khana khan kaeo: dontri phuen mueang chiang mai

artist: คณะ ขันแก้ว (khana khan kaeo)
album: ดนตรีพื้นเมืองเชียงใหม่ (dontri phuen mueang chiang mai)
tracklist:
01. ลาวเสี่ยงเทียน (lao siang thian)
02. พระลอเดินดง (phra lo doen dong)
03. มังกรร่ายรำ (mangkon rai ram)
04. รำวงแม่โขงแม่ปิง (ramwong mae khong mae ping)
05. ลาวกระแซ (lao krasae)
06. ธรณีกันแสง (thorani kan saeng)
07. ปราสาทไหว (prasat wai)
08. รำวงพายเรือ (ramwong phai ruea)
09. ลาวดำเนินทราย (lao damnoen sai)
10. ไม้บัณเฑาะว์ (mai bantho)
11. ฤาษีหลงถ้ำ (ruesi long tham)
12. สร้อยแสงแดง (soi saeng daeng)
13. กุหลาบสามสี (kulap sam si)
14. ลาวรำพึง (lao ramphueng)
15. ดอกคำใต้ (dok kham tai)
16. แหย่งน้อย (yaeng noi)
17. พระลอเลื่อน (phra lo luean)
18. เสียงซอสั่งสาว (siang so sang sao)

this week, fantastic chiang mai local music from the khan kaeo ensemble! based in hang dong district, khan kaeo are one of the longest-running orchestras in the province, founded by pho nanlun lalit in the 1950s. they were also apparently one of the first such ensembles to record, back during the 78 rpm era, though the performances on this cassette from nakhon phanit, mostly sourced from long-play vinyl, are credited to the second generation of the band. while much of their output is in the phat khong configuration (northern-style piphat), this album contains 'sueng-salo-khlui' tracks, referring to their lute, fiddle and flute iteration. thanks so much to songkran somchandra for all the information about this group, and to cliff sloane for the generous gift of this tape. enjoy!

sairung wimanthong: sao noi khoi khu

artist: สายรุ่ง วิมานทอง (sairung wimanthong)
album: สาวน้อยคอยคู่ (sao noi khoi khu)
tracklist:
01. สาวน้อยคอยคู่ (sao noi khoi khu)
02. รอรับแรงใจ (ro rap raeng chai)
03. จากใจสายรุ่ง (chak chai sairung)
04. เตือนใจวัยรุ่น (tuean chai wai run)
05. ตำราป๊นตุ๊กข์ (tamra pon tuk)
06. สมศรีฮักแต๊ (somsi hak tae)
07. บ่าวสมัย (bao samai)
08. น้ำบ่ไหลเจี่ยวปื่น (nam bo lai chiao puen)
09. หัวอกโช่เฟ่อ (hua ok chauffeur)
10. หนูรักอา (nu rak a)

this week, more great music from lanna! our previous post featured performers from the first and second generations of so recording stars, today we'll hear from the "modernized" generation (circa the late-80s?). i couldn't find any information online about our singer, ms. sairung wimanthong, but the lyrics helpfully hint that she was a disciple of phophin phet-lanna. sung in kham mueang and with some vocal inflections that indicate her so background, the other main musical influence seems to be from luk thung isan stars like phimpha phonsiri or sunari ratchasima (she even quotes ade putra's "si jantung hati" as sunari famously did). enjoy! 

bunsi sanmueang, buason mueangphrao & si-on wangsingkham

artist: บุญศรี สันเหมือง, บัวซอน เมืองพร้าว + ศรีออน วังสิงห์คำ (bunsi sanmueang, buason mueangphrao & si-on wangsingkham)
album: ซอน้ำตาเมียหลวง (so nam ta mia luang)
tracklist:
01. ซอน้ำตาเมียหลวง (so nam ta mia luang)
02. ซอแอ่วสาวปั่นฝ้าย (so aeo sao pan fai)
03. ซอหาคู่รัก (so ha khu rak)
04. ซอตำรายาตลก (so tamra ya talok)
sung by จันทร์ทิพย์ เรือนรักเรา (chanthip rueanrakrao)

this week's cassette is part of a generous bequest gifted to us by educator cliff sloane, a former professor of ethnomusicology and founder of asianclassicalmp3.org, a major influence behind this blog.

today, more fantastic old lanna folksong! our headliners are the so vocal trio of pho bunsi, mae buason and mae si-on and their recordings from the early 60s with chiang mai's nakhon phanit records, still fondly remembered in the region today. the backing is provided by a group of pi (free-reed bamboo pipes), joined in places by sueng (plucked, fretted lute) and salo (spike fiddle), presumably by nakhon phanit's house band. also included as the final track is a comic number by pho chanthip rueanrakrao, an early star of the scene since the 78-era. enjoy!

chanthip & khamban: so kep nok

artist: จันทร์ทิพย์ + คำบาน (chanthip & khamban)
album: ชอเก็บนก (so kep nok)
tracklist:
01. ชอเก็บนก ตอน 1 (so kep nok, pt. 1)
02. ชอเก็บนก ตอน 2 (so kep nok, pt. 2)

this week, fantastic old music from lanna! our performers are จันทร์ทิพย์ เรือนรักเรา (chanthip rueanrakrao) a.k.a. จันติ๊บ สามหลัง (chantip samlang) and คำบาน สบอาว (khamban sob-ao), two early recording stars of northern thai music. this cassette centers on a piece that was originally released by bangkok's t. ngek chuan (rabbit brand) in the early 1950s across a long series of 78 rpm records (thus the breaks that occur roughly every 3 minutes, to accommodate the original format). according to the labels, our 2 so performers are accompanied by an ensemble of 4 large pi (free-reed bamboo pipes). there are also instrumental pieces tacked on to the end of each side that feature a larger group, consisting of the aforementioned pi, plus sueng (plucked, fretted lute) and salo (spike fiddle). these i presume were recorded much later, possibly by the re-release label's house band khana nakhon phanit? the second side features some additional so performances from 78, backed by a similar salo-so-sueng ensemble but adding piano. enjoy!

khana nakhon phanit: dontri phuen mueang chiang mai pi chum ha

artist: คณะ นครพานิช (khana nakhon phanit)
album: ดนตรีพื้นเมืองเชียงใหม่ ปี่จุมห้า (dontri phuen mueang chiang mai pi chum ha)
tracklist:
01. ปี่พระลอจะปุเชียงแสน (pi phra lo cha pu chiang saen)
02. ปี่ลม้ายล่องนาน (pi lamai long nan)
03. ปี่พม่าปราสาทไหว (pi phama prasat wai)
04. ปี่สมัยเงี้ยว (pi samai ngiao)
05. ปี่แหย่งหลวง (pi yaeng luang)
06. ปี่ปราสาทไหว (pi prasat wai)
07. ปี่ล่องน่าน (pi long nan)
08. ปี่จุมห้า (pi chum ha)
09. ปี่ฤาษีหลงถ้ำ (pi ruesi long tham)
10. ปี่เชียงใหม่ (pi chiang mai)
11. ปี่จะปุลม้าย (pi cha pu lamai)
12. ปี่พระลอ (pi phra lo)
13. ปี่เงี้ยวเสเหล่เมา (pi ngiao selemao)
14. เพลงพม่า (phleng phama)
15. เพลงอื่อ (phleng uea)

this week's post marks the eighth in a series of cassettes gifted to us by educator cliff sloane, founder of asianclassicalmp3.org, a major influence behind this blog.

today, some more fantastic folk music from lanna! our group on this cassette is the house band of chiang mai's nakhon phanit records, an ensemble of pi (free-reed bamboo pipes), sueng (plucked, fretted lute) and salo (spike fiddle) running through a set of classic northern melodies. unfortunately, i don't know much about the players here, more information would be very welcome. in the meantime, enjoy!

[note: starting today i'll also be posting an alternate flac download, in thai script, in the comments section, for those who are interested!]

 

kaeotalai-wilai: so nam thuam

 

artist: แก้วตาไหล-วิไล (kaeotalai-wilai)
album: ซอน้ำท่วม (so nam thuam)
tracklist:
01. ซอน้ำท่วม (so nam thuam)
02. ซอแอ่วสาวจอมทอง-ซออวยพร (so aeo sao chom thong ; so uaiphon)

this week's post marks the eighth in a series of cassettes gifted to us by educator cliff sloane, founder of asianclassicalmp3.org, a major influence behind this blog.

this week, some great music of the lanna region, with mr. kaeotalai and mrs. wilai! our master so singer kaeotalai (talai kanthachan) of lamphun province is a luminary of the genre, known throughout the north for his quick and skillful lyricism. he's joined on this cassette by a woman who goes by wilai, although i was unable to establish her full name. their musical accompaniment consists of a salo (fiddle), a sueng (plucked, fretted lute) and a trio of pi (free-reed bamboo pipes). a fantastic local recording.. enjoy!

 

withep kanthima: diao phin pia

artist: วิเทพ กันธิมา (withep kanthima)
album: เดี่ยวพิณเปี๊ยะ (diao phin pia)
tracklist:
01. สาวไหม (sao mai)
02. เงี้ยว (ngiao)
03. ปราสาทไหว (prasat wai)
04. ล่องน่าน (long nan)
05. อื่อ (ue)
06. น้อยใจยา (noi chai ya)
07. พม่า (phama)
08. ล่องแม่ปิง (long mae ping)
09. ฤๅษีหลงถ้ำ (ruesi long tham)
10. สร้อยเวียงพิงค์ (soi wiang phing)

this week's post marks the seventh in a series of cassettes gifted to us by educator cliff sloane, founder of asianclassicalmp3.org, a major influence behind this blog.

today's tape from cliff again features the talents of lanna artist withep kanthima! born in 1954, withep trained from a young age with his father in the local music of northeast thailand, studying a range of folk instruments and performance styles. aside from this paternal instruction, withep was also a student of chao sunthon na chiang mai, our previously featured performer from cliff's collection. like his teacher, withep made his name hand-crafting local instruments and instructing young musicians at the chiang mai college of dramatic arts, marking that institution's first hire of a folk musician, according to cliff. he passed away in 2006 at the age of 54^[1]. this fifth cassette comprises solo performances on the phin pia, a rather unique chest-resonated stick zither. enjoy!

khana so sai thara chiang mai: dontri so

artist: คณะ ซอสายธารา เชียงใหม่ (khana so sai thara chiang mai)
album: บรรเลงพื้นเมืองของชาวลานนา ชุด ดนตรีซอ (dontri so, banleng phuen mueang khong chao lanna)
tracklist:
01. ทำนองปั่นฝ้าย (thamnong pan fai)
02. ทำนองล่องน่าน (thamnong long nan)
03. ทำนองเพลงอื่อ (thamnong phleng ue)
04. ทำนองพระลอ (thamnong phra lo)
05. แหย่งลานนา (yaeng lanna)
06. ทำนองตั้งเชียงใหม่ (thamnong tang chiang mai)
07. ทำนองเชียงแสนเงี้ยว (thamnong chiang saen ngiao)
08. ทำนองพม่า (thamnong phama)
09. จ้อย (choi)

this cassette was a generous gift from our pal sam of the (now sadly defunct) archive of southeast asian music.

today, our second from the sai thara ensemble of chiang mai! as with the previous entry, they're playing a music called so, but while the last album featured just the namesake fiddle along with sueng (plucked, fretted lute) and a team of pi (free-reed bamboo pipes), here they're joined by some drums and cymbals, plus what sounds to be a khlui flute and perhaps even a strummed acoustic guitar? recently, this group showed up in korean magpie tapes' mix for discostan on nts radio and there they're the "khana sai thara combo", boasting a mostly electronic line-up and backing male and female vocalists, so clearly they've employed a wide range of configurations throughout their recording career. enjoy!

khana sai thara chiang mai: pi so

artist(s): คณะ สายธาราเชียงใหม่ (khana sai thara chiang mai)
album: ปี่ซอ ดนตรีพื้นเมืองเชียงใหม่ (pi so, dontri phuen mueang chiang mai)
tracklist:
01. ตั้งเจียงใหม่ ; จะปุ ; ละม้าย (tang chiang mai ; cha pu ; la mai)
02. เงี้ยว (ngiao)
03. พม่า (phama)
04. อื่อ (uea)

this week's cassette is part of a generous bequest gifted to us by educator cliff sloane, a former professor of ethnomusicology and founder of asianclassicalmp3.org, a major influence behind this blog.

this week, fantastic music from northern thailand! the sai thara ensemble of chiang mai play a music called so, which though originally named for the lead fiddle, has become metonymic for the vocal style which it most frequently accompanies. there are no vocals on this particular album, though, because as the cover states, this "minus-one"-style recording is entitled for your practice in the so vocal art! along with the namesake fiddle, our ensemble also features sueng (plucked, fretted lute) and a team of pi (free-reed bamboo pipes). enjoy!

khana mae kaet luang: hae phuen mueang prayuk chut klong sabat chai

artist: คณะ แม่แก้ดหลวง (khana mae kaet luang)
album: แห่พื้นเมืองประยุกต์ ชุด กลองสะบัดชัย (hae phuen mueang prayuk chut klong sabat chai)
tracklist:
01. กลองสะบัดชัย ตอน 1 (klong sabat chai, pt. 1)
02. กลองสะบัดชัย ตอน 2 (klong sabat chai, pt. 2)

this cassette was a generous gift from our pal sam of the (now sadly defunct) archive of southeast asian music

this week, we have another entry of northern thai marathon percussion! like our klong tueng nong cassette of earlier, this tape features 2 whole sides (or 1 half-hour's worth) of drum, cymbal and gong. the style on display here is klong sabat chai, or "victory drum", as performances were said to traditionally mark the end of military campaigns. the events typically feature an acrobatic performance from the lead drummer, who often employ their hands, elbows, knees and head as beaters. our title describes the content as prayuk, or "modernized", but unfortunately i don't know quite enough about the history of the art-form to tell you precisely what's been modernized. the performers here are the mae kaet luang ensemble, recording for chiang mai's thipphanet enterprise record store (still in business!), with recommendations for use in parades.. enjoy!