artist: ซอบะห์ วงษ์มะเซาะ + กื้อ เบบี้ (sobah wongmasoh & kue baby)
album: รวมเพลงภาพยนตร์อินเดีย 3 (ruam phleng phapphayon india 3)
tracklist:
01. bobby (บ๊อบบี้)
02. zindakyja (ซันดากียา)
03. khudakawa (ฮูดาคาวา)
04. pholo kata (ปูโล คาตา)
05. yadoky (ยาดูกี้)
06. tumbill (ตุมบิล)
07. yatumha (ยาตุมฮา)
08. jallte (ยัลเด)
09. rona (โรนา)
10. amere betee (อเมรี บีตี)
11. rimkim che (ริมคิม ซี)
12. jalterajal (ยัลเตราจัน)

as a lucky follow-up to last week's indian-derived material, today we have bollywood sounds of a different stripe.  just the other day, i came across a great arab-malay tape shop in bangkok.  among their collection was this cassette featuring sobah and kue, past members of bangkok's own baby arabia (recently the subject of a fantastic documentary), doing takes on classic filmi tunes.  unfortunately, i don't know a great deal about contemporary thai-muslim music, but i would guess that these melodies reached thailand's islamic community by way of malaysia/indonesia, where they had played a major role in the development of that region's famous dangdut genre.  to my ears, this tape bears definite dangdut influence... i know some readers here are much more knowledgeable about this scene than i, so if you know anything further, please contribute!

artist: ชาตรี ศรีชล (chatri sichon)
album: โฉมนาง (chom nang)
tracklist:
01. โฉมนาง (chom nang)
02. ธรณีชีวิต (thorani chiwit)
featuring ยุพิน แพรทอง (yuphin phraethong)
03. มารักกันเถิด (ma rak kan thoet)
04. อย่ามาหลอกฉัน (ya ma lok chan)
sung by ยุพิน แพรทอง (yuphin phraethong)
05. คงเป็นแฟนคุณ (khong pen faen khun)
06. ผลกรรม (phonkam)
07. ดนตรี (instrumental)
08. มนต์เสียงเพลง (mon siang phleng)
featuring ยุพิน แพรทอง (yuphin phraethong)
09. อนุภาพรัก (anuphap rak)
sung by ยุพิน แพรทอง (yuphin phraethong)
10. สวรรค์บนดิน (sawan bon din)
sung by ยุพิน แพรทอง (yuphin phraethong)
11. คนจนไม่ดีเด่น (khon chon mai di den)
12. สาวอาปาเช่ (sao "apache")
13. คนจนคนจร (khon chon khon chon)

i've posted this tape before (post no. 6, to be precise!), but it's so good, and i've learned so much since about the history behind it, that i feel it warrants a re-posting. chatri, from chonburi, got his start in samniang muangthong's ruam daokrachai band, but left to help suraphon's wife sinuan rehabilitate the sombatcharoen band (primarily as a songwriter) after the star's death in 1968. within a year he had founded his own band & cut his first records. in 1970, he was contracted by isaan songwriter surin phaksiri for a new sort of project... if i have my story right, her majesty queen sirikit had recently attended a screening of a hindi film in bangkok, and her glowing review seemed ready to start a bollywood craze in the kingdom. as was standard for film imports, the hindi dialogues would be dubbed into thai, but considering the musical nature of indian films the decision was made to dub the songs as well, and local luk thung stars were hired to do the job. big names like phraiwan lukphet, riam daranoi, buppha saichon & others all tried their hands at singing playback. the filmi selections on this album are dubs from c.v. sridhar's "dharti", composed by the shankar-jaikishan team, and feature chatri on the male parts (originally mohd. rafi) and yuphin phraethong doing the female (originally lata mangeshkar & asha bhosle). tacked on are some of chatri's great luk thung singles from the same period.. enjoy!

artist: บุปผา สายชล (buppha saichon)
album: รูปหล่อถมไป (rup lo thom pai)
tracklist:
01. รูปหล่อถมไป (rup lo thom pai)
02. ไม่น่าโกหก (mai na kohok)
03. รักคนแก่ดีกว่า (rak khon kae di kwa)
04. วอนลมฝากรัก (won lom fak rak)
05. ฉันเคียงเธอ (chan khiang thoe)
06. ซังคนใจร้าย (sang khon chai rai)
07. หาดใจไร้รัก (hat chai rai rak)
08. สาวนาคอยคู่ (sao na khoi khu)
09. รักลวงน้ำลง (rak luang nam long)
10. น้ำตาน้ำตก (nam ta nam tok)

a little while ago i got a request for some music from buppha saichon.. at the time, i had nothing to share, but i kept an eye out & just the other day spotted this great collection on the street! while the cover photo might not be the most flattering, the music is great. buppha, from chon buri, spent time in the chularat band before marrying singer & filmstar siphrai chaiphra, with whom she starred in 1970's "mon rak luk thung" (three of the singles here are pulled from the fantastic soundtrack). she also had a close working relationship with songwriter phaibun butkhan, who gave her great songs in both her on & off-screen careers, inlcuding her biggest hit, "yommaban chao ka". this collection features a nice assortment of styles.. straight luk thung ramwong mingling with surf-rock sounds, twangy steel guitar & bollywood borrowings.. enjoy!

singers: various
album: มนต์รักลูกทุ่ง (mon rak luk thung)
tracklist:
01. มนต์รักลูกทุ่ง (mon rak luk thung)
sung by ไพรวัลย์ ลูกเพชร (phraiwan lukphet)
02. สาวนาคอยคู่ (sao na khoi khu)
sung by บุปผา สายชล (buppha saichon)
03. อาลัย (alai)
sung by ไพรวัลย์ ลูกเพชร (phraiwan lukphet)
04. หนุ่มพเนจร (num phanechon)
sung by บรรจบ เจริญพร (banchop charoenphon)
05. สิบหมื่น (sip muen)
sung by มิตร ชัยบัญชา (mit chaibancha)
06. น้ำลงนกร้อง (nam long nok rong)
sung by พรไพร เพชรดำเนิน (phonphrai phetdamnoen)
07. นกร้องน้องช้ำ (nok rong nong cham)
sung by บุปผา สายชล (buppha saichon)
08. น้อยใจรัก (noi chai rak)
sung by ผ่องศรี วรนุช (phongsi woranut)
09. แม่ร้อยใจ (mae roi chai)
sung by มิตร ชัยบัญชา (mit chaibancha)
10. น้ำตา น้ำตก (nam ta nam tok)
sung by บุปผา สายชล (buppha saichon)
11. ใจเจ้าชู้ (chai chao chu)
sung by บรรจบ เจริญพร (banchop charoenphon)
12. รูปหล่อถมไป (rup lo thom pai)
sung by บุปผา สายชล (buppha saichon)
13. รักร้าวหนาวลม (rak rao nao lom)
sung by บรรจบ เจริญพร (banchop charoenphon)
14. รักลาอย่าเศร้า (rak la ya sao)
sung by ผ่องศรี วรนุช (phongsi woranut)

the film "mon rak luk thung" is considered a landmark of both thai cinema & thai popular music; its unprecedented 6 month run in bangkok upon release in 1970 (พ.ศ. 2513) represented an increasing fondness for pleng luk thung in the capitol. the story is set in a rural village and concerns the romance between a poor farmer and the daughter of a rich landowner (played by mit chaibancha & phetchara chaowarat). taking a cue from hindi films, the action is interspersed with musical numbers, many of which feature the original singers picturising their own tunes. and the tunes are in top form! featuring the work of famed songwriter ไพบูลย์ บุตรขัน (phaibun butkhan) & his team, many of these songs are pop standards, with dozens of recorded versions. the film itself also has a number of iterations, most notably as the basis of a tv serial drama (ละคร or 'lakhon') of the same name. please enjoy these unforgettable songs!

singer: ชาตรี ศรีชล (chatri sichon)
album: โฉมนาง (chom nang)
tracklist:
01. โฉมนาง (chom nang)
02. ธรณีชีวิต (thorani chiwit)
03. มารักกันเถิด (ma rak kan thoet)
04. อย่ามาหลอกฉัน (ya ma lok chan)
05. คงเป็นแฟนคุณ (khong pen faen khun)
06. ผลกรรม (phlakam)
07. ดนตรี (instrumental)
08. มนต์เสียงเพลง (mon siang phleng)
09. อนุภาพรัก (anu phap rak)
10. สวรรค์บนดิน (sawan bon din)
11. คนจนไม่ดีเด่น (khon chon mai di den)
12. สาวอาปาเช่ (sao a pa che)
13. คนจนคนจร (khon chon khon chon)

chatri is crazy! he was a luk thung singer from chon buri who, at some point in his career, became enamoured with indian film music, and created this fantastic album, based largely on that sound. since him there have been several other singers who have developed a penchant for filmi, but at the time chatri was in a league of his own and his songs have been the backbone of the ลูกทุ่งทำนองอินเดีย (luk thung tham nong india) style. as far as i can tell all these melodies are original (rather than just indian tunes with thai lyrics.. please tell me if you know otherwise!) and i'm very curious to learn about the genesis of this album; are the musicians indian or thai? did chatri go to india to record this, did the musicians come to thailand? and who is the singer with him? fascinating!

UPDATE: see new post here!