masae 'sun saengsaeo: chut sun-sur-native 1

artist: มาแซ 'ซุน แซงแซว (masae 'sun saengsaeo)
album: ชุดซุนเซอร์เนทีฟ ๑ (chut sun-sur-native 1)
tracklist:
01. บางนรา (bang nara)
02. มะละกอที่รัก (malako thi rak)
03. วันพรากจาก (wan phrak chak)
04. ชนชั้นคน (chon chan khon)
05. เหมือนบ้าง (muean bang)
06. ดูดดื่ม (dut duem)
07. จะทำอะไรดีก็ไม่รู้เหมือนกัน (cha tham arai di ko mai ru muean kan)
08. ประชาชนผู้มีหนวด (prachachon phu mi nuat)
09. ชายหาดสีขาว (chai hat si khao)
10. มารดาแห่งความมหัศจรรย์ (manda haeng khwam mahasachan)

today, a left-field discovery that my friend chris chanced upon recently in bangkok! masae 'sun saengsaeo a.k.a. surachai songthawonthawi is a wandering poet associated with the phuea chiwit and socially-engaged buddhism circles (see: introductory blurb by none other than sulak sivaraksa!). according to the liner notes, the album's title is a contraction of "surrealist-alternative", a genre designation given by fellow writer wat wanlayangkun. the tracks display a range of influences from psychedelic-/blues-rock to reggae to guitar-&-violin-driven folk tunes (which masae credits to the apache people). the decidedly lo-fi production was handled by aphinan chit-sopha, who got together a band of his students from srinakharinwirot university's songkhla campus (now thaksin university) to back masae. quite an unusual entry, hope you enjoy! 

sonkhiri siprachuap: siang khlui ban na

artist: ศรคีรี ศรีประจวบ (sonkhiri siprachuap)
album: เสียงขลุ่ยบ้านนา (siang khlui ban na)
tracklist:
01. เสียงขลุ่ยบ้านนา (siang khlui ban na)
02. หนาวลมที่เรณู (nao lom thi renu)
03. มนต์รักแม่กลอง (mon rak mae klong)
04. แม่กระท้อนห่อ (mae krathon ho)
05. ทุ่งสานสะเทือน (thung san sathuean)
06. เฝ้าดอกฟ้า (fao dok fa)
07. หนุ่มกระเป๋า (num krapao)
08. เข็ดแล้ว (khet laeo)
09. หนุ่มนา (num na)
10. พระอินทร์เจ้าขา (phra in chao kha)

this week, a second entry of classic luk thung from long-time favorite sonkhiri siprachuap! born and raised in samut songkhram province, sonkhiri left school at a young age to work on his family's coconut palm farm, and later a pineapple plantation down in prachuap khiri khan. between shifts, he would entertain his fellow farmhands by singing the songs of khamron sambunnanon, dreaming of becoming a famous singer. eventually he auditioned for payong mukda's group, but was rejected.. he persisted in his struggle, though, and after many years of performing with a popular local ramwong group, came to the attention of luk thung maestro phaibun butkhan. with the hits of phaibun to propel him, sonkhiri became a huge star throughout the kingdom. sadly, he was killed in a motor accident in 1972, in the middle of a country-wide tour. sonkhiri's sweet, sorrowful voice is remembered fondly still.. his songs feature prominently in pen-ek ratanarueang's 1999 film "rueang talok 69" ("6ixtynin9" or "a funny story about 6 and 9"), wherein his tragic serenades cause the gangsters to break down in tears. enjoy!