Showing 1 - 10 of 16
Rhythms of the Northeast
Life, John Clewley, Published on 21/02/2026
» The first Maha Morlum Festival, a showcase soft power event, was held in Maha Sarakham from Feb 13-14 and World Beat travelled to the Isan province to enjoy the two-day, one-night immersive experience promised by the event's organisers.
A farewell to legends
Life, John Clewley, Published on 08/04/2025
» Veteran singer and much-loved National Artist Pongsri Woranuch, often referred to as the first "Queen of Luk Thung", died on Sunday at the age of 85.
Roi Et culture, loud and proud
Life, John Clewley, Published on 25/03/2025
» World Beat was out and about in Isan recently for a visit to the annual Boon Pha Wet Festival in Roi Et.
Farewell to a maestro
Life, John Clewley, Published on 10/04/2024
» The world of molam has been in mourning since news emerged that Thailand's greatest phin player Thongsai Thap Thanon passed away on March 20 at his home in Warin Chamrap district, Ubon Ratchathani, at the age of 77. The phin is a two- or three-stringed Isan Lao lute that is part of the trinity of molam instruments, along with the iconic khaen (free reed bamboo mouth organ) and the sor (fiddle).
Preserving heritage
Life, John Clewley, Published on 22/11/2022
» Field recordings of ancient, traditional music in the Southeast Asia feature in this column. Northern Khmer Spirit Music in Thailand – Kantrum Dongman (Animist Records, 2022) covers the traditional music of "Northern Khmer" people in provinces like Surin, Buri Ram and Si Sa Ket that straddle the Thai-Cambodian border in Thailand's lower Northeast, while Exploring Gong Culture Of Southeast Asia: Massif And Archipelago (Sub Rosa, 2022) covers traditional gong music from 50 different ethnic groups in the Philippines, Borneo, Sulawesi, Vietnam's highlands and northeast Cambodia.
Tunes for the chill season
Life, John Clewley, Published on 09/11/2022
» The music scene has been given a boost this year with the return of tourists and the reopening of entertainment venues. Festivals are returning to the provinces this month and the local circuits for rock and luk thung are back, too. The summer festival season in Europe, Japan and North America also returned and coincided with lots of summer and now winter music releases. The World Beat desk is groaning under the weight of new music.
Where cowboys rule
Life, John Clewley, Published on 05/07/2022
» The Colombian writer and journalist Gabriel Garcia Marquez was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982. At his award ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden, a delegation of Colombian musicians performed for the event. Harp player Carlos "Cuco" Rojas, the founder of the Cimarron band, and lead singer Ana Veydo joined the musicians, adding their festive joropo dance music from plains of the Orinoco River (in Colombia and Venezuela) to the music on the Nobel stage.
Saying goodbye to cultural giants
Life, John Clewley, Published on 18/01/2022
» The world of Thai country music (pleng luk thung) was reeling from news of the death of luk thung legend and National Artist Waipoj Phetsupan last Wednesday. Waipoj, 79, was one of the Big Four central Thai luk thung stars -- Chaichana Boonachote, Chai Muang Singh and Kwanjit Sriprachan, all National Artists, are the others -- all of whom are masters of all the central folk styles.
Queen of Molam honoured
Life, John Clewley, Published on 28/09/2021
» The late National Artist Bunpheng Faiphiuchai featured on Google Doodle last week, as the search engine celebrated what would have been her 89th birthday on Sept 22. She was one of the most influential molam performers of her generation, and a pioneer in the recording of molam on vinyl. According to Google Doodle's blurb, by 1955 she had recorded "more full-length albums than any other woman in the genre" and that is why she was the first molam to be given the title "Queen Of Molam".
Festive farewell
Life, John Clewley, Published on 17/08/2021
» The closing ceremony of the recent Tokyo Olympics was a surprise for many people. The organisers, recognising that many athletes were unable to explore Tokyo due to restrictions, transformed the Olympic stadium into a massive public park. The park featured typical Japanese leisure activities like yoga and rope skipping and a short film that showed the athletes what Japanese festival music and dancing is like, with clips from the Ainu in Hokkaido, Eisa dancing from Okinawa and Gujo Odori from Gifu, which led to live Bon Odori dancing in the stadium, driven by a booming taiko drum.