Isan Music
28 March 2019
And now for something completely different……………if you come to Thailand either on a holiday or to live for a longer period and come across some Thai nightlife or a street party you will bound to hear some Isan music being played. I thought it might be of interest to some to provide a bit of background and some examples of the sort of music styles you will hear if you do get involved in the ‘real’ Thailand.
Background
Thai music is one of those areas that splits the expat population. I am sure there are many who dislike all Thai music styles or cherry pick by being OK with some offerings but not others. No different from back ‘home’ where music is such a personal taste and some love country & western and others not so much (me). I enjoy some Isan music and think some is a real pain. So, in my unprofessional role as a Isan musicologist 🙂 let me tell you about the four distinct styles of music I pick up being played in the events I go to in Isan, depending on the situation involved.
(1) Younger Thais are pretty switched onto western music and you will find many of them listen to a mix of Thai and American pop music. Peng spends quite a bit of time on her treadmill as part of her rehabilitation program after major surgery on her legs in 2017, and she will have western hits playing, to which she knows most of the words although often in a Tinglish way, which can be pretty funny. Mind you, I am at a loss for what the words in many songs are so I am not criticising. At other times she will be pure Thai in her listening habits. Of course Western pop or older ‘memories’ music is played in the farang bar areas across the country, or so I have been told 🙂 Your professional farang bar-hugger won’t be too much into Isan music and probably has this on his long list of things to hate about Thailand.
I suspect that this rig wasn’t playing Isan traditional! More for Peng and her friends.
(2) The many weddings and funerals I have attended have only played traditional Isan music. Slightly more upbeat at the weddings, as you’d hope, and more Luk Thung (see below) for the funerals. To my ears Luk Thung is like the versions of our country music that come with a story – the dog has died, the wife has left, the crops are rotting in the fields etc etc. Maybe that’s not what is being sung in Luk Thung, but it certainly sounds like a lot of bad news happening 🙂 Funnily, early on most mornings moo bans across Thailand make announcements over loudspeakers (oh joy). Usually they start this process with a theme song. For a long time our village had one that told the story of a faithful wife waiting at home for her husband to return from seeing his mistress. A very inspirational way to start the day 🙂 I am going to make your day and show the video that goes with that song below. You get the idea of the story even though if you don’t understand the words:
I recent wedding we attended. Isan music 100%
(3) Street parties also play mostly Isan music but more Mor Lum (see below). It’s heavy on the beat, more cheerful and often a bit racey in the topics. These are modern “top 40′ type songs and you will hear some of the standard favourites at pretty well every street party or dance event you go to. If the crowd is mostly teenagers then a sort of techno mishmash of sounds is played, which makes me realise that I am growing older!
High volume, heavy bass and an essential element to any street party. 7,000 baht plus to hire.
(4) Finally there is lam, which is instrumental only usually with a single guitar and lots of drums. I have included a video below of Gaun dancing to a lam band in Si Bun Ruang earlier this month.
There are other styles outside the mainstream and if you want more information about them Wikipedia has a decent write-up HERE. I have also included this blog post HERE, has some useful links that take you to more sites for Isan music. Below are a couple of definitions for styles I have mentioned before:
Luk Thung
Luk Thung, or Thai country music, developed in the mid-20th century to reflect daily trials and tribulations of rural Thais. Pongsri Woranut and Suraphol Sombatcharoen were the genre’s first big stars, incorporating influences from Asia. Many of the most popular artists have come from the central city of Suphanburi, including megastar Pumpuang Duangjan, who pioneered electronic Luk Thung. The late 90’s saw a commercial resurgence of Luk Thung, and the modern electrified, pop-influenced version of the genre remains the country’s most popular music form.
Mor Lam
Mor Lam is the dominant folk music of Thailand’s north-eastern Isan region, which has a mainly Lao population. It has much in common with Luk Thung, such as its focus on the life of the rural poor. It is characterised by rapid-fire, rhythmic vocals and a funk feel to the percussion. The lead singer, also called a Mor Lam, is most often accompanied by the khaen, also known as khene (a bamboo flute – Tony).
There are about fifteen regional variations of Mor Lam, plus modern versions such as mor Lam Sing. Some conservatives have criticised these as the commercialisation of traditional cultures.
These groups can be hired for your next party at home. Usually a male and female singer, and either two or four dancing girls plus a live band. 20,000 baht up.
The Music
I have selected some of the YouTube Isan videos I have found and included them in a playlist that you can access HERE.
It is a bit of a mix of styles but I will go back and rearrange them soon and update this post. Some are a single song only while others are a longer mixture, good for your next Isan party. BTW, I find that it is best to avoid the actual videos themselves as they are usually pretty awful. The modern ones only seem to have the one movie clip director who had a single idea of the main singer in weird clothes and matching dancers who are a hit and miss as to where they can dance or are just family members.
My personal favourite is a traditional Isan song, which talks about the rains coming and the availability of frogs in the paddies, but leaving aside the romantic nature of the words, this song is the one Gaun danced for me in Isan style in the very, very early days and I have loved it and her ever since. There are a few songs like this one that if I ever had to leave Thailand would immediately bring me back to so many good times shared with some of the people that mean the most to me.
And here is Gaun dancing to this song at our home in Si Bun Ruang. A very simple (for her not me) step one, two, three, four, but as with much Thai dancing it is the flowing hand movements that make the simplicity so graceful.
I hope you enjoyed this post. Please leave a comment. It makes my day.
Hi Tony…. I like many of your followers enjoy reading your entertaining blogs and looking at your pics but we don’t make many comments. So to make your day mate here is one I really enjoy Isaan music and do hear it down here in the south of Thailand. But not as much us up there. I am at a party now for a friend’s son going to Monk for 1 mth and listening to some very loud upbeat Isaan music. It is certainly toe tapping music you gotta love Cheers Ian
Cheers Ian. Good to know that you are enjoying the blog. Thanks for the comment, which helped make my day 🙂
Tony
G’day Tony, I always enjoy your posts of insights to your life in Isan, and the information for us about living in Thailand. I read one of your posts about the health insurance aspect of living in Thailand. I think I read some insurers drop you off their books at 70, do you know of anyone getting a world wide health cover, I suppose would be similar to travel insurance but with a set main living destination, if that makes sense. I know the goal posts keep moving so will have to wait and see. I’m not there yet, still a few years off, but am constantly thinking I wish I was there instead of here, but have to wait until I’m fully financially ready. We’ve just had a cyclone go done the coast, where you are inland do you have major storms as such, I know inland US has tornado’s?
Thanks again.
Thanks Tony, loved watching your most beautiful lady dancing. Keep up the good work …..it makes MY DAY when I see your blogs come thru.
Hi Annie. What a real pleasure to hear you are still following us from Tassie. Thank you so much. You made my day with your comment. Anybody who compliments Gaun gets a big tick in my book. She is a delight.
Thank you again.
Tony
Hi Tony, Greetings from Hans and Sue in Ban Phe. Great video on the family farm. Reminded Sue and I of walking the same grounds last year. Love the pond with Isan Grace on it. What a perfect venue for the occasional ‘sun-downer! Nearly enough to rival our version of the same sun-downer, sitting at the edge of the Bay of Thailand and watching the sun go down over Koh Samed.
I really like your new blog format and your pictures are getting ever lovelier.
Since our visit with you Sue and I have taken another road trip to the North Country, all the way to Chiang Mai, Chinag Rai and the very tip of the ‘Golden Triange’ in Mae Sai. Loved the White and Blue Temples in Chiang Rai, but the Chiang Mai Zoo not so much. With the exception of the Pandas’ building, we saw many other, sadly neglected habitats and lonely, single specimens of the larger animals in them.
Still, with that one sad exception, overall a most enjoyable journey and exploration of a slightly different face of Thailand. In any case, great first impressions and memories to treasure of all the good things Thailand has to offer to those of us who found our appropriate spot in it, happily accompanied by our lovely Thai Ladies.
Please keep up this great work of yours and cement your place as the best chronicler of the good side of ex-patriot life in Thailand.
I am answering your first comment secondly Hans.
Thank you for your thumbs up on the new blog format and the occasional video. I have had a busy time socially but a quiet period of adding to the blog. With an extended super hot period I am back inside in front of the computer and some new stories may eventuate.
Did you get caught in the smoke on your trip to the north or was that before it got really bad? It is a lovely area of Thailand. Drop into Nan next time. It is less touristy than CM or CR with some good temples and lovely surrounding countryside. Overlooked by many it is worth including on an exploration of the region. I do recommend staying at the Nan Seasons Boutique Resort. Great restaurant too. Booking.com HERE
We went to CM zoo with Peng just before we moved to Isan. I think that if one believed in karma then the term ‘bad karma’ would apply to the poor animals stuck in many of Thailand’s zoos.
I have thanked you for your enthusiastic support before but here’s another.
Always a pleasure.
Tony
Hi Tony, As always I enjoyed this post. I will be hearing the music first hand soon. My wife and I will be returning to Si Bun Ruang on April 22nd for two weeks to visit family and make some improvements to our house there. It would be nice to meet you and Gaun. Let me know if you would like to get together for a bite and/or a beverage of your choice, my treat.
Thank you for all the information and insight you provide,
John