suthep wongkamhaeng: kam kao / ni saneha

artist: สุเทพ วงศ์กำแหง (suthep wongkamhaeng)
album: กรรมเก่า / หนี้เสน่หา (kam kao / ni saneha)
tracklist:
01. เพียงคำเดียว (phiang kham diao)
02. สุดห้ามใจรัก (sut ham chai rak)
03. ดอกฟ้าในมือโจร (dok fa nai mue chon)
04. ครวญ (khruan)
05. อนิจจา (anitcha)
06. ลืมรัก (luem rak)
07. หลงคอย (long khoi)
08. นางอาย (nang ai)
09. สวรรค์มืด (sawan muet)
10. วาสิฏฐีจำแลง (wasitthi cham laeng)
11. ยามไร้ (yam rai)
12. คุณจะงอนมากไปแล้ว (khun cha ngon mak pai laeo)
13. หนี้เสน่หา (ni saneha)
14. เดือนเอ๋ย (duean oei)
15. ขวัญใจคนจน (khwan chai khon chon)
16. กลิ่นโคลนสาปควาย (klin khlon sap khwai)
17. ฉันหมุนโลกด้วยความรัก (chan mun lok duai khwam rak)
18. กรรมเก่า (kam kao)
19. หนี้กรรม (ni kam)
20. การคอยที่ไร้ค่า (kan khoi thi rai kha)

this week, cool mid-century sounds from suthep wongkamhaeng! mr. suthep of khorat (nakhon ratchasima) left his career in visual arts to join the royal thai air force band, after being spotted gigging as an intermission performer on bangkok's movie theatre circuit. following his tour of duty, suthep became a staple in the most popular of bangkok night spots and appeared frequently in mid-century silver screen musicals. writer 'rong wongsawan famously wrote that he possessed "a voice like the rubbing of satin in beer foam", soft and effervescent. this cassette, released on the little-known duang athit records (and produced, apparently, in singapore.. on chromium dioxide tape!) compiles material from long- and extended-play albums originally released via suthep's own private label, backed by prasit phayomyong leading the lolita band, namesake house group of the premiere '60s ratchadamnoen nightclub. enjoy!

 

sayan sanya: ya ma khit thueng chan loei

artist: สายัณห์ สัญญา (sayan sanya)
album: อย่ามาคิดถึงฉันเลย (ya ma khit thueng chan loei)
tracklist:
01. อย่ามาคิดถึงฉันเลย (ya ma khit thueng chan loei)
02. พิณสะกิดสาว (phin sakit sao)
03. มนต์เมืองเหนือ (mon mueang nuea)
04. เสน่ห์สาวเวียงพิงค์ (sane sao wiang phing)
05. หนาวลมที่เรณู (nao lom thi renu)
06. อ่านหัวใจ (an hua chai)
07. รอยรักในอารมณ์ (roi rak nai arom)
08. เทพธิดาหลงฟ้า (thepthida long fa)
09. เขมรไล่ควาย (khamen lai khwai)
10. ควายหาย (khwai hai)
11. อาทิตย์อุทัยรำลึก (athit uthai ramluek)
12. ทั้งรักทั้งแค้น (thang rak thang khaen)

this week, we'll hear from "the original sweetheart", sayan sanya! born and 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 back-up singer, and eventually forming his own band in 1973. through the '80s and early '90s he paired up with phumphuang duangchan and reigned as the biggest of luk thung stars. this cassette finds him in the late '70s, revisiting ten hits from the decades prior, tunes made famous by the likes of suraphon sombatcharoen, thun thongchai, and sonkhiri siprachuap, as well as a couple new ones that sayan had first crack at. enjoy!

chai mai sai rakam

artist: various
album: ใจไม้ใส้ระกำ (chai mai sai rakam)
tracklist:
01. ใจไม้ใส้ระกำ (chai mai sai rakam)
02. ขอมีอกใหม่ (kho mi ok mai)
03. มันเกินไปแล้วนะ (man koen pai laeo na)
04. มันเกินไปแล้วละ (man koen pai laeo la)
05. ไก่กับพลอย (kai kap phloi)
06. ไม่น่าเต๊ะ (mai na te)
07. รักดูซิ (rak du si)
08. รักซิ..จะช้ำ (rak si.. cha cham)
09. กตัญญงูเห่า (katanyu ngu hao)
10. เกือบไป (kueap pai)
11. รักพี่ตอนเป็น (rak phi ton pen)
12. ปรึกษากันหน่อย (prueksa kan noi)
13. มนต์รักเกาะสมุย (mon rak ko samui)
14. รอรักเกาะสมุย (ro rak ko samui)
15. เกาะสมุยเกาะสวรรค์ (ko samui ko sawan)
16. ด้วยปีกของรัก (duai pik khong rak)
17. อดีตหลอนใจ (adit lon chai)
18. ตะติ๊งโหน่ง (ta ting nong)
19. รักเล่นกล (rak len kon)

1, 3, 5, 7, 9 sung by ดอน สอนระเบียบ (don sonrabiap)
2, 4, 6, 8, 10 sung by กอบกุล ศรีสวัสดิ์ (kopkun sisawat)
11, 13, 15, 1617 sung by เศรษฐา ศิระฉายา (settha sirachaya)
12, 14 sung by สาวิตรี จินดากุล (sawitri chindakun)
18 sung by ชัยรัตน์ เทียบเทียม (chairat thiapthiam)
19 sung by ฉันทนา กิติยพันธ์ (chanthana kitiyaphan)

this week, a compilation of top pop-rock sounds from '70s thailand! side a features don sonrabiap (of p.m. 5 fame) along with answer-singer kopkun sisawat, presenting an album originally titled, "in remembrance of elvis presley". it features some interesting re-writes of favorite hits from the "king of rock and roll", and dates (presumably) from shortly after 1977. side b compiles a number of contemporary singles/extended-play tracks from singers on the soul side of things: settha sirachaya (of the impossibles fame) along with answer-singer sawitri chindakun, before closing out with a disco number each from chanthana kitiyaphan (of the professionals fame) and chairat thiapthiam. enjoy!

 

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!

thanin intharathep: phleng amata ngoen lan chut phiset

artist: ธานินทร์ อินทรเทพ (thanin intharathep)
album: เพลงอมตะเงินล้าน ชุด พิเศษ (phleng amata ngoen lan chut phiset)
tracklist:
01. พี่มีแต่ให้ (phi mi tae hai)
02. ผู้เสียสละ (phu sia sala)
03. บอกรักฝากใจ (bok rak fak chai)
04. เผลอใจรัก (phloe chai rak)
05. อเวจีใจ (awechi chai)
06. คิดถึงพี่ไหม (khit thueng phi mai)
07. 30 ยังแจ๋ว (30 yang chaeo)
08. ตัวไกลใจเหงา (tua klai chai ngao)
09. กระท่อมนางผ่าน (krathom nang phan)
10. แม่ค้าตาคม (mae kha ta khom)
11. บ้านนาสัญญารัก (ban na sanya rak)
12. พี่มีแต่ให้ [ชาวด์ดนตรี] (phi mi tae hai [instrumental])

this week, country-meets-city with mr. thanin intharathep! thanin is from samut sakhon, just outside of bangkok, and started out as a champion of local singing contests. he was discovered by pop impresario payong mukda, who got him in with suthep wongkhamhaeng's "suthep show" variety troupe. often billed as "thailand's frank sinatra", thanin brought a young, attractive face to the nostalgic and sentimental ballads of luk krung, and is still a favorite among older bangkokians. this 1990 cassette finds him outside of his typical ken, tackling hits of the more rural-oriented luk thung genre; songs made famous by sonkhiri siprachuap, sayan sanya, yotrak salakchai, ekkachai siwichai, and the like. for these tracks, he's backed by none other than the era's near-omnipresent lord of country music, num phuthai, who brings his yamaha yc-30-driven sound to nonpiya's minimalistic production style. enjoy!

 

[note: this tape had some bad dropouts for the first 30 seconds, so i did a little amateur splicing.. hopefully the edit is not too intrusive!]

 

siriphon amphaiphong: mai ao phra chao ko chaek

artist: ศิริพร อำไพพงษ์ (siriphon amphaiphong)
album: ไม่เอาพระเจ้าก็แจก (mai ao phra chao ko chaek)
tracklist:
01. หัวอกคนคอย (hua ok khon khoi)
02. ไม่เอาพระเจ้าก็แจก (mai ao phra chao ko chaek)
03. ถึงช้ำก็พอใจ (thueng cham ko pho chai)
04. จากด้วยความเข้าใจ (chak duai khwam khao chai)
05. อยากจะมีปีกบิน (yak cha mi pik bin)
06. เธอคือดวงใจ (thoe khue duang chai)
07. ไม่โกรธถือว่าครู (mai krot thue wa khru)
08. กลัวจะทนไม่ไหว (klua cha thon mai wai)
09. ศรรักมีสนิม (son rak mi sanim)
10. มือถือไมค์ใจห่วงแม่ (mue thue mic chai huang mae)
11. เงินหรือจะซื้อใจ (ngoen rue cha sue chai)
12. กอดเข่าเหงาใจ (kot khao ngao chai)

this week, some early classics from the great siriphon amphaiphong! born and raised in udon thani, siriphon left school at a young age to help out on her family's farm. when not working the fields, she studied lam klon with her father, leader of the kongmi saeng-arunsin troupe. she began performing onstage at 16, eventually being discovered by doi inthanon and invited to join the suthep daoduangmai band. today's cassette was her eighth with krung thai audio (via subsidiary phin-khaen promotions) and features songwriting from khamkoeng thongchan and music by a. num phuthai. it dates from 1990, shortly before her break-out with "bow rak si dam" after she moved to pgm records the following year. 12 tracks of excellent molam pop.. enjoy!

ekkachai siwichai: mai yak phok mia

artist: เอกชัย ศรีวิชัย (ekkachai siwichai)
album: ไม่อยากพกเมีย (mai yak phok mia)
tracklist:
01. ไม่อยากพกเมีย (mai yak phok mia)
02. เอกชัยหาคู่ (ekkachai ha khu)
03. เดือนเก้าเศร้าใจ (duean kao sao chai)
04. รักพี่สักแต๊ด (rak phi sak taet)
05. ทำได้สนิท (tham dai sanit)
06. ตังเกขาดรัก (tangke khat rak)
07. ทีเดียวสองชื่อ (thi diao song chue)
08. น้ำตาตกใน (nam ta tok nai)
09. พระสุธน 1 (phra sunthon 1)
10. พระสุธน 2 (phra sunthon 2)
11. ไม่บอกไม่รู้นะเนี๊ยะ (mai bok mai ru na nia)
12. กุลาพาจน (kula pha chon)

this week, party-time classics from ekkachai siwichai! a native of nakhon si thammarat, ekkachai is one of the bigger names in the luk thung circle to hail from thailand's south. from temple boy, to shadow-puppet understudy, to bangkok-based star of stage and screen, he's had a storied career. today we'll listen back to his 1999 album, following his return to the south, put out by master tape records. the title track is among his best remembered, but the rest of the album is pretty eclectic and has some great tunes as well. a slight rock tinge is brought to the proceedings by tong thammarat suwanmongkhon from the famed phuea chiwit band khon dan kwian, who helped with the music. enjoy!

mai charoenpura: khwam lap sut khop fa

artist: ใหม่ เจริญปุระ (mai charoenpura)
album: ความลับสุดขอบฟ้า (khwam lap sut khop fa)
tracklist:
01. เสียใจได้ยินไหม (sia chai dai yin mai)
02. เธอรู้หรือเปล่า (thoe ru rue plao)
03. ไม่มีปัญหา (mai mi panha)
04. เสียเวลาจะตายไป (sia wela cha tai pai)
05. สุดฤทธิ์สุดเดช (sut rit sut det)
06. เก็บขยะ (kep khaya)
07. หนักเกินไปแล้ว (nak koen pai laeo)
08. ต่อไปนี้ไม่มีใคร (to pai ni mai mi khrai)
09. ระวังให้ดีเหอะ (rawang hai di hoe)
10. อยากรู้นัก (yak ru nak)
11. ไม่รู้จะหลีกยังไง (mai ru cha lik yang ngai)
12. รักแล้วรักเลย (rak laeo rak loei)

this week, early-90's pop-rock from singer and actor mai charoenpura! born and raised in bangkok, mai was the fourth daughter of famed actor/director surin charoenpura (a.k.a. rut ronnaphop), and half-sister of fellow star sai inthira charoenpura. due to her father's influence, she was always close to the entertainment world growing up. after a few film and television appearances, she entered the music industry in 1989. her sound was notable for often displaying a somewhat harder edge than that of her contemporaries, with blues-rock and hair-metal riffs layered over pop melodies. this album is her third, released in 1992 by mga co., ltd., which sold a record-breaking 2 million copies. production was handled by aphichai yenphunsuk, with si fa (kanlayarat waranawat) co-producing and leading the songwriting efforts, alongside the team at grammy entertainment. enjoy!

carabao: ameri-koi

artist: คาราบาว (carabao)
album: อเมริโกย (ameri-koi)
tracklist:
01. อเมริโกย (ameri-koi)
02. มะโหนก (ถึกควายทุย ภาค 6) (manok (thuek khwai thui, pt. 6))
03. คนจนผู้ยิ่งใหญ่ (khon chon phu ying yai)
04. มาลัย (malai)
05. ข่าวดี (khao di)
06. ตางขโมย (tang khamoi)
07. ซาอุดรฯ (sa-udon)
08. หำเฮี้ยน (ham hian)
09. เฒ่าทะเล (tao thale)
10. แผ่นดิน (phaendin)

sorry for the long absence: i was off for a few weeks touring the west coast of the u.s. (and texas) with my friends in the khun narin sin phin prayuk band. now that we're back, let's start out with a favorite from our time on the road: the biggest thai rock band of all time, carabao! known for the political nature of their songwriting, they have shifted from being socialist upstarts to nationalist reactionaries over the years, but have typically left great music in their wake. today's cassette dates from 1985, following-up on their breakthrough commercial smash from the prior year, "made in thailand", as well as their involvement in the ill-fated "retired officer rebellion". it was also the first to be recorded in their own center stage studio, and marked an expansion of synthesized sounds and production for the group. enjoy!

khana duriyapranit: phleng sip song phasa

artist: คณะ ดุริยประณีต (khana duriyapranit)
album: เพลงสิบสองภาษา (phleng sip song phasa)
tracklist:
01. เทพนิมิตร (thep nimit)
02. ออกเพลงเร็ว (ok phleng raeo)
03. กราวนอก แขกเงาะ จีน (krao nok, khaek ngo, chin)
04. เขมร (khamen)
05. กราวตลุง (krao talung)
06. ลาว (lao)
07. แขก (khaek)
08. มอญ (mon)
09. พม่า (phama)
10. ญวน (yuan)
11. ฝรั่ง (farang)
12. บรเทศ (borathet)

this week, an amazing recording of the thai classical "12 language"-suite! played in the boisterous hard-malleted piphat style, this performance features a range of tunes in different 'accents' (that is, melodies of a foreign origin), not 'languages', per se.. and also not necessarily 'twelve' (a number chosen for auspicious reasons.. this particular recording appears to claim thai, khmer, lao, malay, mon, burmese, vietnamese, and english), and is strongly, but not exclusively, associated with funerary traditions. in the past, performances would occasionally include comic actors miming out ethnic stereotypes associated with said cultures, though this is becoming less common (for obvious reasons). our performers are the illustrious duriyapranit ensemble of ban bang lamphu, led by sutchit duriyapranit [pictured], with vocalists chaeng khlaisithong and somchai thapphon contributing. enjoy!