Sound of Siam, Vol. 1 - Leftfield Luk Thung, Jazz & Molam in Thailand 1964-1975 (Soundway Records)
‘The Sound of Siam’ is Soundway's first foray into the cracked world of Asian music and thankfully manages to achieve the same head-expanding quality the label has become synonymous with. Tripping beween jazz, funk, easy listening, lounge and who knows what else, this nineteen track compilation is a daring, haphazard look into Thailand’s rarely heard underground music scene. The skeleton of traditional Thai music is there somewhere, but these tracks are notable for taking sizeable Western influences and bending them to suit their needs. Therefore when they play jazz (as heard on Chaweewan Dumnern’s ‘Lam Toey Chaweewan’) it only barely sounds like any jazz you could think to mention, sucking in influences from countless other Americanized genres. The finest moment comes in the shape of Ream Daranoi’s heartbreaking ‘Fai Yen’, which seems to echo 50s and 60s television themes in the accompanying music, while the unforgettable shrill vocals sound absolutely alien and totally beguiling. Recommending a compilation like this is incredibly easy – just take a listen and allow yourself to explore musical topographies you haven't encountered before. We guarantee you won’t have heard a collection quite like it. Highly Recommended.
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‘The Sound of Siam’ is Soundway's first foray into the cracked world of Asian music and thankfully manages to achieve the same head-expanding quality the label has become synonymous with. Tripping beween jazz, funk, easy listening, lounge and who knows what else, this nineteen track compilation is a daring, haphazard look into Thailand’s rarely heard underground music scene. The skeleton of traditional Thai music is there somewhere, but these tracks are notable for taking sizeable Western influences and bending them to suit their needs. Therefore when they play jazz (as heard on Chaweewan Dumnern’s ‘Lam Toey Chaweewan’) it only barely sounds like any jazz you could think to mention, sucking in influences from countless other Americanized genres. The finest moment comes in the shape of Ream Daranoi’s heartbreaking ‘Fai Yen’, which seems to echo 50s and 60s television themes in the accompanying music, while the unforgettable shrill vocals sound absolutely alien and totally beguiling. Recommending a compilation like this is incredibly easy – just take a listen and allow yourself to explore musical topographies you haven't encountered before. We guarantee you won’t have heard a collection quite like it. Highly Recommended.
‘The Sound of Siam’ is Soundway's first foray into the cracked world of Asian music and thankfully manages to achieve the same head-expanding quality the label has become synonymous with. Tripping beween jazz, funk, easy listening, lounge and who knows what else, this nineteen track compilation is a daring, haphazard look into Thailand’s rarely heard underground music scene. The skeleton of traditional Thai music is there somewhere, but these tracks are notable for taking sizeable Western influences and bending them to suit their needs. Therefore when they play jazz (as heard on Chaweewan Dumnern’s ‘Lam Toey Chaweewan’) it only barely sounds like any jazz you could think to mention, sucking in influences from countless other Americanized genres. The finest moment comes in the shape of Ream Daranoi’s heartbreaking ‘Fai Yen’, which seems to echo 50s and 60s television themes in the accompanying music, while the unforgettable shrill vocals sound absolutely alien and totally beguiling. Recommending a compilation like this is incredibly easy – just take a listen and allow yourself to explore musical topographies you haven't encountered before. We guarantee you won’t have heard a collection quite like it. Highly Recommended.
‘The Sound of Siam’ is Soundway's first foray into the cracked world of Asian music and thankfully manages to achieve the same head-expanding quality the label has become synonymous with. Tripping beween jazz, funk, easy listening, lounge and who knows what else, this nineteen track compilation is a daring, haphazard look into Thailand’s rarely heard underground music scene. The skeleton of traditional Thai music is there somewhere, but these tracks are notable for taking sizeable Western influences and bending them to suit their needs. Therefore when they play jazz (as heard on Chaweewan Dumnern’s ‘Lam Toey Chaweewan’) it only barely sounds like any jazz you could think to mention, sucking in influences from countless other Americanized genres. The finest moment comes in the shape of Ream Daranoi’s heartbreaking ‘Fai Yen’, which seems to echo 50s and 60s television themes in the accompanying music, while the unforgettable shrill vocals sound absolutely alien and totally beguiling. Recommending a compilation like this is incredibly easy – just take a listen and allow yourself to explore musical topographies you haven't encountered before. We guarantee you won’t have heard a collection quite like it. Highly Recommended.