Curious about the rousing music you heard in the taxi or tuk-tuk during your Thai holiday? Chances are it was molam. Molam is cheerful, uplifting dance music that is loved by taxi drivers. The khaen (a bamboo mouth organ) gives the music a funky and psychedelic effect. The two main ambassadors of this music are the Englishman Chris Menist and the Thai Maft Sai. Together they play old molam pictures
… at parties in their hometown Bangkok. They have also released two excellent compilation albums with this music. The latest fruit of their work is The Paradise Bangkok Molam International Band, a group of older Molam musicians with whom the DJ duo goes on tour. With a mix of covers and own compositions, this album is an excellent entry point for those who want to get to know the molam better. This was once the music of poor rice farmers from the north-east of Thailand, but in recent years this music is also doing well abroad. If you listen carefully to this album, you realize that this renewed attention is justified. (PdK)more