thanin intharathep: phleng amata ngoen lan chut phiset

artist: ธานินทร์ อินทรเทพ (thanin intharathep)
album: เพลงอมตะเงินล้าน ชุด พิเศษ (phleng amata ngoen lan chut phiset)
tracklist:
01. พี่มีแต่ให้ (phi mi tae hai)
02. ผู้เสียสละ (phu sia sala)
03. บอกรักฝากใจ (bok rak fak chai)
04. เผลอใจรัก (phloe chai rak)
05. อเวจีใจ (awechi chai)
06. คิดถึงพี่ไหม (khit thueng phi mai)
07. 30 ยังแจ๋ว (30 yang chaeo)
08. ตัวไกลใจเหงา (tua klai chai ngao)
09. กระท่อมนางผ่าน (krathom nang phan)
10. แม่ค้าตาคม (mae kha ta khom)
11. บ้านนาสัญญารัก (ban na sanya rak)
12. พี่มีแต่ให้ [ชาวด์ดนตรี] (phi mi tae hai [instrumental])

this week, country-meets-city with 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" variety 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 1990 cassette finds him outside of his typical ken, tackling hits of the more rural-oriented luk thung genre; songs made famous by sonkhiri siprachuap, sayan sanya, yotrak salakchai, ekkachai siwichai, and the like. for these tracks, he's backed by none other than the era's near-omnipresent lord of country music, num phuthai, who brings his yamaha yc-30-driven sound to nonpiya's minimalistic production style. enjoy!

 

[note: this tape had some bad dropouts for the first 30 seconds, so i did a little amateur splicing.. hopefully the edit is not too intrusive!]

 

siriphon amphaiphong: mai ao phra chao ko chaek

artist: ศิริพร อำไพพงษ์ (siriphon amphaiphong)
album: ไม่เอาพระเจ้าก็แจก (mai ao phra chao ko chaek)
tracklist:
01. หัวอกคนคอย (hua ok khon khoi)
02. ไม่เอาพระเจ้าก็แจก (mai ao phra chao ko chaek)
03. ถึงช้ำก็พอใจ (thueng cham ko pho chai)
04. จากด้วยความเข้าใจ (chak duai khwam khao chai)
05. อยากจะมีปีกบิน (yak cha mi pik bin)
06. เธอคือดวงใจ (thoe khue duang chai)
07. ไม่โกรธถือว่าครู (mai krot thue wa khru)
08. กลัวจะทนไม่ไหว (klua cha thon mai wai)
09. ศรรักมีสนิม (son rak mi sanim)
10. มือถือไมค์ใจห่วงแม่ (mue thue mic chai huang mae)
11. เงินหรือจะซื้อใจ (ngoen rue cha sue chai)
12. กอดเข่าเหงาใจ (kot khao ngao chai)

this week, some early classics from the great siriphon amphaiphong! born and raised in udon thani, siriphon left school at a young age to help out on her family's farm. when not working the fields, she studied lam klon with her father, leader of the kongmi saeng-arunsin troupe. she began performing onstage at 16, eventually being discovered by doi inthanon and invited to join the suthep daoduangmai band. today's cassette was her eighth with krung thai audio (via subsidiary phin-khaen promotions) and features songwriting from khamkoeng thongchan and music by a. num phuthai. it dates from 1990, shortly before her break-out with "bow rak si dam" after she moved to pgm records the following year. 12 tracks of excellent molam pop.. enjoy!

ekkachai siwichai: mai yak phok mia

artist: เอกชัย ศรีวิชัย (ekkachai siwichai)
album: ไม่อยากพกเมีย (mai yak phok mia)
tracklist:
01. ไม่อยากพกเมีย (mai yak phok mia)
02. เอกชัยหาคู่ (ekkachai ha khu)
03. เดือนเก้าเศร้าใจ (duean kao sao chai)
04. รักพี่สักแต๊ด (rak phi sak taet)
05. ทำได้สนิท (tham dai sanit)
06. ตังเกขาดรัก (tangke khat rak)
07. ทีเดียวสองชื่อ (thi diao song chue)
08. น้ำตาตกใน (nam ta tok nai)
09. พระสุธน 1 (phra sunthon 1)
10. พระสุธน 2 (phra sunthon 2)
11. ไม่บอกไม่รู้นะเนี๊ยะ (mai bok mai ru na nia)
12. กุลาพาจน (kula pha chon)

this week, party-time classics from ekkachai siwichai! a native of nakhon si thammarat, ekkachai is one of the bigger names in the luk thung circle to hail from thailand's south. from temple boy, to shadow-puppet understudy, to bangkok-based star of stage and screen, he's had a storied career. today we'll listen back to his 1999 album, following his return to the south, put out by master tape records. the title track is among his best remembered, but the rest of the album is pretty eclectic and has some great tunes as well. a slight rock tinge is brought to the proceedings by tong thammarat suwanmongkhon from the famed phuea chiwit band khon dan kwian, who helped with the music. enjoy!

mai charoenpura: khwam lap sut khop fa

artist: ใหม่ เจริญปุระ (mai charoenpura)
album: ความลับสุดขอบฟ้า (khwam lap sut khop fa)
tracklist:
01. เสียใจได้ยินไหม (sia chai dai yin mai)
02. เธอรู้หรือเปล่า (thoe ru rue plao)
03. ไม่มีปัญหา (mai mi panha)
04. เสียเวลาจะตายไป (sia wela cha tai pai)
05. สุดฤทธิ์สุดเดช (sut rit sut det)
06. เก็บขยะ (kep khaya)
07. หนักเกินไปแล้ว (nak koen pai laeo)
08. ต่อไปนี้ไม่มีใคร (to pai ni mai mi khrai)
09. ระวังให้ดีเหอะ (rawang hai di hoe)
10. อยากรู้นัก (yak ru nak)
11. ไม่รู้จะหลีกยังไง (mai ru cha lik yang ngai)
12. รักแล้วรักเลย (rak laeo rak loei)

this week, early-90's pop-rock from singer and actor mai charoenpura! born and raised in bangkok, mai was the fourth daughter of famed actor/director surin charoenpura (a.k.a. rut ronnaphop), and half-sister of fellow star sai inthira charoenpura. due to her father's influence, she was always close to the entertainment world growing up. after a few film and television appearances, she entered the music industry in 1989. her sound was notable for often displaying a somewhat harder edge than that of her contemporaries, with blues-rock and hair-metal riffs layered over pop melodies. this album is her third, released in 1992 by mga co., ltd., which sold a record-breaking 2 million copies. production was handled by aphichai yenphunsuk, with si fa (kanlayarat waranawat) co-producing and leading the songwriting efforts, alongside the team at grammy entertainment. enjoy!

carabao: ameri-koi

artist: คาราบาว (carabao)
album: อเมริโกย (ameri-koi)
tracklist:
01. อเมริโกย (ameri-koi)
02. มะโหนก (ถึกควายทุย ภาค 6) (manok (thuek khwai thui, pt. 6))
03. คนจนผู้ยิ่งใหญ่ (khon chon phu ying yai)
04. มาลัย (malai)
05. ข่าวดี (khao di)
06. ตางขโมย (tang khamoi)
07. ซาอุดรฯ (sa-udon)
08. หำเฮี้ยน (ham hian)
09. เฒ่าทะเล (tao thale)
10. แผ่นดิน (phaendin)

sorry for the long absence: i was off for a few weeks touring the west coast of the u.s. (and texas) with my friends in the khun narin sin phin prayuk band. now that we're back, let's start out with a favorite from our time on the road: the biggest thai rock band of all time, carabao! known for the political nature of their songwriting, they have shifted from being socialist upstarts to nationalist reactionaries over the years, but have typically left great music in their wake. today's cassette dates from 1985, following-up on their breakthrough commercial smash from the prior year, "made in thailand", as well as their involvement in the ill-fated "retired officer rebellion". it was also the first to be recorded in their own center stage studio, and marked an expansion of synthesized sounds and production for the group. enjoy!

khana duriyapranit: phleng sip song phasa

artist: คณะ ดุริยประณีต (khana duriyapranit)
album: เพลงสิบสองภาษา (phleng sip song phasa)
tracklist:
01. เทพนิมิตร (thep nimit)
02. ออกเพลงเร็ว (ok phleng raeo)
03. กราวนอก แขกเงาะ จีน (krao nok, khaek ngo, chin)
04. เขมร (khamen)
05. กราวตลุง (krao talung)
06. ลาว (lao)
07. แขก (khaek)
08. มอญ (mon)
09. พม่า (phama)
10. ญวน (yuan)
11. ฝรั่ง (farang)
12. บรเทศ (borathet)

this week, an amazing recording of the thai classical "12 language"-suite! played in the boisterous hard-malleted piphat style, this performance features a range of tunes in different 'accents' (that is, melodies of a foreign origin), not 'languages', per se.. and also not necessarily 'twelve' (a number chosen for auspicious reasons.. this particular recording appears to claim thai, khmer, lao, malay, mon, burmese, vietnamese, and english), and is strongly, but not exclusively, associated with funerary traditions. in the past, performances would occasionally include comic actors miming out ethnic stereotypes associated with said cultures, though this is becoming less common (for obvious reasons). our performers are the illustrious duriyapranit ensemble of ban bang lamphu, led by sutchit duriyapranit [pictured], with vocalists chaeng khlaisithong and somchai thapphon contributing. enjoy!

sri krung brass

artist: ศรีกรุง บราส (sri krung brass)
album: ศรีกรุง บราส (sri krung brass)
tracklist:
01. สร้องแสงแดง (soi saeng daeng)
02. กระแต (kratae)
03. ลาวดวงเดือน (lao duang duean)
04. แขกต่อยหมอ (khaek toi mo)
05. แขกมอญ (khaek mon)
06. ไทรโยค (sai yok)
07. เขมรโพธิสัตย์ (khmer phothisat)
08. คลื่นกระทบฝั่ง (khluen krathop fang)
09. ลาวเสี่ยงเทียน (lao siang thian)
10. ก่อนสิ้นแสงตะวัน (kon sin saeng tawan)
11. มาลี นารี (mali nari)
12. นางในฝัน (nang nai fan)
13. ใจ (chai)
14. หยาดน้ำฝนหยดน้ำตา (yat nam fon yot nam ta)
15. โอ้ยอดหญิง (oi yot ying)
16. ค่ำแล้ว (kham laeo)
17. ใจบอบช้ำ (chai bop cham)
18. รอความหวัง (ro khwam wang)
19. ร่ายมนต์รัก (rai mon rak)
20. จำวันจาก (cham wan chak)
21. ความรักของฉัน (khwam rak khong chan)

this week, more great thai-international bachelor pad music from the sri krung brass! from what i can piece together about their history, the group was established by narot thawonbut circa 1935 as the house band for sri krung sound film studio, to provide incidental music for the films the studio produced. their membership, including bandleaders, would vary greatly over the years, from narot on to government public relations department band (later suntharaphon) veteran saman kanchanaphalin, and again to korean ex-patriot kangwan chonlakun (a.k.a. mr. charlie kang, born kang chulkoo), who handles the arrangements here. this collection features two of their original long-players combined onto one cassette: the first highlighting thai classical tunes in a "novel style" (where they were co-billed as/with eddy's trumpets team?) and a second revisiting more contemporary luk krung hits, both filtered through a range of cosmopolitan latin and soul influences.. enjoy!

[i must warn you, also, the compilers of this collection have gotten over-ambitious again, and the second side tails out before the final track is finished]

 

fame: khon mai khoei

artist: fame (เฟม)
album: คนไม่เคย (khon mai khoei)
tracklist:
01. คนไม่เคย (khon mai khoei)
02. รู้ทั้งรู้ (ru thang ru)
03. ไม่รักกันจริง (mai rak kan ching)
04. ฟังฉันก่อน (fang chan kon)
05. ไม่เคยพอดี (mai khoei pho di)
06. ชีวิตเราของเรา (chiwit rao khong rao)
07. จบลงที่เดิม (chop long thi doem)
08. ลืมๆ กันไป (luem luem kan pai)
09. คนละอย่าง (khon la yang)
10. ทนเรื่อยไป (thon rueai pai)

this week, late-'80s soft rock from fame! the lads of fame started out in 1987 as a bar band under the name pok shirt. after meeting guitar-ballad maestro itthi phalangkun on a video shoot, they got the invite to join r.s. promotion. with songwriting duties handled by a roster of r.s. hands, itthi produced this, their first album, at jam studio in 1989. their line-up at the time included kraison chamnanwet (pi) on guitar and vocals, nainat chanindet (nat) on keyboards and vocals, thana aksonphan (om) on lead guitar, anuson makaeo (tam) on bass, sorawait buasi (ton) on keyboards, and pinyo charoensathitphong (nueng) on drums. enjoy!

phloen phromdaen: phloen disco chao kao

artist: เพลิน พรหมแดน (phloen phromdaen)
album: เพลิน ดิสโก้ เจ้าเก่า (phloen disco chao kao)
tracklist:
01. กลัวตาย (klua tai)
02. ข่าวสดๆ (khao sot sot)
03. วอนพระอินทร์ (won phra in)
04. ตามใจเอ็งอย่าขัดใจข้า (tam chai eng ya khat chai kha)
05. กำนันผันเงิน (kam nan phan ngoen)
06. กลับบ้าน (klap ban)
07. เมียไม่เอาถ่าน (mia mai ao than)
08. อาตี๋สักมังกร (a ti sak mangkon)
09. อาจารย์ใบ้หวย (achan bai huai)
10. เบียร์คอแมว (beer kho maeo)
11. สร้างมนุษย์ (sang manut)
12. ยิงทิ้ง (ying thing)
13. ใจดำเหมือนกาละแม (chai dam muean kalamae)
14. ฟุตบอลดารา (football dara)
15. คึกลิดคิดลึก (khueklit khit luek)
16. สมัครด่วน (samak duan)
17. ชัยภูมิบ้านพี่ (chaiyaphum ban phi)
18. ลุงพุดหนังเหนียว (lung phut nang niao)
19. ห่วงเมีย (huang mia)
20. ศุกร์เมาเสาร์นอน (suk mao sao non)
21. คนขี้ลืม (khon khi luem)
22. ตาแป๊ะฝัน (ta pae fan)
23. นายรวยผู้พลิกแผ่นดิน (nai ruai phu phlik phaendin)
24. ศึกไอ้แสบ (suek ai saep)
25. หมอแผนใหม่ (mo phaen mai)
26. รักกระโหลกแตก (rak kalok taek)
27. คนโคราช (khon khorat)
28. ศิษย์หนุ่มกับครูสาว (sit num kap khru sao)

earlier this month, we lost another true legend of luk thung music: the incomparable phloen phromdaen. phloen grew up in aranyaprathet on the cambodian border, where he worked on his parents' farm. at age 20, a radio contest win landed him a spot in a local ramwong band. following that stint, he headed for bangkok to join the burgeoning luk thung scene, using his own savings to record original songs. eventually these sessions produced his massive hit "chom thung", which won him a spot among the biggest stars of the era, and even starring roles in several films. he was hugely influential in the luk thung world, being among the first to integrate heavier funk-rock sounds into the genre, introducing "talking music" (songs with comedic spoken interludes), and starting the trend of huge, feathery dance troupes through his wife sakuntala phromsawang's famous cabaret-inspired costumes. this cassette compiles a pair of albums that he recorded for s.o. records, presumably in the late '70s or early '80s. they present his funk hits of the prior decade, rearranged into 4 non-stop disco-style medleys (think: shalamar or stars on 45). he's backed by prayong chuenyen and his group, with arrangements by songkhro samatthaphaphong. enjoy! 

lung naep: 21 kham lung naep talui lok

artist: ลุงแนบ (lung naep)
album: 21 ค่ำ ลุงแนบตะลุยโลก (21 kham lung naep talui lok)
tracklist:
01. 21 ค่ำ ลุงแนบตะลุยโลก ตอน 1 (21 kham lung naep talui lok, pt. 1)
02. 21 ค่ำ ลุงแนบตะลุยโลก ตอน 2 (21 kham lung naep talui lok, pt. 2)

this week, classic isan comedy from lung naep and friends! a founding member of nopphadon duangphon's legendary phet phin thong troupe, lung naep (narong kotsaphon) was not only lead joke-man but also a prolific songwriter behind the scenes, penning many of the hit tunes associated with the band. he was a musician as well, one of the first to introduce the phin into luk thung music via his recordings with samai onwong's band, and apparently was the very person who gave the name "phin" to the instrument formerly known locally as "sung"¹. on this 1989 tape he's joined by an all-star roster of guests, including molam khen dalao, bunpheng faiphiochai, sunthon khangphae, p. suatluat, and saengduean prakaikham, alongside luk thung stars onuma singsiri, atsawin sithong, saksiam phetchomphu, and chinnakon krailat (who also handled the recording at his mangkon thong studio in bangkok). num phuthai (and lung naep himself) take up phin duties, while thongchan sonchai handles the khaen. enjoy!