stage, and apparently the audience response was such that she was asked to join up on the spot. after a couple of hit singles, she left the troupe along with several other singers to join the ruam daokrachai band. she later teamed with wipharat prueangsuwan for their song and dance "luk thung hot pants" act, which saw huge success in the capital. tragically, she died in 1989 after being struck by a vehicle while crossing the street^[1]. this cassette compiles some of her work for the uea ari (chao kao) label in the late 70s, featuring the compositions of songwriters like chio phichit, suchat thianthong, phongsak chantharukkha and others, with arrangements by prayong chuenyen and sakda faprathan. enjoy!

 

thanin intharathep: triam kan rak

artist: ธานินทร์ อินทรเทพ (thanin intharathep)
album: เตรียมการณ์รัก (triam kan rak)
tracklist:
01. เตรียมการณ์รัก (triam kan rak)
02. แจกันรัก (chae kan rak)
03. จับกระแต (chap kratae)
04. หน้าเนื้อใจเสือ (na nuea chai suea)
05. ง้อเพราะรัก (ngo phro rak)
06. สุดเอื้อม (sut ueam)
07. กิ่งฟ้า (king fa)
08. น้อยวาสนา (noi watsana)
09. กลุ้มใจ (klum chai)
10. พี่มาทีหลัง (phi ma thi lang)
11. ศาลาหัวใจ (sala hua chai)
12. พี่บุญน้อย (phi bun noi)

this week, some smooth city-sounds from mr. thanin intharathep! thanin is from samut sakhon, just outside of bangkok, and started out as a champion of local singing contests. he was discovered by pop impresario payong mukda, who got him in with suthep wongkhamhaeng's "suthep show" troupe. often billed as "thailand's frank sinatra", thanin brought a young, attractive face to the nostalgic and sentimental ballads of luk krung, and is still a favorite among older bangkokians. this cassette features mostly light, latin-flavored numbers from his early '70s period. enjoy! 

sayan sanya: khrai luem khrai kon (phleng tham top chak sayan sanya)

artist: สายัณห์ สัญญา (sayan sanya)
album: ใครลืมใครก่อน (เพลงถามตอบจาก สายัณห์ สัญญา) (khrai luem khrai kon (phleng tham top chak sayan sanya))
tracklist:
01. ใครลืมใครก่อน (khrai luem khrai kon)
02. น้องยังไม่ลืม (nong yang mai luem)
03. ผู้เสียสละ (phu sia sala)
04. หอน้ำตา (ho nam ta)
05. ขาดเธอพี่ขาดใจ (khat thoe phi khat chai)
06. ขาดพี่น้องขาดใจ (khat phi nong khat chai)
07. รักติ๋มคนเดียว (rak tim khon diao)
08. รักติ๋มแน่หรือ (rak tim nae rue)
09. บ้านน้อยหลังนี้ (ban noi lang ni)
10. บ้านนี้ฉันเกลียด (ban ni chan kliat)
11. นางฟ้ายังอาย (nang fa yang ai)
12. ไม่อายน้างฟ้า (mai ai nang fa)

2 sung by เรไร สลักจิตร (rerai salakchit)
4 sung by เงาจันทร์ พิจิตร (ngaochan phichit)
6 sung by บุษบา วงษ์รัตน์ (butsaba wongrat)
8 sung by หงษ์ทอง ดาวอุดร (hongthong dao-udon)
10 sung by ลลนา สุลาวัลย์ (lalana sulawan)
12 sung by วราภรณ์ เพชรรุ่ง (waraphon phetrung)

this week, we'll hear from sayan sanya and his coterie of rejoinderers! born and raised in central thailand's suphan buri province, sayan grew up farming rice with his family. he started his musical career as a dancer in phongsi woranut's group, gradually moving up to back-up singer, and eventually forming his own band in 1973. through the '80s and early '90s he paired up with phumphuang duangchan and reigned as the biggest of luk thung stars. this cassette pairs him with a number of other singers, all of whom offer "response songs" to his '70s hits, sequenced immediately after their originals. most of the singers i wasn't previously familiar with, the exceptions being wonderful isan favorite hongthong dao-udon, and lalana sulawan, who is better known as an actor. enjoy!

chittraphong phonpramot: dontri thai doem diao organ lom

artist: จิตรพงษ์ พรปราโมทย์ (chittraphong phonpramot)
album: ดนตรีไทยเดิม เดี่ยวออร์แกนลม (dontri thai doem diao organ lom)
tracklist:
01. ลาวแพน (lao phaen)
02. เขมรปากท่อ เถา (khmer pak tho thao)
03. เขมรพวง เถา (khmer phuang thao)
04. โสมส่องแสง เถา (som song saeng thao)
05. ธรณีกรรแสง (thorani kansaeng)
06. ราตรีประดับดาว (ratri pradap dao)
07. เขมรไล่ควาย (khmer lai khwai)
08. ค้างคาวกินกล้วย (khangkhao kin kluai)
09. ลาวเสี่ยงเทียน (lao siang thian)
10. ดำเนินทราย (damnoen sai)

this week, a enigmatic gift from our pal gary of bodega pop! gary sent me a handful of cassettes recently, including 3 from this nok kaeo thai classical music series, all featuring cover models in trad costumes and uncredited musicians. after some searching, i was able to attribute this recording to khru chittraphong phonpramot. information about him was still scarce, though, other than a mention of his being a music teacher at samsenwittayalai high school in the mid-70s. also somewhat mysterious is the exact type of organ lom being played; the term describes any sort of air-driven organ, and it's hard to place exactly based on the "hot" (read: distorted) nature of the recording, but my guess would be a pedaled, free-reed sort of unit. whatever style of organ he's playing, chittraphong is joined by percussion and a khlui flute on side two, the latter of which even has a few solo tracks to itself. a very unique cassette.. hope you enjoy! 

monruedi phromchak: thi det 2 lam tangwai

artist: มลฤดี พรหมจักร์ (monruedi phromchak)
album: ที่เด็ด 2 ลำตังหวาย (thi det 2 lam tangwai)
tracklist:
01. สาว ม. 5 บ้ารัก (sao m. 5 ba rak)
02. สายสัมพันธ์ ไทย-ลาว (sai samphan thai-lao)
03. สาวเย็บผ้าหารัก (sao yep pha ha rak)
04. อยากดำให้สะใจ (yak dam hai sachai)
05. น้ำตาแม่ค้า (nam ta mae kha)
06. งานไหลเรือไฟ (ngan lai ruea fai)
07. รักจากจ่ยหล่ย (rak chak choi loi)
08. ของแท้มูนแม่ให้มา (khong thae mum mae hai ma)
09. ตามแฟน (tam faen)
10. มลฤดีมาแล้ว (monruedi ma laeo)
11. ผ้าป่ามาแล้ว (pha pa ma laeo)
12. สาวหมอลำครวญ (sao molam khruan)
 
this week, i'm sad to report a great loss to the molam world in the recent departing of monruedi phromchak. hailing from ubon ratchathani, monruedi grew up idolizing stars like angkhanang khunchai and chawiwan damnoen. she started performing with a local troupe at age 16, and was introduced to the siang siam label by molam thongkham phaengdi¹. monruedi helped to bring more locally-based styles of molam to prominence, becoming particularly known for her lam phu thai and lam tang wai, the latter of which she explores on this 1994 nok kaeo cassette. she passed away peacefully at the age of 68 on july 29th, after a long battle with multiple health problems². 

niranam: yip sip 5

artist: นิรนาม (niranam)
album: หยิบสิบ 5 (yip sip 5)
tracklist:
01. วิวาห์น้ำตา (wiwa nam ta)
02. น้องนางบ้านนา (nong nang ban na)
03. สาวอยู่บ้านได๋ (sao yu ban dai)
04. พี่ทุยหน้าทื่อ (phi thui na thue)
05. ขวัญใจคนจน (khwanchai khon chon)
06. เมียนายร้อยอย่าน้อยใจ (mia nai roi ya noi chai)
07. น้ำตาลาไทร (nam ta la sai)
08. แสงทองแสงธรรม (saeng thong saeng tham)
09. คนที่มองไม่เห็นโลก (khon thi mong mai hen lok)
10. รักกลางจันทร์ (rak klang chan)
 
this week, phuea chiwit goes luk thung at the hands of nick niranam! as the first artists of their style signed to major label nithithat (n.t. promotion co., ltd.) niranam had a leg up from their 1986 debut on, almost equaling genre stalwarts carabao in popularity. however, despite a string of successful albums, the group shed members until only nick was left, helming the band as essentially a solo act. what niranam did not shed, however, was an audience; nick's first in his yip sip ("snatching ten") series was a million-seller. combining ten "snatched" luk thung classics with his phuea chiwit-style rock vocals and the '80s studio wizardry that characterized nithithat productions, niranam had a winning formula. this 1990 cassette is the fifth in the series, showing no signs of diminishing returns.. enjoy!

 

sai mu: kwaam kyo

artist: ၸၢႆးမူး (sai mu)
album: ၵႂၢမ်းၵျေႃႇ (kwaam kyo)
tracklist:
01. ၸႂ်ထိုင်မိူင်းပၼ်ႇ (tsaue tueng moeng pan)
02. ၵေႃႉႁၵ်ႉပွတ်းႁွင်ႇ (kho hak pot hong)
03. ၶမ်းၸႅတ်ႈၸႅတ်ႈသႅင်ၵိုင်ႇမိူင်း (kam tsaet tsaet saeng kueng moeng)
04. သႃႈၶူမ်ၼမ်ႉလၼ်ႈ (saa kom nam lan)
05. မဝ်းယႃႈပူႉမိူင်းတူၼ် (maw yaa pu moeng ton)
06. လုၵ်ႈၼၢင်းယေႈသႅင်ၵေႃႇ (luk naang ye saeng ko)
07. မူဝ်ၶိူဝ်းၶုၼ်သီႇပေႃႉ (mo koe kun hsipaw)
08. ၸိမ် (tsim)
09. ၸဝ်ႈၼႃး (tsaw naa)
10. ၵႂၢမ်းၵျေႃႇ (kwaam kyo)
11. ၵႃႇထႃႇလိုပ်ႈၽီၽၢၼ် (kaatha luep pi paan)
12. ၼၵႃးတိုၵ်ႇလိုၼ် (nakaa tuek luen)
13. ပႅင်း (paeng)
14. ယႃႇၶျေႃႉ (yaa kyo)
15. ၵွပ်ႈၵဝ်ယိုဝ်ႈယိုတ်း (kop kaw yue yeut)
 
this week, shan rock classics from the myanmar-thai border! sai mu, from moeng pan in shan state, joined the shan united revolutionary army at age 19 and later became a teacher in resistance-affiliated schools. he founded his band in 1985 but just a decade later passed away at the age of 35. his group, freedom's way, carried on without him for many years, mostly based out of chaing mai, thailand. sai mu's songs run the gamut from revolutionary calls to action, to ballads of romantic longing, and even scatological humor. despite his brief career, his work remains inspiring to many independence-minded shan people to this day. for more info on sai mu and his legacy, be sure to check out jane m. ferguson's excellent new book repossessing shanland: myanmar, thailand, and a nation-state deferred.
 
[note: unfortunately, this tape reached me in an irreparably damaged state, so in its place i'm sharing a rip that has already been circulating online. all credit to the original uploader, naw liang]

khwanchit siprachan: prap pho mai

artist: ขวัญจิต ศรีประจันต์ (khwanchit siprachan)
album: ปราบพ่อหม้าย (prap pho mai)
tracklist:
01. ปราบพ่อหม้าย ตอน 1 (prap pho mai, pt. 1)
02. ปราบพ่อหม้าย ตอน 2 (prap pho mai, pt. 2)
 
this week, a great old recording of national artist khwanchit siprachan and her troupe preforming some fantastic phleng isaeo! isaeo, characterized by its swift rhythm and intense wordplay, is a local specialty of central thailand's suphan buri province. the contestants take lighthearted jabs at each other and vie for the most cunning lyrical improvisations over an insistent backbeat. khwanchit is joined here by her sister khwanchai and their colleagues suchin siprachan and bunchok chanachot. these 4 have trained together since their teens, and their repartee is outstanding.. enjoy! 

chaichana bunnachot: chai nang muean thang rot

artist: ชัยชนะ บุญนะโชติ (chaichana bunnachot)
album: ใจนางเหมือนทางรถ (chai nang muean thang rot)
tracklist:
01. ใจนางเหมือนทางรถ (chai nang muean thang rot)
02. ทำบุญกันเถิด (tham bun kan thoet)
03. ทำบุญสร้างวัด (tham bun sang wat)
04. รักกระจาย (rak krachai)
05. ชะนีหน้าดำ (chani na dam)
06. ชมสาว (chom sao)
07. ชมหนุ่ม (chom num)
08. สมาคมโลกตับแข็ง (samakhom lok tap khaeng)
09. เช้าแบนเย็นแบน (chao baen yen baen)
10. เพลงไม่เมา (phleng mai mao)
11. ชีวิตเด็กวัด (chiwit dek wat)
12. เพลงเกี่ยวข้าว (phleng kiao khao)
13. นิ่งเสียเถิดน้อง (ning sia thoet nong)
14. ขบถรัก (khabot rak)
15. แผ่นดินไม่สิ้นคนดี (phaendin mai sin khon di)
16. น้ำตาลูกทุ่ง (nam ta luk thung)
17. ขันหมากชัยชนะ (khan mak chaichana)

this week, luk thung classics from national artist mr. chaichana bunnachot! hailing from central thailand's chachoengsao province, chaichana grew up working on a mango plantation before joining his uncle's liké troupe, where he learned to sing all manner of folksong. eventually, he left for bangkok with his brother and the two sang at bus terminals throughout the city, earning some renown as street performers. chaichana soon turned his talents towards the new style being pioneered by khamron sambunnanon, which would come to be known as luk thung. he came to the attention of bandleader phayong mukda, who arranged his first recordings in 1958. from there he worked with other songwriters like phaibun butkhan and phiphat boribun before eventually coming into his own as a songsmith. for many generations chaichana has been a star performer and mentor to younger singers, and still performs occasionally at the age of 80! this cassette bears the same title as one we've heard here before, but while the lead single is a re-recording of an earlier hit, the rest is new content.. enjoy! 

suphap daoduangden: lam phloen yuk mai

artist: สุภาพ ดาวดวงเด่น (suphap daoduangden)
album: ลำเพลิน ยุคใหม่ (lam phloen yuk mai)
tracklist:
01. ลำเพลิน ยุคใหม่ (lam phloen yuk mai)
02. ลำเพลิน สุภาพหาคู่ (lam phloen suphap ha khu)
03. ลำเพลินเกี้ยวลำเพลิน (lam phloen kiao lam phloen)
04. ลำเพลิน เดินนิทาน (lam phloen doen nithan)
05. ลำเพลิน อีสานสามัคคี (lam phloen isan samakkhi)
06. ลำเพลินสลับเดินกลอน (lam phloen salap doen klon)
07. ลำเพลิน หนังบักตื้อ (lam phloen nang bak tue)
08. หมอลำหาคู่ (molam ha khu)

this week, some excellent lam phloen from suphap daoduangden! a native of roi-et, suphap trained from a young age as a molam with achan buapha phansaen of ubon. she was first picked up by pho mahan nakhonchai for his troupe, and later by the phet burapha group, playing the lead parts in their lam rueang to klon performances¹. she would go on to work with thepphabut satirotchomphu and the siang siam label, making classic recordings of both molam and luk thung isan, including today's selections.. enjoy!

wongchan phairot chorus: rim fang nam

artist: วงจันทร์ ไพโรจน์ คอรัส (wongchan phairot chorus)
album: ริมฝั่งน้ำ (rim fang nam)
tracklist:
01. ริมฝั่งน้ำ (rim fang nam)
02. บุพเพสันนิวาส (bupphesanniwat)
03. ห้วงน้ำลึก (huang nam luek)
04. ครวญสวาท (khruan sawat)
05. งามเดือนฉาย (ngam duean chai)
06. ตะเลงครวญ (taleng khruan)
07. กลิ่นดอกไม้ (klin dok mai)
08. รอยรักรอยร้าว (roi rak roi rao)
09. ทาษน้ำเงิน (that nam ngoen)
10. ถ้าฉันมีคนรัก (tha chan mi khon rak)
11. ถ้าเธอรักฉัน (tha thoe rak chan)
12. จำจาก-จำลา (cham chak, cham la)

this week, wongchan phairot and her chorus bring us easy listening luk krung classics! a bangkok native, wongchan started her singing career at age 9 after winning the phu khao thong temple fair contest, and under the sponsorship of khru mongkhon amatayakun began recording children's songs for the t. ngek chuan record store. as she got older, she performed with a number of cosmopolitan outfits like the royal thai navy band, the bangkok cha-cha-cha band, and hon hanbuntrong's hawaiian aloha band, before joining khru mongkhon's famous chularat. with chularat, she moved towards the luk thung scene, even taking on suraphon sombatcharoen (for instance) as a songwriter. by the time (late '70s?) of today's featured cassette, however, she was firmly back in the city music camp, performing urbane luk krung ballroom numbers and ballads by the likes of wet sunthonchamon, kaeo atchariyakun and phoem khlaibanleng. vocally, she's joined by her chorus for some close harmony (think: the ray charles singers).. enjoy!

phatchara waengwan: klam kluen

artist: พัชรา แวงวรรณ (phatchara waengwan)
album: กล้ำกลืน (klam kluen)
tracklist:
01. กล้ำกลืน (klam kluen)
02. ใครคนหนึ่งถึงใครสักคน (khrai khon nueng thueng khrai sak khon)
03. เราจะโทษใคร (rao cha thot khrai)
04. หัวใจที่ว่างเปล่า (hua chai thi wang plao)
05. บาดตา ตำใจ (bat ta, tam chai)
06. เข็ดแล้ว พอแล้ว (khet laeo, pho laeo)
07. โง่รัก (ngo rak)
08. ไม่มีที่ว่างสำหรับเธอ (mai mi thi wang samrap thoe)
09. ลืมไม่ลงปลงไม่ได้ (luem mai long plong mai dai)
10. รักหลอกลวง (rak lok luang)

this week, a set of classic early-'90s string hits! phatchara, born in khorat, started her singing career young, joining the band ovation in 1981 at age 18 and signing to nithithat promotion, co. ltd.. after a number of popular albums with the group, she broke off for a solo career, likewise to great success. this 1992 album, her fourth under her own name, consists primarily of bittersweet torch songs complimented by the slick, cosmopolitan pop production sound of the era. our particular cassette, however, is uncharacteristically lo-fi, likely due to it reaching us through what appears to be a lao bootleg. enjoy!

chanthip & khamban: so kep nok

artist: จันทร์ทิพย์ + คำบาน (chanthip & khamban)
album: ชอเก็บนก (so kep nok)
tracklist:
01. ชอเก็บนก ตอน 1 (so kep nok, pt. 1)
02. ชอเก็บนก ตอน 2 (so kep nok, pt. 2)

this week, fantastic old music from lanna! our performers are จันทร์ทิพย์ เรือนรักเรา (chanthip rueanrakrao) a.k.a. จันติ๊บ สามหลัง (chantip samlang) and คำบาน สบอาว (khamban sob-ao), two early recording stars of northern thai music. this cassette centers on a piece that was originally released by bangkok's t. ngek chuan (rabbit brand) in the early 1950s across a long series of 78 rpm records (thus the breaks that occur roughly every 3 minutes, to accommodate the original format). according to the labels, our 2 so performers are accompanied by an ensemble of 4 large pi (free-reed bamboo pipes). there are also instrumental pieces tacked on to the end of each side that feature a larger group, consisting of the aforementioned pi, plus sueng (plucked, fretted lute) and salo (spike fiddle). these i presume were recorded much later, possibly by the re-release label's house band khana nakhon phanit? the second side features some additional so performances from 78, backed by a similar salo-so-sueng ensemble but adding piano. enjoy!

sisuda roengchai: chan cha yu phuea thoe ik wan

artist: ศรีสุดา เริงใจ (sisuda roengchai)
album: ฉันจะอยู่เพื่อเธออีกวัน (chan cha yu phuea thoe ik wan)
tracklist:
01. ฉันจะอยู่เพื่อเธออีกวัน (chan cha yu phuea thoe ik wan)
02. หนาว (nao)
03. จูบลวง (chup luang)
04. ห่วง (huang)
05. คิดไม่ผิด (khit mai phit)
06. วอนสวรรค์ (won sawan)
07. ฝนเศร้า (fon sao)
08. คอยเธอคืน (khoi thoe khuen)
09. กุหลาบงาม (kulap ngam)
10. จะจริงหรือไร (cha ching rue mai)
11. รักร้าง (rak rang)
12. คืนนี้พี่เหงา (khuen ni phi ngao)

2 sung by นิทัศน์ ละอองศรี (nithat la-ongsi)
4 sung by สุวัจชัย สุทธิมา  (suwatchai sutthima)
6 sung by เศวตชัย วิฑูรเทพ (sawetchai withunthep)
8 sung by มนตรี สีหเทพ (montri sihathep)
10 sung by สามารถ บริบูรณ์เวช (samat boribunwet)
12 sung by ศักดา อิทธิชัย (sakda itthichai)

many thanks to our generous pal dave novak for this week's record

a bit of an excursion today; trading our typically magnetically-fixed sound for the phonographic [feedback on my inexpert vinyl transfer welcome]! our featured star is sisuda roengchai, a luk krung singer in the suntharaphon orbit, and a nightclub fixture both in bangkok and parts more southerly around the mid-'70s. her biggest hit was the title song to the 1975 film "mae sai", although she left her singing career behind just a decade later, becoming a restaurateur instead^[1]. the music on this record (all the work of mononymous songwriter phonphirun) is a mix of slow ballads and waltzes, latin-flavored ballroom boleros, and interestingly, one indonesian kroncong-style number [track 9]. sisuda sings half the tracks (the even numbered ones), while the others are carried by a roster of male vocalists, including her closest collaborator, nithat la-ongsi. enjoy!