Molam goes global: Isaan beats under spotlight at FCCT on Wednesday

[snoop1130]

Molam goes global: Isaan beats under spotlight at FCCT on Wednesday

By The Nation

 

 

Molam singer Pimjai Petchapalangchai on the Molam Bus stage. The All-Thidsa band from Mahasarakhram. Photo courtesy of John Clewley

 

Music scholars and culture experts will explore Molam’s journey from traditional Isaan folk music to the world stage at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand on Wednesday.

 

The Paradise Bangkok Molam International Band has been treating Western ears during tours to Europe in recent years and returns east this month for a show at the Fuji Rock Festival in Japan.

 

Meanwhile fellow molam outfit Khun Narin’s Electric Phin has landed itself a record deal with a US-based label.

 

Closer to home, the Jim Thompson Farm’s Molam Mobile Bus is on a musical tour of the Kingdom and plans are afoot to steer it abroad.

 

With its strong beats, rhythmic tunes and soulful lyrics molam has been the sound track for village festivals and rituals, weddings, temple fairs and even for healing the sick for centuries.

 

Rooted in temple sermons, the music is a narrative folk art preformed by mo-lam (master singers) backed by the khaen (bamboo-reed mouth organ) as well as ching (temple bells), the phin (lute) and the sor (fiddle).

 

Traditional forms of molam transformed as Thailand modernised from the 1950s onward, and ensembles and bands began to use Western instruments and arrangements.

Innovations such as dramatic and popular forms were created and the genre was recorded and distributed as “pop music”.

 

These days traditional forms of molam exist side by side with popular styles that have evolved in step with the dynamic changes in Thai society.

 

Experts will gather at the FCCT in Bangkok to play and discuss different styles of this iconic musical form, pondering its ongoing evolution and success.

 

On the panel will be: Dr Jarernchai Chonpairot, a music specialist at the College of Music, Mahasarakham University; Dr Gridthiya Gaweewong, the artistic director of the Jim Thompson Art Centre; Arthit Mulsarn, the curator for the Jim Thompson Mobile Molam Bus Project; Viraya Sawangchot, a specialist in popular music and senior fellow with the Social Enterprise Leadership Centre; and DJ Maft Sai, the owner of Zudrangma Records, Paradise Bangkok Molam International Band.

 

The panel moderator will be John Clewley, the Bangkok Post’s World Beat columnist, correspondent/photographer for Songlines (UK) magazine and contributor to the Rough Guide to World Music.

 

The discusion is held from 7pm to 9pm. Get tickets at www.fcctthai.com

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30372081

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-07-01

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[Lupatria]

Bring your ear plugs! During this performance all real musicians and composers from Amadeus to Zappa will turn in their graves while so called experts will gather to play and discuss different styles of this icronic musical form. It's nothing but noise.

[LongTang]

1 hour ago, Lupatria said:

Bring your ear plugs! During this performance all real musicians and composers from Amadeus to Zappa will turn in their graves while so called experts will gather to play and discuss different styles of this icronic musical form. It's nothing but noise.

 

You must be a real Sour Party Pooper !

Molam music is great fun and a fantastic way to keep yourself alert on long drivers.

One should always have a few CDs in the car, Nothing but pure fun !

 

 

 

Edited July 2, 2019 by LongTang

[dddave]

The MorLam based pop single "Bodang Salang Jai" (Pamala Burden) was popular my first trip to Thailand.  It was such a catchy tune that I took a copy back to Boston, my home city and gave it to a friend who was a DJ on a local radio station that had a daily show that highlighted international pop music.  The first time he aired it, the phones lite up and within days, it became the most requested song on the show.  A local music store even called me asking where they could get copies though I couldn't help them.  

 

 

Edited July 2, 2019 by dddave

[Lemonltr]

I like most Thai music but love Mor lam and the sound of the 'kaen'. Love the beat, the prelude and the fact that, like most Thai songs has a story, something mostly lost in Western music nowadays. 

[Lupatria]

4 hours ago, LongTang said:

 

You must be a real Sour Party Pooper !

Molam music is great fun and a fantastic way to keep yourself alert on long drivers.

One should always have a few CDs in the car, Nothing but pure fun !

 

 

 

Sorry to hurt your feelings. I'm just a musician who recorded 16 CD's sold in 6 digit numbers. Hope you allow me to have a different taste and opinion.