HAJI MAJI

Here’s the last post of the year, you might want to throw this one one at your New Year’s Eve party…see you in 2010!

In the 1960s, Molam began to modernize, adding drums and other instruments, perhaps in an effort to compete with the wildly popular luk thung performers. Here’s a fantastic instrumental 45 rpm record with some nice khaen playing and a prominent phin, a small 3 string lute.

> Daao Jarat Saeng Side 1

Here’s another old style khaen piece, but this time with the molams (singers) Bunpheng Phaiphiwchai and Wichian. There are many different regional types of lam (songs) in northeast Thailand (Isan) and Laos, some based on traditional, poetry, Jataka stories (Buddha birth stories from India) and courtship songs. Courtship songs often include racy repartee between male and female singers.

Here’s another great 45 rpm 7 inch record.

> Kai Koo Ber SI66 Side 1

Now, for one of my favorite musical subjects…the khaen!

The northeast region of Thailand is called Isan and is made up of a majority of Lao speaking people. The music and instruments are distinct from the rest of Thailand, the main instrument being the free-reed mouth organ called khaen (pronounced “can”, it’s often spelled khene, khen, or any number of variations.) It consists of a series of bamboo pipes in two rows fitted into a wooden holder. The player breathes in and out of the wooden wind chest, fingering holes on either side. Each pipe has it’s own free reed, similar to a harmonica.

The player sets up hypnotic pentatonic grooves, usually to back up a singer. It’s interesting to note that the musical pitches are very close to Western scales, as opposed to the rest of Thai music where the scale is divided more or less evenly into seven notes.

The khaen is also the dominant instrument in Lao music. Here’s a Lao khaen player from 1902:

There are two songs on each side of this 45rpm record from the 1960s…here are both the songs from side one; Kan Lao Kra Thomai and Kan Lum Pleun played by Thongkham Thaikla (thanks again to Peter Doolan for artist translation.)

> Pin Khaen HS 348 side 1

More great Southeast Asian graphics…

In the 1950s, rural Thais from the northeast (Isan) and elsewhere began moving to the big cities to look for work. It’s the same old story found all across the world – the rural music was transformed in urban ghettos and a new popular music was born. The huge success of some of the big stars of the 50s such as Waiphot Phetsuhan, Phloen Phromdaen and Suraphon Sombatchoroen inspired many rural people to dream of escaping poverty by becoming luk thung stars. Independent record labels proliferated and continued releasing luk thung 78s into the 1960’s. By the 1980’s, luk thung was the unrivaled pop music of  Thailand and only recently has a modernized type of molam begun to catch up. We’ll look at some early molam soon.

Here’s the famous Phloen Phromdaen singing the song Lam Kaen:

>Nok iang ATP 309 

Thanks to Peter at Monrakplengthai for translation and copious information. Plenty more luk thung on his site!