Wednesday, April 3, 2024

khana chao thung: pen sot thammai



artist: คณะ ชาวทุ่ง (khana chao thung)
album: เป็นโสดทำไม (pen sot thammai)
tracklist:
01. เป็นโสดทำไม (pen sot thammai)
02. 16 ปีแห่งความหลัง (16 pi haeng khwam lang)
03. หนาวจะตายอยู่แล้ว (nao cha tai yu laeo)
04. ดำเนินจ๋า (damnoen cha)
05. เดือนหงายที่ริมโขง (duean ngai thi rim khong)
06. สวยจริงๆ (suai ching ching)
07. สาวสวนแตง (sao suan taeng)
08. เดือนจ๋า (duean cha)
09. รักน้องไม่มีเงินแต่ง (rak nong mai mi ngoen taeng)
10. แน่ข้างเดียว (nae khang diao)

this week, another unusual discovery that my friend chris chanced upon recently in bangkok! there's not much information about this group online, but a little digging reveals that they were a project of prayong chuenyen, the arranger who crafted the sound of many classic funk-styled luk thung singles. while the backing band here shares that feel, with its steady beats, laid-back basslines and groovy electric piano, the vocals are something completely different. more akin to the university chorus-style recordings of the time, the singers are a large mixed choir, singing in close harmony and employing instrumental emulation (despite not being a cappella). as for the songs on this 1989 cassette, the selections are entirely chosen from the oeuvre of suraphon sombatcharoen, the "king of luk thung". the smooth, blended voices are quite a departure from suraphon's own rough and characterful delivery. hope you'll enjoy!