monruedi phromchak: khoi rak chak singapore

artist: มลฤดี พรหมจักร (monruedi phromchak)
album: คอยรักจากสิงคโปร์ (khoi rak chak singapore)
tracklist:
01. คอยรักจากสิงคโปร์ (khoi rak chak singapore)
02. เมาเหล้าอย่าเมารัก (mao lao ya mao rak)
03. น้องบ่เสียใจอ้ายบ่าวสกล (nong bo sia chai ai bao sakon)
04. ตามตื้อบ่าวภูไทย (tam tue bao phu thai)
05. วอนพระคุณ (won phra khun)
06. หมายรัก (mai rak)
07. ชีวิตจำเป็น (chiwit cham pen)
08. สาวนครคอยคู่ (sao nakhon khoi khu)
09. กลับนาลากรุง (klap na la krung)
10. ชีวิตมลฤดี (chiwit monruedi)
11. อกหักรักทหาร (ok hak rak thahan)
12. รักครูหนูอกหัก (rak khru nu ok hak)

this week, more fantastic lam from ms. monruedi phromchak! i don't know alot about monruedi's background, though i believe she's currently a lecturer for the office of culture at khon kaen university. she's well known for her skill in lam phu tai, a unique style of lam associated with the phu tai ethnic group of thailand & laos, which can be pretty difficult to find in commercial recordings. this album is made up primarily of lam tang wai, but also features a few lam phu thai and a couple of the more mainstream lam phloen. the recordings here are more electronic than the previous album of her's i've posted, adding a drum machine over the traditional cymbal clashing and sax & keyboard over the khaen & phin. enjoy!!

chatri sichon: samak rak samak faen

artist: ชาตรี ศรีชล (chatri sichon)
album: สมัครรักสมัครแฟน (samak rak samak faen)
tracklist:
01. สมัครรักสมัครแฟน (samak rak samak faen)
02. สมัครรักไม่จริง (samak rak mai ching)
sung by วันเพ็ญ เดือนสิบสอง (wanphen dueansipsong)
03. ช้ำรักจากเมืองชล (cham rak chak mueang chon)
04. รักหรือเปล่า (rak rue plao)
05. รอไม่ไหว (ro mai wai)
06. บัวหลวง (bua luang)
07. ออกพรรษา (ok phansa)
08. มะลิไกล มาลัยชัง (mali klai malai chang)
09. งามงอน (ngam ngon)
10. เมารัก (mao rak)
sung by ดำ แดนสุพรรณ (dam daensuphan)
11. หัวใจลอยลม (hua chai loi lom)
sung by วันเพ็ญ เดือนสิบสอง (wanphen dueansipsong)
12. ฮักอ้ายข้างเดียว (hak ai khang dieow)
sung by วันเพ็ญ เดือนสิบสอง (wanphen dueansipsong)

after last week's re-post, i figured this week it'd be good to bring out some new sounds from chatri for everyone! as told previously, chatri, from chonburi, got his start in samniang muangthong's ruam daokrachai band, but left to help suraphon's wife sinuan rehabilitate the sombatcharoen band (primarily as a songwriter) after the star's death in 1968. within a year he had founded his own band & cut his first records. this album features those early tracks, alongside some answer & duel songs from wanphen dueansipsong & dam daensuphan. while the sounds here are more straightforward luk thung than last week, the wheezing accordions, strange entrancing rhythms & chatri's rough-cut vocals make it a standout for me. enjoy!!

chatri sichon: chom nang

artist: ชาตรี ศรีชล (chatri sichon)
album: โฉมนาง (chom nang)
tracklist:
01. โฉมนาง (chom nang)
02. ธรณีชีวิต (thorani chiwit)
featuring ยุพิน แพรทอง (yuphin phraethong)
03. มารักกันเถิด (ma rak kan thoet)
04. อย่ามาหลอกฉัน (ya ma lok chan)
sung by ยุพิน แพรทอง (yuphin phraethong)
05. คงเป็นแฟนคุณ (khong pen faen khun)
06. ผลกรรม (phonkam)
07. ดนตรี (instrumental)
08. มนต์เสียงเพลง (mon siang phleng)
featuring ยุพิน แพรทอง (yuphin phraethong)
09. อนุภาพรัก (anuphap rak)
sung by ยุพิน แพรทอง (yuphin phraethong)
10. สวรรค์บนดิน (sawan bon din)
sung by ยุพิน แพรทอง (yuphin phraethong)
11. คนจนไม่ดีเด่น (khon chon mai di den)
12. สาวอาปาเช่ (sao "apache")
13. คนจนคนจร (khon chon khon chon)

i've posted this tape before (post no. 6, to be precise!), but it's so good, and i've learned so much since about the history behind it, that i feel it warrants a re-posting. chatri, from chonburi, got his start in samniang muangthong's ruam daokrachai band, but left to help suraphon's wife sinuan rehabilitate the sombatcharoen band (primarily as a songwriter) after the star's death in 1968. within a year he had founded his own band & cut his first records. in 1970, he was contracted by isaan songwriter surin phaksiri for a new sort of project... if i have my story right, her majesty queen sirikit had recently attended a screening of a hindi film in bangkok, and her glowing review seemed ready to start a bollywood craze in the kingdom. as was standard for film imports, the hindi dialogues would be dubbed into thai, but considering the musical nature of indian films the decision was made to dub the songs as well, and local luk thung stars were hired to do the job. big names like phraiwan lukphet, riam daranoi, buppha saichon & others all tried their hands at singing playback. the filmi selections on this album are dubs from c.v. sridhar's "dharti", composed by the shankar-jaikishan team, and feature chatri on the male parts (originally mohd. rafi) and yuphin phraethong doing the female (originally lata mangeshkar & asha bhosle). tacked on are some of chatri's great luk thung singles from the same period.. enjoy!

khamron sambunnanon: khon ba kancha

artist: คำรณ สัมบุญณานนท์ (khamron sambunnanon)
album: คนบ้ากัญชา (khon ba kancha)
tracklist:
01. หวยใต้ดิน (huai tai din)
02. คนบ้ากัญชา (khon ba kancha)
03. กระท่อมกัญชา (krathom kancha)
04. คนบ้าจี้ (khon ba chi)
05. เศรษฐีเงินถัง (sethi ngoen thang)
06. คนไม่รักดี (khon mai rak di)
07. จะไล่พี่ไปถึงไหน (cha lai phi pai thueng nai)
08. คำสั่งของพ่อ (kham sang khong pho)
09. สายลมโชย (sai lom choi)
10. ชีวิตคนเครื่องไฟ (chiwit khon khrueang fai)
11. ชีวิตครู (chiwit khru)
12. คนขายยา (khon khai ya)
13. ชีวิตช่างตัดผม (chiwit chang tat phom)
14. คนรอบกรุง (khon rop krung)
15. ลุงเชยชอบใจ (lung choei chop chai)
16. นางฟ้าในฝัน (nang fa nai fan)

while a non-smoker myself, i've had this tape ready to go for a while, and the coincidence of today's would-be holiday seemed difficult to resist; so here we have it... mr. khamron sambunnanon, singing the songs of the "ganja madman"! khamron is considered by many to be the very first singer of luk thung, with his recording of hem wechakon's "chao sao chao rai" dating from 1938, and many of the great luk thung stars of the 60's & 70's fondly recall listening to khamron's songs during their formative years. his lyrics were the earliest examples of thai pop music to feature tales of common people; farmers, day laborers, and even more marginal figures like gamblers, vagrants, outlaws and drug addicts. great old sounds (and even some yodeling on side 2)... hope you enjoy!!

hit ngan phleng chut phiset chak 12 silapin indies doi onpa

artist: various
album: hit งานเพลงชุดพิเศษจาก 12 ศิลปิน indies โดย onpa (hit ngan phleng chut phiset chak 12 silapin indies doi onpa)
tracklist:
01. ยืนยัน (yuen yan)
by blackhead
02. คำตอบ (kham top)
by นครินทร์ กิ่งศักดิ์ (nakharin kingsak)
03. รักเธอ (rak thoe)
by ford
04. จากกันด้วยดี (chan kan duai di)
by byrd & heart
05. อยากบอกให้รู้ (yak bok hai ru)
by isn't
06. นานเหลือเกิน (nan luea koen)
by อัยย์ (ai)
07. บุษบา (butsaba)
by moderndog
08. 2 ทาง (2 thang)
by the must
09. เพราะฉันมีเพียงเธอ (phro chan mi phiang thoe)
by proud
10. หัวปัก หัวปำ (hua pak hua pam)
by holly berry
11. เธอน่ารัก (thoe na rak)
by สี่เต่าเธอ (si tao thoe)
12. ร่ำลา (ram la)
by t.n.t.

this week, a classic entry in the thai indie rock catalog! judging by the surfeit of copies filling the second-hand bins of the capital city, i imagine this tape was in the deck of every hip bangkok teen, circa 1995. the sounds presented here may not be what most consider "indie rock" (whatever it is we do consider it), but with industry giant sony given equal standing with bona-fide (at the time) independent labels like bakery music, it seems the thai notion of "indie" is at least as inconsistent as it is elsewhere. stylistically, you have everything from 90's alt-rock/grunge (blackhead, moderndog) to smooth, m.o.r.ish ballads (ford, byrd & heart), and then stuff closer to the jangly international ideal of indie rock (holly berry, si tao thoe). enjoy!

num'ek chetsada: lae kam mueang fang muan muan

artist: หนุ่มเอก เจษฎา (num'ek chetsada)
album: แหล่กำเมืองฟังม่วนๆ (lae kam mueang fang muan muan)
tracklist:
01. แหล่กำเมืองฟังม่วนๆ ตอน 1 (lae kam mueang fang muan muan, pt. 1)
02. แหล่กำเมืองฟังม่วนๆ ตอน 2 (lae kam mueang fang muan muan, pt. 2)

something out of the ordinary this week; northern-style party music from the late nineties! i don't know anything about num'ek chetsada, other than that he comes from northern thailand, chiang mai most likely. his singing is influenced by lae, the central thai luk thung sub-genre which in turn is derived from isan-style thet lae sermonizing.. num'ek mixes in bits of the northern thai dialect to inject some local pride into the proceedings. the music in the background is of the synth-heavy drum machine mega-mix style popular around the time of the recording (1997). enjoy!

hongthong dao'udon: phu chai saraphat phit

artist: หงษ์ทอง ดาวอุดร (hongthong dao'udon)
album: ผู้ชายสารพัดพิษ (phu chai saraphat phit)
tracklist:
01. ผู้ชายสารพัดพิษ (phu chai saraphat phit)
02. ไม่มีน้ำตาจากเสี่ยว (mai mi nam ta chak sieow)
03. กางเกงยีนส์แห่งความหลัง (kangkeng "jeans" haeng khwam lang)
04. พบกันที่ไหนดี (phop kan thi nai di)
05. สาวอีสานรอพี่ (sao isan ro phi)
06. น้ำจิ้มปลาร้า (nam chim pla ra)
07. รักหนุ่มก่อสร้าง (rak num ko sang)
08. ตลุงลำเพลิน (talung lam phloen)
09. นอนร้องไห้ (non ronghai)
10. สาวอุดร (sao udon)

this week, some far-out molam luk thung pop sounds from hongthong dao'udon! hongthong, as her stage-name suggests, hails from isaan's udon thani province. a star of local temple fairs since childhood, she was picked up by luk thung star siphrai chaiphra to join his troupe in bangkok at age 10. she had a number of hits penned by songwriter doi inthanon, and toured extensively throughout the country... her repetoire was quite remarkable; she could easily swing from string-inflected disco to traditional northeastern lam, but in the 90's, she tragically lost her voice after a thyroid operation. since then, she has been working steadily at regaining it, and hosting a popular radio show in udon thani meanwhile. sadly, as doug from wfmu alerted me, ms. hongthong was recently sentenced to spend a year and 4 months in jail for her involvement with the red shirt movement, after allegedly mobilizing protesters through her radio platform. best wishes to the poor lady! and be sure to check out another fantastic album of her's over at gojira's stereomono blog!

the impossibles medley

artist: ดิอิมพอสซิเบิ้ล (the impossibles)
album: เมดเล่ย์ดิอิมพอสซิเบิ้ล (the impossibles medley)
tracklist:
01. เมดเล่ย์ดิอิมพอสซิเบิ้ล (the impossibles medley)
02. เห็นแล้วหิว (hen laeo hiw)
03. แพ้ผิวขาว (phae phiw khao)
04. ผมไม่วุ่น (phom mai wun)
05. มาจู๋จี๋กันไหม (ma chuchi kan mai)
06. คนใจแข็ง (khon chai khaeng)
07. คนผ่านโลก (khon phan lok)
08. ไม่รังเกียจ (mai rang kiat)
09. ไฟไหม้เชื้อ (fai mai chuea)
10. โลกแสนเซ็ง (lok saen seng)
11. รอวันฤกษ์ดี (ro wan roekdi)
12. รอวันสุขใจ (ro wan suk chai)
13. แค่คำลา (khae kham la)
14. หัวใจใบอ้อ (hua chai bai o)
15. หลอกให้คอย (lok hai khoi)
16. เหมือนใจจะขาด (muean chai cha khat)
17. ทอดสะพานให้ซิ (thot saphan hai si)
18. รักไม่รักก็เศร้าเท้ากัน (rak mai rak ko sao thao kan)
19. รักที่แลกด้วยน้ำตา (rak thi laek duai nam ta)

this week, a great tape from the supreme stars of thai string music, the impossibles! although best known to international listeners for their solid funk stylings, in thailand the impossibles are just as fondly remembered for their mellower side. you might call the band's specialty "import substitution", as they rely somewhat on hooks borrowed from china, japan, america or the u.k.. some of their ballads can be a bit bland for my taste, but i feel like this album strikes a nice balance; while the bulk of the tunes are slower ones, the band still shows some muscle in the background, with some great drum breaks and rhodes piano work. please excuse the somewhat muddy sound on the 'a' side, and enjoy!

p. chalatnoi: lam chut suan sanuk thung kula

artist: ป. ฉลาดน้อย (p. chalatnoi)
album: ลำชุดสวนสนุกทุ่งกุลา (lam chut suan sanuk thung kula)
tracklist:
01. ลำชุดสวนสนุกทุ่งกุลา (lam chut suan sanuk thung kula)
02. ลำล่องเงินไทยมีค่า (lam long ngoen thai mi kha)
03. ป.ฉลาดล่องอีสาน (p. chalat long isan)
04. ลำล่องสาวลืมถิ่นเชียง (lam long sao luem thin chiang)
05. ลำล่องหาเมียให้เลือก (lam long ha mia hai lueak)
06. ลำล่องทำนายโลก (lam long tham nai lok)
07. ลำล่องเอิ้นน้องมาเก็บเห็ด (lam long oen nong ma kep het)
08. ลำล่องเมืองอีสานม่วนดี (lam long mueang isan muan di)
09. ลำล่องน้ำตกไหลจากซาอุ (lam long nam tok lai chak sa u)
10. ลำล่องซาอุเป็นชายอุกดิน (lam long sa u pen chai uk din)
11. ลำล่องอีสานแซบธรรมชาติ (lam long isan saep thammachat)
12. ลำล่องเตือนนักเรียน (lam long tuean nak rian)
13. ลำล่องสินค้าเจริญไว (lam long sin kha charoen wai)
14. ลำล่องรั้วของชาติจงปลอดภัย (lam long rua khong chat chong plot phai)
15. ลำล่องกรุงเทพแออัด (lam long krung thep ae at)
16. ลำล่องลากรุงเทพ (lam long la krung thep)

this week, some great ubon-style molam! mr. chalat songsoem, better known as p. chalatnoi, is one of the greatest molam to come out of ubon ratchathani, an authority on local singing & composition styles and a vital distributor of folk wisdom. although best known for his mastery of lam klon, this tape features mostly pieces of the related but less-common lam long style, notoriously difficult to perform. today he holds the title of "national artist" and teaches at khon khaen university. wonderfully sparse traditional voice & khaen, enjoy!

khunphaen lukprachin & namphueng boribun

artist: ขุนแผน ลูกปราจีน + น้ำผึ้ง บริบูรณ์ (khunphaen lukprachin & namphueng boribun)

album: ทำขวัญนาคชุดสมบูรณ์แบบ ชุดที่ 1 (tham khwan nak chut sombun baep, vol. 1)

tracklist:

01. ทำขวัญนาคชุดสมบูรณ์แบบ ชุดที่ 1 ตอน 1 (tham khwan nak chut sombun baep, vol. 1, pt. 1)

02. ทำขวัญนาคชุดสมบูรณ์แบบ ชุดที่ 1 ตอน 2 (tham khwan nak chut sombun baep, vol. 1, pt. 2)

this week: a great recording of sacred music, featuring the talents of former luk thung star namphueng boribun! ms. namphueng was a protégé of famed songwriter & bandleader phiphat boribun, and wife to luk thung rockstar suang santi. after her husband's tragic death, however, she moved away from pop songs... she partnered with khunphaen lukprachin, and together they were known as "king & queen of tham khwan". tham khwan is the traditional ceremony for binding the spirit to the body, typically performed at important junctures of life (leaving home, getting married, etc.) this particular tape features the music of a tham khwan intended for young men about to become novice monks. it's a little old & battered, with a couple dropouts and a bit of mechanical noise, but it's still a fantastic document... enjoy!