Thailand retains cultural connections with the two great centers of Asian civilizations, India and China. Though Thailand was never colonized by Western powers, pop music and other forms of European and American music have become extremely influential. The two most popular styles of modern Thai music are mor lam and luk thung, which have important influences from Laos and other neighboring nations.
Aside from the Thai, minorities of Laotians, Lawa, Hmong, Akha, Mien, Lisu, Karen and Lahu peoples have retained traditional musical forms.
A distinctive Thai culture did not exist until 1257, when the kingdom of Sukhothai was created. Music was an important part of life during this period, and what is now known as Thai classical music arose during the Ayuthaya period. Music flourished for the next few centuries, in spite of occasional oppression from monarchs like Rama I.
Pleng luk thung
Pleng luk thung, or Thai country music, was invented in the early 1950s to reflect daily trials and tribulations of rural Thais. Ponsri Woranut and Suraphon Sombatjalern were the genre's first big stars, and helped incorporate influences from Latin America, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia and, especially, American film soundtracks and country music (including yodelling). Many of the most popular pleng luk thung stars have come from the central city of Suphanburi, including future megastar Pompuang Duanjan, who adapted pleng luk thung to 1980s string and pop music by making a dance-ready form called electronic luk thung. When Pompuang died in 1992, many observers felt that luk thung would die with her, but it persisted and, with the advent of the first all luk thung radio station in 1997, soon saw a major revival.
Mor lam
There is a large minority of Laotians in Isan, the Northeastern region of Thailand, and they are known for mor lam music. Mor lam has long had an affinity with luk thung, and many of the genre's biggest stars, like Chalermphol Malaikham and Jintara Poonlarp, are heavily influenced by luk thung. Mor lam is a distinctively Laotian genre, and can be characterized by rapid-fire, rhythmic vocals and a funk feel to the percussion. Mor lam is played by a mor khaen, who plays the khaen, and a lead singer also called a mor lam.
There are about fifteen regional variations of mor lam, and there are modern versions as well. Mor lam sing is the best-known of these, nad has become popular all over Isan, as well as in Laos. Some conservative Laotians have criticized this as the commercialization of traditional cultures.
Kantrum
The people of Isan are also known for kantrum, which is much less famous for mor lam. Kantrum is played by Cambodians living near the border with Cambodia. It is a swift and very traditional dance music. In its purest form, cho-kantrum, singers, percussion and fiddles dominate the sound. A more modern form using electric instrumentation arose in the mid-1980s. Later in the decade, Darkie became the genre's biggest star, and he crossed into mainstream markets in the later 1990s.
Pop and rock
By the 1930s, however, Western classical music, showtunes, jazz and tango were popular. Soon, jazz grew to dominate Thai popular music, and Khru Eua Sunthornsanan soon set up the first Thai jazz band. The music he soon helped to invent along with influential band Suntharaporn was called pleng Thai sakorn, which incorporated Thai melodies with Western classical music. This music continued to evolve into luk grung, a romantic music that was popular with the upper-class.
By the 1960s, Western rock was popular and Thai artists began imitating bands like Cliff Richard & the Shadows; this music was called wong shadow, and it soon evolved into a form of Thai pop called string. The following decade saw Rewat Buddhinan beginning to use the Thai language in rock music, and by the 1980s, this had evolved into what was called string. The 70s also saw the rise of protest songs called pleng phua cheewit.
The earliest pleng phua cheewit (songs for life) band was called Caravan, and they soon emerged at the forefront of a movement for democracy. In 1976, police and rightwing activists attacked students at Thammasat University; Caravan, along with other bands and activists, fled for the rural hills. There, Caravan continued playing music for local farmers, and composed what is now their most famous song, "Khon Gap Kwaii".
In the 1980s, pleng phua cheewit re-entered the mainsteam with a grant of amnesty to dissidents. Bands like Carabao became best-sellers and incorporated sternly nationalistic elements in their lyrics. By the 1990s, pleng phua cheewit had fallen from the top of the Thai charts, though artists like Pongsit Kamphee continued to command a large audience.
String pop took over mainstream listeners in Thailand in the 90s, and bubblegum pop stars like Tata Young and Asanee & Wasan became best-sellers. Simultaneously, Britpop influenced alternative rock artists like Modern Dog became popular.
Classical music
The earliest Thai ensembles were called piphat, and they included woodwind and percussion instruments, originally in order to accompany the theater. Another ensemble type, khruang sai, added stringed instruments, while mahori further added melodic percussion instruments.
The Thai scale includes seven equal notes, instead of a mixture of tones and semitones. Instruments improvise around the central melody.
References
Clewley, John. "Songs for Living". 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), World Music, Vol. 2: Latin & North America, Caribbean, India, Asia and Pacific, pp 241-253. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books. ISBN 1-85828-636-0
