Thursday, June 26, 2014

kantruem mohai



artist: กันตรึมสุรินทร์ (kantruem surin)
album: กันตรึมโมฮาย (kantruem mohai)
01. กันตรึมโมฮาย (kantruem mohai)
02. สัตว์เซ้ (sat se)
03. เจิงปีร์ (choeng pi)
04. เปลญวน (ple yuan)
05. กระเชาะผมโปง (kracho phom pong)
06. อังแก๊บ (angkaep)
07. เชี๊บ ๆ (chiep chiep)
08. ซาระยัง (sarayang)

this week, some excellent old-style kantruem music from surin! while the dominant image of kantruem is the modern brand of produced pop-style material, there's a older living form (tang doem) that's often overlooked. the melody is carried by the fiddle here, too, but the rhythm section is all drums & cymbals, with male & female singers trading khmer-language vocals. the extremely generic name apparently given for this ensemble makes me think it's more likely that the folks at ligo just couldn't be bothered with discographical details. whoever these folks are, though, they've got their stuff together.. enjoy!

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Tuesday, June 17, 2014

phumphuang duangchan: wai na rak



artist: พุ่มพวง ดวงจันทร์ (phumphuang duangchan)
album: วัยน่ารัก (wai na rak)
01. วัยน่ารัก (way na rak)
02. ชู้รัก ชู้รส (chu rak, chu rot)
03. เมาเลยพี่ (mao loei phi)
04. แพงแพ้แพง (phaeng phae phaeng)
05. หนีรัก (ni rak)
06. ช้ำเพราะพี่ (cham phro phi)
07. ตาจ้องตา (ta chong ta)
08. ฉันทนไม่ไหว (chan thon mai wai)
09. ใครคนหนึ่ง (khrai khon nueng)
10. วอนพระช่วยดล (won phra chuai don)
11. สาวเอย สาวเจ้า (sao oei, sao chao)
12. แม่หม้ายสงคราม (mae mai songkhram)
13. วิวาห์อาลัย (wiwa alai)
14. น้องแดง (nong daeng)
15. ทำใจเย็น (tham chai yen)
16. เป้งเข้าหน้าแง (peng khao na ngae)

once more, the queen of luk thung, ms. phumphuang duangchan! from her early days as "namphueng mueangsuphan" in waiphot phetsuphan's band to her tragic death at 31, phumphuang helped revitalize luk thung in the 1980s and redefine notions of stardom in thailand. the songs on today's cassette are not among her most well-known, but there are still some great moments. enjoy!

preview:

Monday, June 2, 2014

rungphet laemsing: fon duean hok



artist: รุ่งเพชร แหลมสิงห์ (rungphet laemsing)
album: ฝนเดือนหก (fon duean hok)
01. ฝนเดือนหก (fon duean hok)
02. กบจำศีล (kop cham sin)
03. กบคนองฝน (kop khonong fon)
04. เขาลืมเราแล้ว (khao luem rao laeo)
05. ปีหน้าพาเที่ยวกรุง (pi na thieow krung)
06. คืนฝนตก (khuen fon tok)
07. น้ำลงเดือนยี่ (nam long duean yi)
08. แล้วแต่วาสนา (laeo tae watsana)
09. ความรักเจ้าขา (khwam rak chao kha)
10. สงกรานต์บ้านนา (songkran ban na)

it's the sixth month of the year, the beginning of thailand's rainy period, so let's start it with rungphet laemsing's timeless song of the season! a native of phetchaburi province, rungphet got his start singing the songs of khamron sambunnanon while studying to be a combat medic. in 1961, as a royal guard stationed in bangkok, he fell in with phayong mukda's group, before defecting to samniang muangthong's ruam daokrachai band a year later. he became a personal favorite of legendary songwriter phaibun butkhan, who even set him up for a spot on the silver screen. when rungphet skipped his first movie shoot, however, phaibun lost face and broke off all relations with the singer, effectively ending his career. though his stardom may have been cut short, we still have these beautiful recordings from back in his prime. enjoy!

preview: