In tune with the times

In tune with the times

2012 sees a marked shift towards 'folk' styles in Southeast Asia and rest of the world

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
In tune with the times

It's been an interesting year for fans of "World Music". There have been some terrific releases, one or two epic gigs and a growing interest in popular music that doesn't need an industrial-media conveyor-belt nor dyed hair to reach an audience.

Pimjai Petchpalanchai and Saksiam Petchchompu.

The year began with the reunion of the producer Theppabutr Satirodchompu's legendary band Wong Dontri Molam Theppabutr, fronted by molam Pimjai Petchpalanchai and luk thung Isan legend Saksiam Petchchompu, supported by khaen maestro Sombat Simla at Sonic Ekamai.

Organised by Paradise Bangkok's Maft Sai and Chris Menist, the gig of the year led to an excellent compilation on Theppabutr's work on the Zudrangma Record label and the launch of Maft Sai as a producer with his Paradise Bangkok Molam International band. We can expect more to come in the form of new compilations and gigs from this crew in the New Year.

If the Theppabutr gig was my favourite show of the year, my worst experience was the revived Penang World Music Festival, which was blighted by a poorly organised line-up and horrific traffic jams to the site, although, to be fair, I did get to see one of this region's finest singers in action, Grace Nono from the Philippines, which was worth all the hassles. Festivals have mushroomed across the region; Malaysia, for instance, has many of the same kind of festivals and I wonder if there is a danger of diluting the interest. I also noted a marked shift towards "folk" styles, based on the mistaken assumption held by many organisers in the region that popular styles are not part of the "world music" festival circuit. You can have folkloric Latin styles but not salsa; you can have West African drummers but not popular West African dancebands. After all, we wouldn't want people to lose control, now would we?

It's the same kind of thinking that ends up with people considering Thailand's luk thung is "folk" music, and not a syncretic popular style created by an industrial process and disseminated via the mass media. I have a copy of the Office of the National Culture Commission's handbook, Folk Music and Traditional Performing Arts of Thailand, which does not mention luk thung as a Thai folk style at all. Clearly, we have a way to go before this kind of "High Art, Low Art" prejudice disappears.

There have been some terrific album releases this year, led by one of my favourite Congolese bands Staff Benda Bilili, which topped the EBU World Music Charts for 2012 with their second release, Bouger le Monde. Only one band from Southeast Asia made the Top 20, Sundanese gamelan fusion outfit SambaSunda Quintet with their album, Java.

The EBU chart is dominated by African releases this year (look out for the new Bonga album and Baloji's eclectic mix on Kinshasa Succursale); European bands, led by the Warsaw Village Band's latest release, Nord, dominated last year but have slipped back this year. There are surprisingly few Latin albums on the chart, although the Cumbia double CD reissue on World Circuit is worth checking out (I have the original releases and they are very good). You can browse the site and listen to sample tracks from each album before you decide on a purchase.

Finally, reggae fans are in for a treat this week as Isan Dancehall will present three big name reggae DJs, Prince Fatty, Hollie Cooke and Tippa Irie, on Dec 20 at Cosmic Cafe at RCA Block C, starting at 9pm. More information from www.zudrangmarecords.com.

My latest radio show, a Xmas Special, is out today on the above link _ Xmas calypso and Latin noel are the highlights.

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