Sounds from the Thai Country

Mor Lam and Luuk Thung are the main types of music coming from the Thai countryside. Appealing to mainly the rural rice farming class from the northeast, these songs reflect on the working class struggle, lost love and the need to party. Filled with reed mouth organs, cowbell, wry humor and broken hearts, the following videos are an overview of the many styles and artists, and RA RA’s personal favorites.




Artist: Payfai Malaiporn
Song: Man Tong Thon

Payfai Malaiporn is a famous singer/comedian that performs with the famous travelling song and dance troupe Siang Issan. This song was huge last year, so popular it crossed from the country into the hi-society Bangkok consciousness, probably because everyone can relate to its message: when you’re hung over, just drink some more!




Artist: Siang Issan Luam Dow Talok
Song: Kadep Heavy (Skinny Pants)

This is another video coming from the Siang Issan travelling performance troupe. It’s about low society “lo-so” boys from the country that wear skinny pant jeans and roll around with only the desire to party.




Artist: Rock Salaeng
Song: Motosai Hang (Old Motorcycle)

Rock Salaeng is one of the bands that developed mor lam sing, a more rock-based style that developed from the more traditional country sound. This song is about a guy that looses his girl to a guy with a pickup truck.




Artist: Tai Orratha
Song: Esarn Lum Plern (Issan Dance)

Tai Orratha performs many different styles of music and this song is from her recent mor lam album, revisiting the more traditional sound. Amazing video that was filmed in Ubon Ratchatani province.



Artist: Rock Saderd
Song: Boo Rak See Dum (Black Ribbon for Love)

Another one of the main mor lam sing bands, Rock Saderd is famous for bringing their rock ethos to the mor lam sound. A tragic song of unrequited love.



Artist: Sala
Song: Chalawan (name of a thai mythology character)

This video is amazing because it is about an old dude that channels the power of the crocodile to harass girls.



Artist: Phai Pongsathorn
Song: Suu Der Pi Nong (Keep Fighting Brothers and Sisters)

Phai Pongsathorn is both the prince of luuk thung and the luuk thung Everyman. He’s considered extremely handsome and charmingly innocent, singing about his longing heart and love of the Thai countryside. This song is his message to the working class people to stay strong in the face of adversity.




Artist: Osayn and A Sunya
Song: Num Dtah Buk Dtee (the tears of a short man)

This video features two midgets that lament their existence as short men because they have no luck with women.



Artist: Siriporn Umpaipong
Song: Songkran Sanya Jai

One of the queens of mor lam, Siriporn’s smoky voice is recognized all throughout Thailand. She’s a highly prolific artist that has released numerous albums. This song is about a girl that waits for her love to come back to her during the Thai new year celebrations. Video depicts a pretty typical country dance party.



Artist: Baa Getsaya
Song: Nokia No Gik (Nokia has no girlfriends)

This song is one of the more pop-dance renditions, but still holds the distinctive Thai country beat. I hope one day I have a music video as cool as this.

THAI NORTHEAST INDIGINOLIS MUSIC 2

THAI NORTHEAST INDIGINOLIS MUSIC

This is top level good.

Want Want: Princess Cat

Bangkok garage rock band Want Want jams out to Princess Cat--I am your lover. Want Want is Studiman on upside down bass and Ra Ra on drums.

Rice Farmer Street Party

I am in love with Northeast Thailand, the region otherwise known as Issan: the land of rice fields, rice whiskey, elephants and mor lam music. On May 10th, the village of Baan Talad was sending their 20 year old boys to enter the Buddhist monkhood for three months, a tradition all boys in the village follow. It is one of the biggest parties of the year, involving a three to five hour street procession where the soon-to-be monks are paraded around the village on the backs of elephants; a truck is packed full of instruments and musicians rockin the music of the country.

Issan culture is often looked down upon by the rest of Thai society and the people from this region are characterized as being uneducated country folk. The various forms of music that come from the Issan are often not given due credit. Yet, beginning about six months ago, an Issan mor lam song was being bumped all over the country, including high-society areas of Bangkok. The song, "Man Tong Thon" by Poifhai Malaiporn, is about getting so drunk and having a serious hangover that the only thing that can cure it is to drink more.

Man Made Hill Gets Fripps

RA RA accosts Leroy from Man Made Hill while he tries to buy Fripps.

Zero Hero at Common Ground

On May 30, 2009, Zero Hero played at Common Ground—a super cool venue located in an old, Chinese shop-house. After chatting with a busker on the street and digging some Frank Zappa tunes, I got to see Zero Hero in action. Great tunes. Great performance. Great venue.

Scream Loud Thailand, a promoter of independent music in Bangkok, was hosting the event. They are one of the groups working really hard to establish Thailand’s fledgling scene, organizing shows and participating in the creation of a new zine—DIRT, which will be available online, soon! Most importantly, Scream Loud Thailand wants to support all types of music, especially anything outside the mainstream boy pop bands.

Got to introduce them to the concept of the Canadian tuxedo. wooo!

Desktop Error

For the holiday season, Silpakorn University held its annual “Oh my God Oh my Gift” festival from December 22-28. Silpakorn is one of Thailand’s top universities for Fine Arts. The festival showcased indie bands and a market where students could hock their DIY goods.

Desktop Error, a Radiohead/Sigur Ross inspired band, headlined on December 23. The band signed to SO::ON, a cornerstone of indie music in Bangkok.

Gold Red: Thai Reggae

Reggae and ska is huge in Thailand and Gold Red, a Bangkok based band, is giving Thais what they want. On June 17, Gold Red held their album release party at Meatball Reggae, a fairly new bar on the Bangkok scene.

Check out the video with the band's singer/guitarist, Te, as he shares what he thinks about reggae in Thailand and his various influences, including Carabow, an ultra classic Thai rock/folk band that still holds clout with bands all across the country.

HOTKID at NXNE 2009

Gun Trum's Blues Band at Adhere

Chonburi Rock on the Beach Music Festival Thailand 2009

Battles in Bangkok

Thai Punk Fest, Pattaya, 2009

Pai Reggae Festival 2009

Kai Joe Brothers, Central World, Bangkok

Selina and Siriyana, Monobo Bar, Bangkok

Interview with Elephant Mahout

Elephant Round-up 3

Greenspace Concert 27.09.08

Heineken sponsored a show where bands from US, UK and Japan were paired up against local "indie" Thai bands. It was heavily promoted and of course all you could drink was Heineken. The whole notion of indie is complicated in Thailand because it seems to denote more of a style than an approach to making/producing music.

Slot Machine was paired with New York's Aluminum Babe. Slot Machine's hit song is played by cover bands all over Thailand and it took me until this concert to figure out it was actually written by Slot Machine. *Note* They are signed to Sony BMG but get lumped with the indie scene.

Front Man (Tul Vaiyoonkiat) from Apartment Khun Pa, a Thai band that sings about a little bit more than love. In a recent interview, Tul called Aparment Khun Pa "the king of indie music". Paired up against Japan's Osaka Monaurail (see below).

Modern Dog. Thai Indie All-Stars. Their songs permeate dak naew Thai collective consciousness. The singer throws the mic into the crowd and lets them sing his songs while he drinks. Paired with UK's Some Velvet Morning. After Modern Dog finished, the crowd was yelling OW ICK OW ICK ("want more"), the first time I've ever heard a Thai crowd call for an encore. They didn't get one.

OsakaMonaurail from Japan kicked ass and sounds like they were born in the bed of James Brown. Japanese guys dressed in suits doing choreographed dance moves. Hot. The Thais didn't quite know what to think, the funk was overwhelming. The promo described them as jazz (?)

Ra Ra's got hook-ups

Issan Adventures

I love the Issan...the thai northeast that is historically Lao in culture and language...one major difference? They party waaay harder than thais. And own elephants. Laura and I took a trip to the village of our elephant friends. Here we got to take a bath with the elephant. SANOOK.

Here is a daytime mor lam show. Music. Dancing. Boys. Rice whisky.

Here is the start of a five hour procession, that was inducting/celebrating about 8 20-something boys that were going into the monkhood for a temporary stint. This truck was packed full of instruments, including a drum set, and drove around the village playing music, and the whole town came and danced behind it.

The elephants paraded the soon-to be monks around and danced a little too.

This was another morlam show. Scheduled to start at 10 pm, but it started raining. Our friends told us, when it stops raining the show will start...we were thinking there was some sort of cut off time, like 12 am, but no, the village went into temporary slumber and at 3 am we hear the band start bumping. The boys start hitting the rice whisky and it's a party. It wrapped up at about 9 am and everyone went to work in the rice fields. I held off and started drinking at 6. UGG!