naang naang: le' ywei sin tei mya

artist: naang naang

album: le' ywei sin tei mya

tracklist:

01. aue tueng pi aay mi yu laue

02. nam khong ue man mi laue

03. pi aay nong te kwaa yaw

04. kon aue nam

05. seng nok tong lo

06. hu tueng se pok maa laa

07. aue pew moe khaaw may

08. unknown title

09. seng taang maue

10. kaang aue ko sum taang hak

11. mok hong aw

12. kho kwaam yuen thueng aay ko haan

13. te moe nay ko moe loy loy

14. ngaw loen ngaw laaw

15. yaa aue lek naa aay

16. unknown title

i hope everyone will forgive the long absence.. i've been in the middle of another transcontinental move! i figure after such a break i'd better come back with something big; so today we'll hear from the incredible female-fronted shan rock group, naang naang. i don't know anything about the composition or history of the group, other than that they're from burma/myanmar's shan state, which shares a long and porous border with northern thailand. i also know that they have one of the heaviest guitars in the golden triangle! i got a lot of questions about this band after i played the lead track here on gary sullivan's awesome radio show, so this cassette should make a few people pretty happy.. enjoy!!

preview:

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!

sai sai mao: ahmadaya shan tei su mya

artist: sai sai mao
album: ahmadaya shan tei su mya, vol. 2
tracklist:
01. yuen mok ha pa pi le
02. pong nong mi kay
03. khaaw jaam khay han
04. te hak naang ko
05. mo hum
06. taang hak naue pan
07. pen loy waasanaa
08. hue kwaang lot meng pueng
09. unknown title
10. instrumental
11. nong khay yu laue
12. loe se maak ho tsaue
13. pi naang me haang
14. kwaam hak naue tsaue
15. en aan kaang tsaue
16. kop mi wot sang
17. am soe lay moe pong yaan
18. unknown title
19. instrumental
20. instrumental

this week we have another fantastic album from shan rock icon sai sai mao! a member of the shan (or tai yai) ethnic group, sai sai mao was born in burma, in the chinese border town of mu se, and often traveled with his grandfather between northern thailand and taungyi in shan state. at age 15 he picked up the guitar, and 3 years later was performing for shan communities in chiang rai. sai sai mao's broadcasts on radio thailand were eagerly received both locally and across the border in burma, where his songs, such as "likhommai panglong", about burma's unfilfulled promise of shan independence, were banned. sai mao cut most of his early albums in chiang mai or bangkok while serving in the shan state army, the rebel faction who funded his recordings. an estimated 75% of popular music in burma consists of "copy songs" (foreign songs rewritten in local languages), and sai mao is no exception. his songs are quite reliant on chinese melodies, though i feel that he imbues them with a nostalgic sentiment and unpolished urgency very much apart from the originals. hope you enjoy!

many thanks to alif silpachai for help with shan script!

sai sai mao: kau yon phe tang

singer: sai sai mao
album: kau yon phe tang
tracklist:
01. kam moen luk kuun mi
02. theung nam mae haang
03. hak neung hak sawng hak saam
04. puun suup yuuch luu
05. aay jaay nuuw yuu
06. kaw yon phe taang
07. jaay te hak yaw
08. ngeun saam pe mak saaw sa the
09. maw
10. mong hung jaeu
11. yon suu pan suu
12. kaw ne taang
13. hak kan mii taa jaeu
14. hak moen jaay mii phaeu
15. mong
16. kaw hak te mong paeu yuu

this week, songs from shan rock icon sai sai mao! a member of the shan (or tai yai) ethnic group, sai sai mao (จายสายมาว in thai) was born in burma, in mu se on the border with china, and often traveled with his grandfather between northern thailand and taungyi in shan state. at age 15 he picked up the guitar, and 3 years later was performing for shan communities in chiang rai. sai sai mao's broadcasts on radio thailand were eagerly received both locally and across the border in burma, where his songs, such as "likhommai panglong", about burma's unfilfulled promise of shan independence, were banned. sai mao cut most of his albums in bangkok or chiang mai while serving in the shan state army, the rebel faction who funded his recordings. enjoy sai sai mao!

many thanks to alif silpachai for transliteration from shan script!