phumphuang duangchan: x.o.

artist: พุ่มพวง ดาวจันทร์ (phumphuang duangchan)

album: เอ็กซ์โอ (x.o.)

tracklist:

01. หน้าอย่างเธอจะรักใครจริง (na yang thoe cha rak khrai ching)

02. แม่ร้อยใจ (mae roi chai)

03. อ.ส. รอรัก (o.s. ro rock)

04. สาวนาคอยคู่ (sao na khoi khu)

05. เกลียดได้เกลียดไป (kliat dai kliat pai)

06. ตุ๊กตาใจดำ (tukta chai dam)

07. ทำบุญร่วมชาติ (tham bun ruam chat)

08. ทหารเกณฑ์ ผลัด 2 (thahan ken phlat 2)

09. แหม่มปลาร้า (ma'am pla ra)

10. นางกวักมหาเสน่ห์ (nang kwak maha sane)

any fan of thai pop music has surely heard of phumphuang duangchan, the woman who revitalized luk thung in the 1980's and redefined notions of stardom in thailand.  phumphuang got her start as "namphueng mueangsuphan" in waiphot phetsuphan's band, though it was her eventual pairing with songwriter lop burirat that brought her to fame.  i'm imagining the music on this tape shortly predates her bigger hits; while the sound is definitely more internationally-minded, big-band disco grooves & chorus, it doesn't yet have the fully integrated pop style that would make her later material so memorable.  the selections here are mostly covers of well-known tunes, the work of songwriters chonlathi thanthong & surin phaksiri, including songs from the mon rak luk thung soundtrack and some made famous by sayan sanya.  enjoy!

preview:

  MRPT154 by monrakplengthai

namphueng mueangsurin: rueam anre

artist: น้ำผึ้ง เมืองสุรินทร์ (namphueng mueangsurin)

album: เรือมอันเร (rueam anre)

tracklist:

01. อันเร (anre)

02. กัจปะกา (katchpaka)

03. จะอังกรอง (cha ang krong)

04. ตำเร็ยยูลได (tamre yuldai)

05. ซันตูจ (santuch)

06. เบริญ (broen)

alexandra was out in surin recently and, of course, brought back a bag full of great old khmer tapes from the city!  while my natural inclination would have been to save this one, really why not just start with the best of the lot?  namphueng mueangsurin is at the head of surin's kantruem traditionalist revival movement, electing to minimize the thai & international influences in her music as compared to the genre's more popular, modern practitioners.  while this is certainly a bold move, namphueng has won a devoted audience for it, and her recordings will almost invariably be found  wherever kantruem music is sold.  the music on this cassette is simply beautiful, a carefully-paced interplay between drum & fiddle supporting namphueng's soulful voice.  it's a real treasure... enjoy!

preview:

dueanphen amnuaiphon: to lom chom thung

this week's post comes courtesy of mr. peter, who numbers among the most prolific concert-goers in thailand (probably #1, among foreigners). he & his wife make it to over 100 luk thung shows a year, and as you might imagine, know quite a bit about the music.

artist: เดือนเพ็ญ อำนวยพร (dueanphen amnuaiphon)

album: โต้ลมชมทุ่ง (to lom chom thung)

tracklist:

01. ไม่อยากจะหวัง (mai yak ja wang)

02. โต้ลมชมทุ่ง (to lom chom thung)

03. เขาคงลืมเราแล้ว (khao khong luem rao laeo)

04. สาวชาวนา (sao chao na)

05. ตั้งอยู่บนความจริง (tang yu bon khwam ching)

06. ลำล่อง ฟ้าสั่งน้อง (lam long fa sang nong)

07. ไม่เคยเกลียดเธอ (mai khoei kliat thoe)

08. คิดถึงรอยยิ้ม (khit thueng roi yim)

09. พอใจหรือยัง (pho chai rue yang)

10. เลยวันสัญญา (loei wan sanya)

11. ทีใครทีมัน (thi khrai thi man)

12. ลำล่อง อกสาวเดือนเพ็ญ (lam long ok sao dueanphen)

our star today is dueanphen amnuaiphon, and despite her currently touring live act (and despite the fact that i've shared a song of her's here before!) i actually know less than i should about her.  what i can tell you for sure is that she is a prime practitioner of the thongchan sound!  along with sathit thongchan, a. pochana & others, she's a representative of achan khamkoeng thongchan's "thongchan promotions" collective based out of roi et in the 80's & 90's.  the thongchan sound is uptempo & danceable molam marked by fairly dense, electronic tracks highlighting the sax & keyboards... just try to not have a good time listening to this one.  thanks, mr. peter!!

preview:

  MRPT152 by monrakplengthai

phra wetsandon chadok

artists: พระอาจารย์ มหาสดใส เตชธโร, พระอาจารย์ มหาสุรัตน์ สุติรโต, พระอาจารย์ มหาทองดา โชติปัญโญ + พระอาจารย์ มหาสมเด็จ สุวณโณ (phra achan mahasotsai techaro, phra achan mahasurat sutinto, phra achan mahathongda chotipanyo & phra achan mahasomdet suwanno)
album: พระเวสสันดรชาดก (phra wetsandon chadok)
tracklist (1) (2) (3):
01. กัณฑ์สักกบรรพ (kan sakkabap)
02. กัณฑ์ฉกษัตริย์ (kan chokasat)
03. กัณฑ์นครกัณฑ์ (kan nakhon kan)

it's thet mahachat season in thailand, and so today i'd like to share this epic boxed-set, featuring a northeastern take on the sermons.  thet mahachat (or "the great birth sermon") is the reading of the vessantara jataka (phra wetsandon chadok in thai), the final and most popular of the tales concerning the buddha's past incarnations.  celebrated throughout southeast asia, the story features prince vessantara & his journeys, wherein he exemplifies the virtues of charity & selflessness.  our monks here orate using thet lae, the unmistakably isan style of sing-sermonizing.  after a brief instrumental flourish, they launch forth with the final 3 of the jataka's 13 chapters (chapter 10 "the words of indra", chapter 12 "the six kshatriya" & chapter 13 "the return to the city" [i assume it also features chapter 11 "the great king", but i don't know the text well enough to identify it]).  these are old tapes and have a good bit of mechanical noise, but if you can get through it, you'll find a great document of a unique & compelling tradition.  it's a 3 hour set, so i've kept with the original tape divisions and put it up in 3 parts.. make sure you get all three, and enjoy!

preview:
  MRPT151 by monrakplengthai

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!