Khwanta Fasawang [ That Goddam Mortorsai!: The Best of Lam Phaen Sister No. 1 ] LP [EM1145LP]

Digital version available at https://emrecords.bandcamp.com/album/em-records

The best of Khwanta Fasawang, the heart and soulful Sister No. 1 of 1980s Lam Phaen, queen of the cassette era. She was chosen, from over a thousand demo tapes, by legendary producer and songwriter Doi Inthanon, who wanted to create a new, streetwise dance style of molam(*) music. The Lam Phaen genre was the result, and Khwanta Fasawang was the singer he chose to be its representative. Combining earlier musical trajectories with electronic elements and lyrics dealing with drinking and love, money and motorcycles, Khwanta led the cassette-format Lam Phaen boom of the early 80s, gaining great popularity in both her native Isan and across the whole country. A change in lyrical concerns and the use of electronics has parallels with Jamaican Dancehall, and this music can be heard as one of the roots of Lam Sin, the Thai Bass Music which began in the 80s and 90s, but these recordings are not mere musicology. This is living music, and very fine music at that. Queen Khwanta, Sister Fasawang. She can't be denied.

* Molam: "mo" is an artist and "lam" is a kind of performance art where the artist tells a story using tonal inflexions. In other words, the term molam refers to both the singer and art form. Molam pieces are not strictly speaking "songs".

+ Complied/liner notes/cover art by Soi 48
+ Liner notes & lyrics are translated into English

CD version: Standard jewel case, 24p booklet
LP version: insert

TRACKS:
1. Lam Phaen Bak Song Sao Pha Saeo
2. Lam Phaen Motorsai Tham Saeb
3. Lam Phaen Pen Taa O O
4. Lam Phaen Nai Khon Bo Mi Ongsa
5. Lam Phaen Saraburi Liao Khua (Liao Khwa)
6. Lam Phaen Sak (Kabua) Bin
7. Lam Phaen Salab Toei
8. Lam Phaen Chip Cikko

Soi48 (EM Records/OMK):
DJ unit and Thai music research team comprising Tokyo natives Kei'ichi Utsuki and Shinsuke Takagi. They are the authors of the 2017 reference book “Trip to Isan: Traveling Thai/Isan Music Disc Guide”, and the organizers of and resident DJs at the long-running “Soi48 Party” at Be-Wave, Tokyo. They are also members of a mysterious group called OMK (One Mekong). Soi48 values music, old and new, over format, using vinyl, cassette, CD, VCD and USB to bring a wide range of Asian music, from modern to traditional, to audiences at their DJ events. They are the directors of the EM Records Thai music series, which currently consists of more than ten releases. They also served as the music directors for the critically acclaimed 2016 Kuzok film Bangkok Nites. They are active both in Japan and internationally, appearing at Fuji Rock Festival, writing for magazines and books, and appearing on a number of radio and TV programs.