caravan: blacksmith

artist: คาราวาน (caravan)
album: คนตีเหล็ก (blacksmith)
tracklist:
01. หนุ่มพเนจร (num phanechon)
02. คนตีเหล็ก (khon ti lek)
03. กองเกวียนบ้านไพร (kong kwian ban phrai)
04. ข้าวลาลาน (khao la lan)
05. ชายคนนั้น (chai khon nan)
06. เหงา (ngao)
07. แด่... เจ้าดอกไม้ (dae... chao dok mai)
08. ใกล้ตาไกลตีน (klai ta klai tin)
09. ภูเขา (phu khao)
10. ฝันร้าย (fan rai)

as per request, here's another fantastic album from caravan... and this one comes courtesy of alexandra, so you know it's good!! caravan, of course, are the progenitors of the เพลงเพื่อชีวิต (pleng puea chiwit) or "songs for life" genre. the band was founded in the early '70s by student protest leaders surachai chanthimathon & wirasak sunthonsi. their tunes & lyrics were a vital force for bringing the messages of urban student activism out to the provinces. their music is fantastic, adapting folk-rock rhythms & melodies from american & british protest songs of the time and interlacing them with thai folk idioms & instrumentation. in the wake of the massacre at thammasat university, the band fled bangkok, some heading into the mountains of the northeast to join the communist insurgency in armed struggle. needless to say, their music was banned from radioplay for quite a while, broadcast only from pirate stations in the hills. this album is from 1983, shortly after their return from exile. very nice stuff, enjoy!

caravan: s/t

band: คาราวาน (caravan)
album: s/t
tracklist:
01. คนกับควาย (khon kap khwai)
02. เปิบข้าว (poep khao)
03. หมายเหตุจากหมู่บ้าน (maihet chak muban)
04. ชาวนา (chao na)
05. ข้าวคอยฝน (khao khoi fon)
06. คนภูเขา (khon phu khao)
07. จิตร ภูมิศักดิ์ (chit phumisak)
08. นกสีเหลือง (nok si lueang)
09. หยุดก่อน (yut kon)
10. กระต่ายกับเต่า (kratai kap tao)

earlier we heard from carabao, the band who popularized the เพลงเพื่อชีวิต (pleng puea chiwit) or "songs for life" genre; here we have the debut from its progenitors, caravan. this tape, issued in 1975 (พ.ศ. 2518) collects the songs with which band members สุรชัย จันทิมาธร (surachai chanthimathon) & วีระศักดิ์ สุนทรศรี (wirasak sunthonsi) had been leading protests for democracy throughout the country. their tunes & lyrics caught on quickly and were a vital force for bringing the messages of urban student activism out to the provinces. the music is fantastic, loosely adapting folk-rock rhythms & melodies from american & british protest songs of the time (listen for bob dylan, traffic), and interlacing them with thai folk idioms & instrumentation. shortly after the release of this album, in the wake of the massacre at thammasat university, the members fled bangkok, some heading into the mountains of the northeast to join the communist insurgency in armed struggle. needless to say, their music was banned from radioplay, broadcast only from pirate stations in the hills. these songs have since been reissued on smithsonian folkways, with fantastic liner notes.

tonchabap 1

artist: various
album: ต้นฉบับ 1 (tonchabap 1)
tracklist:
01. ยากยิ่งนัก (yak ying nak)
performed by ชาตรี (chatri)
02. ดั่งเม็ดทราย (dang met sai)
performed by สุชาติ ชวางกูร (suchat chawangkun)
03. รักครั้งแรก (rak khrang raek)
performed by ชาตรี (chatri)
04. ใจรัก (chai rak)
performed by สุชาติ ชวางกูร (suchat chawangkun)
05. ลองรัก (long rak)
performed by จันทนีย์ อูนากูล (chanthani unakun)
06. น้ำเซาะทราย (nam so sai)
performed by จำรัส เศวตาภรณ์ (chamrat sewataphon)
07. เหมันต์ที่ผ่านพ้นไป (heman thi phan phon pai)
performed by สุชาติ ชวางกูร (suchat chawangkun)
08. ลมลวง (lom luang)
performed by ธีระศักดิ์ อัจจิมานนท์ (thirasak atchimanon)
09. รักฉันนั้นเพื่อเธอ (rak chan nan phuea thoe)
performed by พิงค์แพนเตอร์ (pink panther)
10. เดือนเพ็ญ (duean phen)
performed by คาราวาน (caravan)

this week, a great label sampler of early 80's bangkok sounds courtesy e.m.i. music (thailand) co., ltd., a local branch of the british transnational conglomerate. this compilation brings together a mix of their offerings from the first half of the decade, with an emphasis on soft-rock and a.o.r. sounds, whether from pop groups like chatri and pink panther, phuea chiwit veterans caravan, or solo artists like singer-actor suchat chawangkun, singer-songwriter chanthani unakun, grand ex' alum chamrat sewataphon and relative-unknown folkie thirasak atchimanon. enjoy!

 

phongsit khamphi: rao cha klap ma

artist: พงษ์สิทธิ์ คำภีร์ (phongsit khamphi)
album: เราจะกลับมา (rao cha klap ma)
tracklist:
01. แค่นั้น (khae nan)
02. กตัญญู (katanyu)
03. หนุ่มน้อย (num noi)
04. เบื่อ (buea)
05. คนเอย (khon oei)
06. แค่นั้น (khae nan) [backing track]
07. ฝากจดหมาย (fak chotmai)
08. ความเข้มแข็งสุดท้าย (khwam khem khaeng sut thai)
09. เจ้านาย (chao nai)
10. เสือ สิงห์ กระทิง แรด (suea sing krathing raet)
11. เราจะกลับมา (rao cha klap ma)
12. ความเข้มแข็งสุดท้าย (khwam khem khaeng sut thai) [bonus track]

this week, romantic "songs for life" from pu phongsit khamphi! a native of nongkhai, khamphi is a leader of what we might call the 'third wave' of phleng phuea chiwit (if we think of the first wave as comprising the folksy protest groups like caravan, and the second being the more rock-inflected groups like carabao). khamphi combined the harder sounds of the latter with a lighter touch that recalls the former, and moved away from explicitly political lyrics, focusing more on human-interest style storytelling and even somewhat conventional love songs. this album is his sixth, recorded at caravan studios and released on m² in 1994. enjoy!

[as a side note: i was surprised to see that the liners contain a special dedication to former political prisoner surachai saedan, whom khamphi apparently met while performing in khlong prem central prison. a leader of the communist insurgency and a long-time anti-monarchy activist, surachai disappeared in 2018 and is widely presumed to have been murdered while in exile in neighboring laos, fleeing a lèse-majesté charge]

kammachon, vol. 1

artist: กรรมาชน (kammachon)

album: กรรมาชน ชุดที่ 1 (kammachon, vol. 1)

tracklist:

01. กรรมาชน (kammachon)

02. คนกับควาย (khon kap khwai)

03. ชาวนารำพึง (chao na ramphueng)

04. แสง (saeng)

05. กูจะปฏิวัติ (ku cha patiwat)

06. จิตร ภูมิศักดิ์ (chit phumisak)

07. นกสีเหลือง (nok si lueang)

08. เพื่อมวลชน (phuea muan chon)

09. โลกที่ 3 (lok thi 3)

10. เลือดทาแผ่นดิน (lueat tha phaen din)

11. ฆาตกร (khatthakon)

12. เปิบข้าว (poep khao)

13. มาร์ชประชาชนเดิน (march prachachon doen)

14. สู้ไม่ถอย (su mai thoi)

15. เจ้าพระยา (chao phraya)

16. ข้าวคอยฝน (khao khoi fon)

this week, an incredible tape of thai protest song! founded by kunsak rueangkhongkiat (jin) & a group of student activists from mahidol university around the time of the 14 october 1973 uprising, the kammachon band put out only 3 albums in as many years. frontman jin, however, has been performing solo ever since (he plays a pharmacist by day)¹. what's most remarkable about jin, though, is that he's one of the only phuea chiwit performers to actively support the red shirt movement.. the genre for the most part is very "yellow". but on to the music; although many of the songs on here are composed by phuea chiwit progenitors caravan, kammachon have a unique approach all their own, adding layers of psychedelia and even luk thung influences to the standards. on top of this, the band possess a rare intensity; they really sound like the young upstarts they were.. jin's endearingly untrained vocals with an equally shambolic, energetic band behind him. absolute classic.. enjoy!

preview:

phongthep kradonchamnan: i am isan

artist: พงษ์เทพ กระโดนชำนาญ (phongthep kradonchamnan)
album: ไอแอมอีสาน (i am isan)
tracklist:
01. สาวเสื้อลาย (sao suea lai)
02. เอาเต๊อะ (ao toe)
03. ไอแอมอีสาน (i am isan)
04. โคราช 4 (khorat 4)
05. นกเขาไฟ (ภาคผีเมือง) (nok khao phai (phak phi mueang))
06. คนเลว (khon leo)
07. สาวเมืองเลย (sao mueang loei)
08. แหล่ 29 (lae 29)
09. ลำตะคอง (lam takhong)
10. อีแต๋น (i-taen)

this week, 'songs for life' from the 'farmer's poet'! phongthep was born in nakhon ratchasima (khorat), in thailand's isan region. he started out with the legendary phuea chiwit pioneers caravan, before fleeing to the jungle like many thai student activists after the terror of october 6th, 1976. he resurfaced following the amnesty of 1980, and joined pop-protest group carabao as a touring musician, before embarking on a solo career. on this, his third album (released 1986), he's joined by thongkram thana (guitar, violin), ut yannawa (drums), wichai chomrit (bass) and mongkhon uthok (so and phin), as well as guest spots from guitarist suthep thawanwiwatkun of hope, back-up vocals from yupphawan imkrung and so-u from rangsit chongchansittho. a noted multi-instrumentalist, phongthep himself contributes lead vocals, khaen, angkalung, flute, guitar and percussion. the music is an eclectic mix of folk-rock, reggae, country, bluegrass, etc., all mixed with various samplings of local thai styles.. enjoy!

preview: