Ever travelled in time and space wearing headphones? The latest album from Light In The Attic’s on-going collaboration with Bangkok’s ZudRangMa label promises to help you do just that.
Following the celebrated Thai Funk: ZudRangMa compilations exploring Molam music from the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s, it’s time for an in-depth look at one of the architects of the sound. Theppabutr Productions: The Man Behind The Molam Sound 1972-75 issues, for the first time outside of Thailand, the work of pioneering producer Theppabutr Satirodchompu, the man credited as the creator of the modern Molam sound.
Those uninitiated in Molam (or "Mor Lam”, as it’s sometimes known) should probably get acquainted with Thai Funk Volumes 1 and 2, like, right now. But as time is short, let us say it was the exciting, electric music born of the age-old folk music traditions of northeast Thailand in the latter half of the 20th century. It’s the sound of a corner of a far eastern nation carving its way through the musical shifts sweeping the west while keeping one eye on the past – and the resulting groove-laden vinyl gems sound just as fresh and dynamic today as they did decades ago.
Theppabutr’s contribution to Molam is almost immeasurable – he signed hundreds of Molam artists and recorded even more. Here, acts from his stable including Roied Petchsiam, Chanpen Sirithep and Theppabutr’s singing wife, Baneyn Rakkaen, showcase his heavy, deep and raw sound, colored by native instruments including the haunting, church organ-like khaen and the driving riffs of the phin.
Like the Thai Funk compilations, Theppabutr Productions: The Man Behind The Molam Sound 1972-75 is the result of some serious crate-digging by the ZudRangMa label’s own Maft Sai, who scours used record bins and street markets in Bangkok and beyond. Beyond the label, Sai is a DJ responsible for the Bangkok Paradise club, which brought Theppabutr back to the stage in February 2012 with his group Wong Dontri Molam Theppabutr. Thanks to Sai, the wider world is now privy to a rich seam of Thai pop, garage rock, funk, and disco from a selection of artists largely unknown outside of Southeast Asia.
A record label and shop with a strong desire to find old gems and and present them as beautiful reissues, ZudRangMa and Light In The Attic clearly share a similar ethos despite the thousands of miles separating them. In their native Thailand, ZudRangMa’s CD issues of these compilations are housed in a limited, hand-stitched soft cloth sleeve. Not to be outdone, we issued our complementary vinyl editions as epic 2xLP packages complete with gatefold sleeves, vintage album art, lovingly remastered audio and four varieties of the beautiful hand-stitched, printed and colored cloth outer sleeves.
Theppabutr Productions: The Man Behind The Molam Sound 1972-75 continues that tradition, appearing here on vinyl for the first time and issued with an old school tip-on gatefold sleeve, a download card for all tracks and a foldout poster. This compilation opens a musical door that few in the western world have peered through before. Pop on the phones and travel back to a Thai concert hall sometime in the early ‘70s – it’s time to meet the Berry Gordy of Bangkok.
