sonphet sonsuphan: karaoke

artist: ศรเพชร ศรสุพรรณ (sonphet sonsuphan)
album: คาราโอเกะ (karaoke)
tracklist:
01. จดหมายตีกลับ (chot mai ti klap)
02. คอยสาวนา (khoi sao na)
03. รักน้องจังเลย (rak nong chang loei)
04. คนถูกแย่งแฟน (khon thuk yaeng faen)
05. นักโทษรัก (nak thot rak)
06. มนุษย์มนา (manutmana)
07. รอพี่ตีสอง (ro phi ti song)
08. รักน้องเมียเพื่อน (rak nong mia phuean)
09. สอบตกอกหัก (sop tok ok hak)
10. เสียไข่แดง (sia khai daeng)
11. แม่มะลิเลื้อย (mae mali lueai)
12. อดทนคือคนไทย (ot thon khue khon thai)
 
this week, a technologically notable entry from sonphet sonsuphan (who we sadly lost early this year). sonphet, as you might guess from his stage name, was a native of suphanburi, the central province that gave us so many golden-age luk thung singers. he had a long career, from ramwong dancer in the '60s to an elder statesman of the luk thung revival in the '90s, though since 2010 or so he had been suffering from serious health troubles. this particular cassette features an interesting innovation that i haven't come across before on cassette (though the trick would later show up quite often on vcd): that is, the backing track and vocal/melodic leads are separated out between the left and right channels. so if you want a "minus one" track for your karaoke performance, merely slide the balance knob to one side; if you want a (mostly) a cappella vocal track, slide to the other! as for the music, it has a classic late-'70s/early-'80s full band sound, with synth leads, a nice disco/bump-ramwong feel, and of course sonphet's one-of-a-kind voice sounding as impassioned as ever. enjoy!

 

dutduean dara: siang krasip chak kliao khluen

artist: ดุจเดือน ดารา (dutduean dara)
album: เสียงกระซิบจากเกลียวคลื่น (siang krasip chak kliao khluen)
tracklist:
01. บัวแดง (bua daeng)
02. ริมฝั่งน้ำ (rim fang nam)
03. เสียงกระซิบจากเกลียวคลื่น (siang krasip chak kliao khluen)
04. กระซิบสวาท (krasip sawat)
05. ฝนหยาดสุดท้าย (fon yat sut thai)
06. คาวหัวใจ (khao hua chai)
07. รักแรมไกล (rak raem klai)
08. มลทินใจ (monthin chai)
09. ฆ่าฉันให้ตายดีกว่า (kha chan hai tai di kwa)
10. ลุ่มเจ้าพระยา (lum chao phraya)
11. ยากจะหักใจลืม (yak cha hak chai luem)
12. ทะเลร่ำไห้ (thale ram hai)
13. อเวจีแห้งดวงใจ (awechi haeng duang chai)
14. โอ้ทูลกระหม่อม (o thun kramom)

this week, an eclectic outing from star dutduean dara! hailing from khon kaen, dutduean got her start when her uncle, musician prasit chamnanphrai of silver sand, petitioned her parents to let her do a recording with him at azona records. she then moved to bangkok and got a regular spot singing at "papa café" on vibhavadi rangsit road, gaining quite a following. thereafter, she was courted by a number of labels and frequently jumped between them, as well as releasing her own records independently. to me she's one of those artists who straddle the (admittedly often nebulous) boundaries of city and country.. while primarily remembered as a luk thung singer, this record features new takes on classic tunes penned by luk krung (and earlier thai sakon) luminaries like uea sunthonsanan, kaeo atchariyakun and narot thawonbut, sanga aramphi, chali intharawichit, sukhon phonphirun, a. kawi sattakowit, kamon thapkhanlai (as well as the more country-ish phaibun butkhan). also of interest is that the music here has, to my ear, a distinctly "chinese" sound, at least via the instrumentation.. unfortunately, the producer/arranger of the session is not credited. i don't think that any of the melodies are based off chinese originals, but if you know otherwise, please correct me. and most importantly.. enjoy!