khana arab bombay: nasib prayuk

artist: คณะ อรับบอมเบย์ (khana arab bombay)

album: นาเสปประยุกต์ (nasib prayuk)

tracklist:

01. นาเสปประยุกต์ ตอน 1 (nasib prayuk, pt. 1)

02. นาเสปประยุกต์ ตอน 2 (nasib prayuk, pt. 2)

this week, another installment of fantastic thai-muslim music!  this cassette features a prayuk or "applied" version of the malay nasib.  for a description of that genre, let me defer to jon ward, of the inimitable excavated shellac: "nasib, or "song of fate" ... is an aching, slow lament; a deeply melancholic popular song type which is built around the singer’s misfortune in life ... the origins of the nasib derive ... from indonesian/malaysian stambul theater music ... where theatrical groups would perform musical dramas, many with stories which had origins in india or the middle east ... nasib is sung by a singer who is in fact playing – or at the very least channeling – a character or situation from these classical stories, rather than singing [t]he[i]r own blues."  here the characters of nasib take one step further in their journey!  in it's prayuk form, thai nasib seems to stress group participation, with a solo singer & chorus trading call & response, as well as greater variations in tempo.. whether these are local innovations or a return towards the genre's theatrical routes, i couldn't tell you.  i also wish i could say more about our performers, khana arab bombay, but i can't find anything.  any further information would be greatly appreciated... until then, enjoy!

sobah wongmasoh & kue baby

artist: ซอบะห์ วงษ์มะเซาะ + กื้อ เบบี้ (sobah wongmasoh & kue baby)
album: รวมเพลงภาพยนตร์อินเดีย 3 (ruam phleng phapphayon india 3)
tracklist:
01. bobby (บ๊อบบี้)
02. zindakyja (ซันดากียา)
03. khudakawa (ฮูดาคาวา)
04. pholo kata (ปูโล คาตา)
05. yadoky (ยาดูกี้)
06. tumbill (ตุมบิล)
07. yatumha (ยาตุมฮา)
08. jallte (ยัลเด)
09. rona (โรนา)
10. amere betee (อเมรี บีตี)
11. rimkim che (ริมคิม ซี)
12. jalterajal (ยัลเตราจัน)

as a lucky follow-up to last week's indian-derived material, today we have bollywood sounds of a different stripe.  just the other day, i came across a great arab-malay tape shop in bangkok.  among their collection was this cassette featuring sobah and kue, past members of bangkok's own baby arabia (recently the subject of a fantastic documentary), doing takes on classic filmi tunes.  unfortunately, i don't know a great deal about contemporary thai-muslim music, but i would guess that these melodies reached thailand's islamic community by way of malaysia/indonesia, where they had played a major role in the development of that region's famous dangdut genre.  to my ears, this tape bears definite dangdut influence... i know some readers here are much more knowledgeable about this scene than i, so if you know anything further, please contribute!

phleng thai tham nong india

artist: various

album: เพลงไทยทำนองอินเดีย (phleng thai tham nong india)

tracklist:

01. หนี้กรรม (ni kham)

sung by สุมิตร สัจจเทพ + ยุพิณ แพรทอง (sumit satchathep & yuphin phraethong)

02. ขอทานรัก (kho than rak)

sung by สุมิตร สัจจเทพ (sumit satchathep)

03. รักเธอเสมอ (rak thoe samoe)

sung by สุมิตร สัจจเทพ + ยุพิณ แพรทอง (sumit satchathep & yuphin phraethong)

04. อย่าหลอกฉันนะ (ya lok chan na)

sung by สุมิตร สัจจเทพ + ยุพิณ แพรทอง (sumit satchathep & yuphin phraethong)

05. ช้ำเพราะจน (cham phro chon)

sung by สุมิตร สัจจเทพ (sumit satchathep)

06. คนใจร้าย (khon chai rai)

sung by เพชร โพธาราม (phet photharam)

07. อานุภาพรัก (anuphap rak)

sung by ยุพิณ แพรทอง (yuphin phraethong)

08. มนต์เสียงเพลง (mon siang phleng)

sung by ชาตรี ศรีชล + ยุพิณ แพรทอง (chatri sichon & yuphin phraethong)

09. โฉมนาง (chom nang)

sung by ชาตรี ศรีชล (chatri sichon)

10. อย่ามาหลอกฉัน (ya ma lok chan)

sung by ยุพิณ แพรทอง (yuphin phraethong)

11. ธรณีชีวิต (thorani chiwit)

sung by ชาตรี ศรีชล + ยุพิณ แพรทอง (chatri sichon & yuphin phraethong)

12. มารักกันเถอะ (ma rak kan the)

sung by ชาตรี ศรีชล (chatri sichon)

13. สวรรค์บนดิน (sawan bon din)

sung by ยุพิณ แพรทอง (yuphin phraethong)

14. วอนลมฝากรัก (won lom fak rak)

sung by บุปผา สายชล (buppha saichon)

15. รอยรักรอยมลทิน (roi rak roi monthin)

sung by ไพรวัลย์ ลูกเพชร (phraiwan lukphet)

here it is!  the first major find since returning to bangkok: a greatest hits of thai songs featuring indian rhythms!  although tracks 7 to 14 have been featured on this blog already, this collection is full of great new tunes from phraiwan lukphet, phet photaram and the star of the show, sumit satchathep!  sumit was born to a family of indian silk merchants in bangkok's bang rak district.  although his upbringing instilled in him an appreciation for the music of his mother country, his surroundings influenced him as well, and at the height of the brief 70's luk thung-bollywood craze, the scene found its first bilingual voice.  teaming with chatri sichon's former partner yuphin phraethong, sumit had a run of duet & solo hits in the late 70's.  the first track here, written by surin phaksiri, was his biggest single... most versions today have clipped the flute intro because a skip in the master recording, but i decided to leave it in.  hope you enjoy!

samanchai + phimpha: kantruem mongkhon chong dai

artist: สมานชัย + พิมพา (samanchai + phimpha)
album: กันตรึม มงคลจองได (kantruem mongkhon chong dai)
tracklist:
01. เพลงแห่ (pleng hae)
02. เฮาปรึง (hao phrueng)
03. เพลงมงคล (pleng mongkhon)
04. กะแบยจ๊วลเจก (ka baei chual chek)
05. กันจันเจก (kan chan chek)
06. กัจปะกา (katchpaka)
07. ซอมบายซี (som bai si)

so!  my apologies for the low post rate as of late, but i am happy to say, the reason behind it is that i have been gearing up for a return to thailand!  alexandra and i are headed back to the kingdom for another year at least, with no small likelihood of finding loads of musical treasures to share here, as always.  but anyway, lately i've been listening to alot of khmer music, and so i wanted to share another cassette of isan's magnificent kantruem music, the style played by khmer surin people of south isan.  this particular tape features traditional wedding music, upbeat and joyful, with drum machine & fiddle making their way through shouted background vocals.  i can't say with absolute certainty whether samanchai + phimpha are the performers or the betrothed (or both)... but regardless, this is immensely enjoyable music, hope you feel the same!  see you in bangkok!

sayan sanya: luk sao phu kan

artist: สายัณห์ สัญญา (sayan sanya)

album: ลูกสาวผู้การ (luk sao phu kan)

tracklist:

01. ลูกสาวผู้การ (luk sao phu kan)

02. นักเพลงคนจน (nak phleng khon chon)

03. รักเธอเท่าฟ้า (rak thoe thao fa)

04. กินอะไรถึงสวย (kin arai thueng suai)

05. นางฟ้ายังอาย (nang fa yang ai)

06. ขาดเธอพี่ขาดใจ (khat thoe phi khat chai)

07. สี่ปีที่คอย (si pi thi khoi)

08. น้ำตาอีสาน (nam ta isan)

09. ลานเทสะเทือน (lan the sathuean)

10. จำปาลืมต้น (cham pa luem ton)

11. พลัดคู่ (phlat khu)

12. สัญญาห้าปี (sanya ha pi)

13. ลารักจากสวนแตง (la rak chak suan taeng)

this week, classic luk thung ballads from the one & only sayan sanya!  born & raised in central thailand's suphan buri province, sayan grew up farming rice with his family.  he started his musical career as a dancer in phongsi woranut's group, gradually moving up to backup singer and eventually forming his own band in 1973.  through the 80's & early 90's he paired up with phumphuang duangchan and reigned as the biggest of luk thung stars. this cassette rounds up his early hits, dating from the late 70's.  the band's slow, dense arrangements behind sayan's nasal crooning have always made a winning combination for me. hope you enjoy as well!

khine htoo: so

artist: khine htoo

album: so

tracklist:

01. chit chin ye ah pyit dan

02. lo nay taet nyan

03. arr nae chet

04. so

05. khart tar

06. tway wai lan khwae

07. nay nyo chain ah tway

08. shwe la thar hma

09. htwet loet ma yauk taet lan

10. sane par sane

11. lwan nya nay

12. yae san khayee

13. instrumental

i hope everyone will pardon another of my occasional digressions from thai music today, but i wanted to give a heads up to all n.y.-area readers: the legendary 70's burmese "stereo" star khine htoo will be performing in the city saturday, june 30th at the laguardia performing arts center in long island city.  he will be joined by tin zar maw, chaw su khin & supan htwar for their "3 generations tour u.s.a.".  khine htoo was among a handful of pioneering rock stars who won fame in the 70's & 80's for penning original compositions, or "own tunes" (the majority of burmese popular music consists of foreign cover songs) which he performed with his bands the phoenix and later the aces (who back him on this 1981 cassette).  all credit to dr. lun swe for originally sharing this classic recording at his blog.  enjoy!

waiphot phetsuphan & kaeo sarika

artists: ไวพจน์ เพชรสุพรรณ + แก้ว สาริกา (waiphot phetsuphan & kaeo sarika)
album: พุทธประวัติ ชุด 4: แหล่เที่ยวเมืองสุพรรณ (phuttha prawat, vol. 4; lae thieow mueang suphan)
tracklist:
01. แหล่เที่ยวเมืองสุพรรณ (lae thieow mueang suphan)
02. ชูชกพาสองกุมารตอนจบ (chu chok pha song kuman ton chop)
03. สารวันดิสโก้ (sarawan disco)
04. แหล่ชมสาวบางกอก (lae chom sao bangkok)
05. แหล่ชีวิตไวพจน์ (lae chiwit waiphot)
06. แหล่ปลาหมอ ปลาทู (lae pla mo, pla thu)
07. แหล่ตำนานพระปฐมเจดีย์ (lae tamnan phra pathom chedi)

this week, music from the king of lae, waiphot phetsuphan!  hailing from central thailand's suphan buri province, waiphot has for nearly half a century been among the biggest names in luk thung.  born into a musical family, waiphot was trained from the age of 2 in a range of local styles.  at 14 he joined a local liké theatre troupe, and at 16 won his first song contest.  he was discovered shortly after by singer chaichana bunnachot, who introduced him to ruam daokrachai bandleader samniang muangthong.  waiphot was greatly respected by audiences and fellow singers alike for his expertise in traditional forms and his uniquely powerful voice.  this cassette, with side 2 featuring one of his prominent latter-day proteges, kaeo sarika, is a collection of lae focusing on his home province.  the styles range from low-key ballads to up-tempo disco numbers, all imbued with lae rhythm & inflection.  enjoy!!

naruephon & surang duriyaphan

artist: นฤพนธ์ + สุรางค์ ดุริยพันธ์ (naruephon & surang duriyaphan)

album: เพลงไทยเดิม (thai classical music)

tracklist:

01. บุหลัน 2 ชั้น (bulan, 2nd tempo level)

02. ปี่แก้วน้อย (pi kaeo noi)

03. นกขมิ้น 2 ชั้น (nok khamin, 2nd tempo level)

04. ใบ้คลั่ง 2 ชั้น (bai khlang, 2nd tempo level)

05. ม้าย่อง (ma yong)

06. ขึ้นพลับพลา (khuen phlapphla)

07. แขกมอญบางช้าง 2 ชั้น (khaek mon bang chang, 2nd tempo level)

08. เขมรพวง 2 ชั้น (khmer phuang, 2nd tempo level)

this week, a rare glimpse here into the thai classical tradition!  you'd be forgiven for thinking, from the content of this site, that i don't have much interest in thai classical music.. but that's really not the case.  rather, it's down to the fact that i like to have as much background as i can on the artists i present here, and that the world of classical releases is, more often than not, totally devoid of discographical info.  that said, this week's cassette is well-annotated, due to the presence of two star vocalists, mr. naruephon & ms. surang duriyaphan.  this brother-sister duo are the children of khru nieow duriyaphan, head of the thai fine arts department under luang wichitwathakan in the 1930's.  here they are backed by khana duriyaphan, the legendary group of instrumentalists assembled by their father.  this is thai classical vocal music of the first order.. enjoy!

suthat phonsathit: fon chang nang chak

artist: สุทัศน์ พรสถิตย์ (suthat phonsathit)

album: ฝนจางนางจาก (fon chang nang chak)

tracklist:

01. ฝนจางนางจาก (fon chang nang chak)

02. กลับมาทำไม (klap ma tham mai)

03. หนุ่มนาหน้าหนาว (num na na nao)

04. กำแพงรัก (kamphaeng rak)

05. อย่ากามถึงความรู้สึก (ya kam thueng khwam ru suek)

06. ห่วงอ้ายบ่อหนอ (huang ai bo no)

07. สายกินขาด (sai kin khat)

08. จดหมายจากผู้แพ้ (chot mai chak phu phae)

09. เกียงนาสัญญารัก (kiang na sanya rak)

10. ขอผิดหวังวันนี้ (kho phit wang wan ni)

this week, some great old molam sounds from suthat phonsathit!  i wasn't able to find any information online about mr. suthat, although the tape names (as producer) sane phetchabun, the famed songwriter who contributed songs to the landmark "mon rak luk thung" soundtrack.  suthat could hardly have been a nobody back in the day, then; simply one of many molam from the late 80's/early 90's whom time forgot.  the music here is a great example of lam phloen from that era; excellent khaen, phin & sax over drum machine & keys.  enjoy!

sotsi phromseksan: chut lam phloen

artist: สดศรี พรหมเสกสรร (sotsi phromseksan)

album: ชุดลำเพลิน (chut lam phloen)

tracklist:

01. ลำเพลินชีวิตชาวนา (lam phloen chiwit chao na)

02. ลำเพลินกกขาขาว (lam phloen kok kha khao)

03. ลำเพลินเหล้าดองยา (lam phloen lao dong ya)

04. ลำเพลินตีกลองน้ำ (lam phloen ti klong nam)

05. ลำเพลินชมสไตร์ส (lam phloen chom satai)

06. เต้ยอีสานแล้ง (toei isan laeng)

07. ลำเพลินลองใจแฟน (lam phloen long chai faen)

08. ลำเพลินลารักลาเรียน (lam phloen la rak la rian)

09. ลำเพลินโดนต้ม (lam phloen don tom)

10. ลำเพลินพี่มือ (lam phloen phi mue)

11. ตลุงลำเพลิน (talung lam phloen)

12. ดนตรี (instrumental)

this week, some really fantastic 70's countryside funk from molam sotsi phromseksan!  sotsi is from surin province in south isaan, where roughly half the population are khmer speakers.  she got her start singing the kantruem folk style before being picked up by local songwriter seksan saenphum, who penned her early hits.  later she would team up with southern thai luk thung star chatthong mongkhonthong for a string of duets & answer-songs.  the songs collected here are some exemplary vintage lam phloen with full-band backing, wild intros & rhythm changes, crazy guitar effects, retro synth sounds & more!  this is not one to miss... enjoy!