sounds of Thailand

 

 

 

audio recordings that evoke the country, the people and their languages and the diversity of the music of the ethnic cultures

 

 

Lahu music

 

  Lahu Na (Black Lahu)    
  bass free reed pipes these are the largest free reed pipes found in Thailand

838KB
  notch flute solo  

1MB
  unaccompanied song sung by female singer

1.2MB
  bamboo mouth harp solo the player uses two instruments simultaneously

655KB
  free reed pipes solo this slow style is for courting music

678KB
  extract from soul-calling ceremony the first extract is a shaman chant; the second a prayer

1.1MB
       
  Lahu Nyi (Red Lahu)    
  song with lute accompaniment the singer tells of missing her parents when moving to live with her husband

1.9MB
  free reed pipes solo (courting music) this old man refused to stop playing for over 20 minutes, saying 'let me bring back memories of my youth'

1MB
       
  Lahu Meuneu    
  song sung by male singer

891KB
  notch flute solo  

708KB
  free reed pipes duet the sound is more dissonant than in other Lahu music I have recorded

887KB
       
  Lahu Shi Bala (Yellow Lahu)    
  free reed pipes solo the Yellow Lahu use the same small reed pipes as the Lisu and other Lahu peoples 589KB
       

 

The New Year is the most important musical occasion but harvest celebrations are also accompanied by songs and dancing. Instruments often accompany songs and although there are some similarities with Lisu music Lahu strikes me as being more varied. Choral singing takes places in healing and other ceremonies; the solo songs are often accompanied by free reed pipes or the guitar which is played open-string like a zither. Free reed pipes, guitars, notch flutes and mouth harps are prominent; percussion ensembles are also used for ceremonial occasions such as the New Year dances. Bands consisting of free reed organs are also found in China.
Temple processional music is provided by an ensemble of cymbals, gongs and drums, often accompanying singing. Occasionally free reed pipes join in.
The three Lahu groups I have recorded (Black, Red and Meneu) claim to have their own separate tunes; the style, however, strikes me as similar.
 
  I have now released an album of field recordings of Lisu music through Believe which can be sampled and  bought on the sites of several major distributors. Link for the Believe player shown below.
   

follow the links in the menu to listen to and read about music of the ethnic cultures

 

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music of Thailand's ethnic cultures

 

 


 

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     all sound files in compressed mp3 form   click on track title to hear the recording

sound files are extracts from longer files in wav format