wara worawet & chorus

artist: วราห์ วรเวช (wara worawet & chorus)
album: เพลงขับร้องประสานเสียง (phleng khaprong prasan siang)
tracklist:
01. ดอยอินทนนท์ (doi inthanon)
02. เขากับเรา (khao kap rao)
03. หากรักก็บอกมา (hak rak ko bok ma)
04. พะวงรัก (phawong rak)
05. บึงน้ำฟ้า (bueng nam fa)
06. อำนาจรัก (amnat rak)
07. อำลาอาลัย (amla alai)
08. เป่าปี่ (pao pi)
09. ไม่มีงานไม่มีเงิน (mai mi ngan mai mi ngoen)
10. แย่งกันทำไม (yaeng kan thammai)

this week, mixed chorus meets thai funk! our featured artist today, wara worawet (a physician by profession, graduating from the university of pennsylvania in 1961) is also a prolific songwriter, having a number of luk krung & thai sakon-style hits to his name, as well as a leader of the musical association of thailand under patronage of his majesty the king. this cassette features the university choir-style harmonies which seemed to be all the rage in 1970s bangkok, mixed with the light & airy thai funk style also popular at the time. enjoy!

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phimchan khwansuda: bo lai, bo luem

artist: พิมพ์จันทร์ ขวัญสุดา (phimchan khwansuda)
album: บ่ไล บ่ลืม (bo lai, bo luem)
tracklist:
01. รักคนอ้วน (rak khon uan)
02. อย่ามองอย่างนั้น (ya mong yang nan)
03. จะคอยดู (cha khoi du)
04. รักคนมาดแมน (rak khon mad maen)
05. คืนนี้นะ (khuen ni na)
06. ลืมนาหลงกรุง (luem na long krung)
07. ขอทีได้ไหม (kho thi dai mai)
08. ฉันเหงานะ (chan ngao na)
09. ฉันจะคอย (chan cha khoi)
10. เมียเก่าเขาทิ้ง (mia kao khao thing)
11. คืนเหงาเฝ้าคอย (khuen ngao fao khoi)
12. บ่ไล บ่ลืม (bo lai, bo luem)

this week, we'll hear some hi-nrg 90s luk thung sounds! little-known today, miss phimchan had some regional success in the northeast, particularly with this cassette's single, the lone ballad among an album of driving disco. i haven't been able to track down much in the way of biographical details, but the album's cover sells her as sao siang kangsadan, "the girl with the voice of a moon-shaped bell". thanks also to the j-card, i can tell you that her album was a project of olan noichoi (a.k.a. mu rota), with prayong chuenyen and num phuthon along for words & music. but that's about it.. enjoy!

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suthep wongkamhaeng: alai tokyo

artist: สุเทพ วงศ์กำแหง (suthep wongkamhaeng)
album: อาลัยโตเกียว (alai tokyo)
tracklist:
01. อาลัยโตเกียว (alai tokyo)
02. พี่กลับมาแล้ว (phi klap ma laeo)
03. เกิดมาอาภัพ (koet ma aphap)
04. ผมผลัดวิวาห์ (phom phlat wiwa)
05. อโหสิกรรม (ahosikam)
06. จะคอยขวัญใจ (cha khoi khwanchai)
07. กลิ่นรักโลมใจ (klin rak lom chai)
08. หลับไม่ลง (lap mai long)
09. พี่สาว (phi sao)
10. บ้านเรา (ban rao)
11. ศรีมาลา (si mala)
12. ฉันรักเธอ (chan rak thoe)
13. ฝากหัวใจ (fak hua chai)
14. แม่กลอง (mae klong)
15. รักครั้งแรก (rak khrang raek)
16. เพียงจูบเดียว (phiang chup diao)
17. สวรรค์ในเรือเพลง (sawan nai ruea phleng)
18. เกิดมาต้องพึ่งกัน (koet ma tong phueng kan)

this week, a "far east"-accented entry from a luk krung veteran! mr. suthep wongkamhaeng 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 at bangkok movie theatres. following his tour of duty, suthep became a staple in the most popular of bangkok nightclubs and appeared frequently in mid-century silver screen musicals. the songs on this album, "in remembrance of tokyo", date from around 1960, when the star singer returned home after a 3-year hiatus to revisit his first love of visual arts; touring japan to study that nation's local painting traditions. as you may imagine, a sweet, sorrowful enka sound results, in addition to the typical luk krung thai-latin and crooner affairs.. enjoy!

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suntharaphon big band: talung ramwong

artist: ชาวคณะ สุนทราภรณ์ (suntharaphon big band)
album: ตลุง รำวง (talung ramwong)
tracklist:
01. ตลุงมอญซ่อนผ้า (talung mon som pha)
02. ตลุงแมลงแฝงดอกไม้ (talung malaeng faeng dok mai)
03. ตลุงดับเพลิงรัก (talung dap phloeng rak)
04. ตลุงพรานบุญ (talung phran bun)
05. ตลุงโนราโนรีศรีธรรมราช (talung nora nori si thammarat)
06. ตลุงเริงใจ (talung roeng chai)
07. ตลุงสากล (talung sakon)
08. ตลุงลำนำ (talung lamnam)
09. ตลุงเร่ (talung re)
10. ตลุงลาก่อน (talung la kon)
11. รำวงสาวบ้านแต้ (ramwong sao ban tae)
12. รำวงลูกทุ่ง (ramwong luk thung)
13. รำวงยังไงกันแน่ (ramwong yang ngai kan nae)
14. รำวงเพลินนาวา (ramwong phloen nawa)
15. รำวงไทยขาย ไทยซื้อ (ramwong thai khai, thai sue)
16. รำวงบ้านนาสำราญ (ramwong ban na samran)
17. รำวงเนื้อคู่อยู่วงรำ (ramwong nuea khu yu wong ram)
18. รำวงความหมายในดวงตา (ramwong khwammai nai duang ta)
19. รำวงตบแผละ (ramwong top phlae)

this week, dance-ready rhythms of talung and ramwong from thailand's preeminent mid-century urban entertainers! the suntharaphon band was an outgrowth of the government public relations department band. geared for the dancehalls of 1950s bangkok, the group played a leading role in popularizing the genres featured on this cassette; inspired by the captivating folk rhythms of south (talung) and northeast (ramwong) thailand, these two state-sponsored steps were intended as local responses to the international dance crazes sweeping thai popular culture at the time, and can still be heard pumped into public areas via p.a. systems any time a traditional holiday rolls around. enjoy!

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somyot thatsanaphan: krathom phraiwan

artist: สมยศ ทัศนพันธ์ (somyot thatsanaphan)
album: กระท่อมไพรวัลย์ (krathom phraiwan)
tracklist:
01. กระท่อมไพรวัลย์ (krathom phraiwan)
02. เรือนหอรอรัก (ruean ho ro rak)
03. ชีวิตนกขมิ้น (chiwit nok khamin)
04. ดุจนกขมิ้นแสวงรัง (dut nok khamin sawaeng rang)
05. แมลงเม่ากับกองเพลิง (malaeng mao kap kong phloeng)
06. นาทีทอง (nathi thong)
07. สายัณห์รำลึก (sayan ramluek)
08. ดวงใจจ๋า (duang chai cha)
09. ฟ้าสางจางรัก (fa sang chang rak)
10. เลือดในอก (lueat nai ok)
11. รังษีรุ่งฟ้า (rangsi rung fa)
12. ชีวิตครู (chiwit khru)
13. ละครหลวงโรง (lakhon luang rong)
14. ผู้ครองใจ (phu khrong chai)
15. สื่อเพลงสวรรค์ (sue phleng sawan)
16. ร่มโพธิ์ทอง (rom pho thong)
17. หยาดฟ้ามาดิน (yat fa ma din)
18. สวรรค์บันดาล (sawan bandan)

this week, some very early thai pop music, from mr. somyot thatsanaphan! mr. somyot was born in bangkok's chinatown, raised in an engineer's shop by his father and stepmother, and attended temple schools for his early years. as a teenager, he played music with friends at a number of temple fairs, winning much local acclaim. eventually, his noisy rehearsals got him kicked out of the house, and he went to live with his musician friends, supporting himself as a poster artist in between singing gigs. eventually, after hearing that kong duriyang thahan ruea (the famous thai navy band) was auditioning singers, somyot applied and was accepted. in 1945 he cut his first records with the group, writing most tunes himself or in close collaboration. the songs collected on this record date from the mid 50s, when the city/country (luk krung/luk thung) divide in thai popular music was beginning to coalesce, and despite his urban origins, somyot would land in the latter camp, with his lyrics frequently extolling the virtues of rural life. somyot continued to perform as a singer, songwriter and bandleader into his final decade, passing away in 1986 at the age of 71.

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thotsaphon himaphan: alai meri

artist: ทศพล หิมพานต์ (thotsaphon himaphan)
album: อาลัยเมรี (alai meri)
tracklist:
01. แหล่อาลัยเมรี (lae alai meri)
02. แหล่เตือนหญิงหม้าย (lae tuean ying mai)
03. แหล่มัทรีรำพัน (lae mathri ramphan)
04. แหล่มัทรีโศก (lae mathri sok)
05. แหล่สี่กษัตริย์เดินดง (lae si kasat doen dong)
06. แหล่นาคสั่งสีกา (lae nak sang si ka)
07. แหล่ชมนก (lae chom nok)
08. แหล่สอนหญิง (lae son ying)
09. แหล่หอยโข่ง ตอน 1 (lae hoi khong, pt. 1)
10. แหล่หอยโข่ง ตอน 2 (lae hoi khong, pt. 2)

this week, a classic cassette from lae star thotsaphon himaphan! hailing from the northerly kamphaengphet province, thotsaphon had an agricultural upbringing before joining the monkhood as a young man. while a monk, his expertise in chant and sermonizing had already earned him wide recognition in his home region. in between his times at temple, thotsaphon earned a living by singing in clubs and at buddhist ordination ceremonies. eventually he was invited to perform with star singer wanchana koetdi, a connection that led to him being signed to four 's^[1]. in 1995 he released this cassette, his first and biggest-seller, featuring songs from daeng phalanchai in a lae-luk thung style like that made famous by waiphot phetsuphan, with whom thotsaphon would later collaborate. a spiritually-oriented pop sound, with an extremely ornamented vocal line recalling the sermon style of north/northeastern monks.. enjoy!

phraison haofai & chandaeng hino-yai

artist: ไพรสน เห่าไฟ + จันแดง ฮีโน่ใหญ่ (phraison haofai & chandaeng hino-yai)
album: ซิ่งเพลินใหม่ (sing phloen mai)
tracklist:
01. ซิ่งเพลินใหม่ ตอน 1 (sing phloen mai, pt. 1)
02. ซิ่งเพลินใหม่ ตอน 2 (sing phloen mai, pt. 2)

this week, some excellent vintage lam sing from phraison and chandaeng! as is the case with many of the lam sing cassettes i've found, there's not much info about our singers online, but thanks to the j-card we know that they recorded for the seri-tape label out of ubon ratchathani. like sangwannoi & phatchari whom we've heard from before, i'd also place these two in the first wave of lam sing: the quick-moving style which combined local molam's khaen & vocal performance with an international rock-combo backing. another 2 sides of marathon lam sing.. enjoy!

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surachai folksong: luk thung klong yao

artist: สุรชัย โฟล์คซอง (surachai folksong)
album: ลูกทุ่งกลองยาว (luk thung klong yao)
tracklist:
01. ลูกทุ่งเลือดสุพรรณ (luk thung lueat suphan)
02. ลูกทุ่งกลองยาว (luk thung klong yao)
03. หนุ่มสวนแตง (num suan taeng)
04. อยากเป็นเจ้าบ่าว (yak pen chao bao)
05. กระท่อมพ่อหมาย (krathom pho mai)
06. น้ำตาลาไทร (nam ta la sai)
07. โลกของคนรวย (lok khong khon ruai)
08. อุทยานผลไม้ (utthayan phonlamai)
09. กว๊านพะเยา (kwan phayao)
10. วันที่แม่รอ (wan thi mae ro)
11. จากน้องไปทะเล (chak nong pai thale)
12. ความรักล่องแล่ง (khwam rak long laeng)

7-12 performed by สุรชาติ สมบัติเจริญ (surachat sombatcharoen)

last week, we heard from surachai sombatcharoen.. this week we have another "surachai", and another "sombatcharoen"! following the murder of suraphon sombatcharoen in 1968, a number of similar-sounding singers came out to fill the void, but none proved ultimately satisfactory. however, when suraphon's son surachai rose to stardom in the 1980s (with a unique voice of his own) the search for his father's sound-alikes began anew. finally, surachai folksong (surachai charoenkitchaichana), a guitar-playing singer-songwriter working as house performer at villa café on new phetburi road in bangkok^[1], was discovered, with a voice that was a real echo of the legendary singer. after a string of albums featuring folk rock-oriented rewrites of suraphon's hits, surachai folksong faded back into obscurity, although his songs still circulate online today (often mistakenly attributed to surachai sombatcharoen). rounding out our cassette's second side is surachat, a lesser-known sibling of the sombatcharoen clan.

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surachai sombatcharoen: rak sao ban klai

artist: สุรชัย สมบัติเจริญ (surachai sombatcharoen)
album: รักสาวบ้านไกล (rak sao ban klai)
tracklist:
01. รักสาวบ้านไกล (rak sao ban klai)
02. สวรรค์เวียงเหนือ (sawan wiang nuea)
03. ทำบาปใต้ถุนทำบุญบนศาลา (tham pap tai thun, tham bun bon sala)
04. ทุ่งนาคอยน้อง (thung na khoi nong)
05. คนหลายใจ (khon lai chai)
06. ถวิลดอกฟ้า (thawin dok fa)
07. ฝันค้าง (fan khang)
08. คนขี้เมา (khon khi mao)
09. หอมแก้ม (hom kaem)
10. นับวันเฝ้าคอย (nap wan fao khoi)
11. เราไม่ว่ากัน (rao mai wa kan)
12. สวรรค์บ้านนา (sawan ban na)

this week, we'll hear some classic 70s luk thung from surachai sombatcharoen! son of suraphon sombatcharoen, the star singer often called "thailand's elvis", surachai led a priveleged upringing compared to the early lives of many luk thung stars (highschool in england, higher education in bangkok) notwithstanding the troubles that attended his father's fame: young surachai recounted receiving threatening phone-calls, dodging gunfire, bombs and other extreme actions from his father's many rivals. over the years, surachai has found fame as singer, actor, radio d.j. and even politician. this cassette primarily features 1970s-style stage band disco, occasionally dipping into more traditional sounds with angkhalung and piphat ensembles joining in, all from the pen of songwriter chaiyaphon mueangsuphan. enjoy!

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dontri thai doem ngan buat nak

artist: อ. ประสิทธิ์ นครพนม (a. prasit nakhonphanom)
album: ดนตรีไทยเดิม งานบวชนาค (dontri thai doem ngan buat nak)
tracklist:
01. งานบวช (โหมโรงเย็น) (ngan buat - homrong yen)
02. โกนหัวนาค (ลงสรง) (kon hua nak - long song)
03. รับพระ (เช้า) (rap phra - chao)
04. ส่งพระ (สองไม้) (song phra - song mai)
05. มหาฤกษ์ (maharoek)
06. เพลงเชิด (phleng choet)
07. จุดธูป (สาธุการ) (chut thup - sathukan)
08. เข้าพิธีทำขวัญนาค (เหาะ) (khao phithi tham khwan nak - ho)
09. เวียนเทียนทำขวัญนาค (wian thian tham khwan nak)
10. เจิมหน้านาคเสร็จพิธี (กราวในเชิด) (choem na nak set phithi - krao nai choet)

a few weeks back, we had a lae-pop album from achan prasit nakhonphanom; today we find him leading an even more explicitly religious project; a cassette intended to soundtrack (or document?) the proceedings of a thai buddhist ordination ceremony! the music consists of an uncredited piphat ensemble running through instrumental pieces that correspond with the stages of the ceremony; music to accompany the tonsure, procession around the temple, and all the rites associated with entering monkhood. enjoy!