| |
|
|
|
|
From the sweet sadness of
luk thung and distinctive
rapping vocals of mor lam,
to the fast-action dance rhythms of
kantrum, Thailand is home to
one of the most dynamic music scenes in Southeast Asia. This is
how the "Rough Guide to World Music Vol 2" introduces John
Clewley's chapter on
Thai music. With samples from these major styles and more, we are happy to be able to bring you
some of the sounds of this great music. |
|
|
| |
Home |
| |
|
| |
About Us |
| |
|
|
Luk Thung |
|
|
Music Videos |
|
Luk thung (also lookthung,
loogthung),
meaning 'child of the fields', is Thailand's most popular country
music style. It originated in the central
agricultural region during the 1950s in response to the romantic look grung ballad style,
popular with city dwellers.
One type of luk thung is the slow ballad, heavy with emotion, as can
be heard on these tracks by Sao Sampaan, Jintara Poonlaab and Banyen
Rakgen. |
 |
|
|
| |
Traditional |
|
PLAY |
|
Music |
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Another type of luk thung has a more
up-beat, country sound with several influences, including
American country music. The samples presented here are performed by
Sao Sampaan and Banyen Rakgen. |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
PLAY |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Mor Lam |
|
|
|
|
Mor lam (also maw lam, morlum),
meaning 'master of the lam', is another popular Thai country music
style. Originally a Lao genre, it developed in the
Northeastern Issan region and appears in many forms, traditional
and modern. These tracks are from an
album recorded in London
by the
group Isan Slete and are an excellent introduction to morlam glawn. |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
PLAY |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
From traditional to modern to rock,
mor lam has adapted to keep pace with changing tastes and seems to
have retained the loyalty of a younger generation. A recent
development,
mor lam sing, is a high-energy, rock-style take on this ancient
music. Examples here are by the band Rock Kuk Kuk and Jintara Poonlaab. |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
PLAY |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Kantrum |
|
|
|
|
Kantrum (also gantreum) is
to Thai-Khmers what mor lam is to Thai-Laotians, both of whom live
side-by-side in the northeast region of Thailand known as Issan.
Hardly heard outside the provinces bordering Cambodia, kantrum is
surely Thailand's best kept music secret. A major force in the
revival of the 1990s was the late Somchai Kongsookdee, popularly known as Darky. |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
PLAY |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Playing a more electronic sounding
kantrum, the band Rock Khong Khoi came on the scene in the
late-1990s with an album whose songs have been covered many times, by
both Cambodian and Lao artists. Here is the ambiguously titled "Seeawoy"
with original group members Sangwan, Mitmai, Somjit and S.O. Khong. Notice how
the title track, #2, nicely incorporates the refrain from "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White". |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
PLAY |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Malay |
|
|
|
|
From Thailand's southern provinces
bordering Malaysia, a style of music marketed as Arab-Malay,
this sounds quite different to other Thai music and seems to have been
influenced by the music of South Asia and the Middle East. Singers
included here are Sawleehah Alibaba, Latifah Ismael, Suriyah Matthahet,
Sunbeya Sayngmanee, Arisa Deedpin, Hasana Devi and Halima Wongnasoh. |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
PLAY |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lanna |
|
|
|
|
The northern city of Chiang Mai was the
capital of the Lanna kingdom and it remains the center of Lanna
culture. These tracks are from a three-album set of traditional music
from northern Thailand and have a nice new-age sound. Albums were
produced by Phanuthat Aphichanatong and Bringkop Vora-Urai. |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
PLAY |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
