Various – Thai? Dai! The Heavier Side of Luk Thung Underground LP

2021 repress; originally released in 2011. Fourteen slabs of the heaviest Thai funk and psych rockers ever committed to vinyl. The styles featured on this compilation fall somewhere between luk thung (“song of the countryside”) and luk krung (“song of the city”). Bangkok was a melting pot for the evolution of these two genres, the former alluding to musical themes and lyrics aimed at the wider national population and the latter looking westward with a more urban audience in mind. Thai? Dai! collects experiments by both little-known groups and established figures like Plearn Promdan. Even within Thailand the majority of these tunes remain unissued outside of this compilation, making this a truly essential glimpse into the strange underbelly of Thai luk thung in all its unique, original, and outlandish glory; a small snapshot of an otherwise forgotten era, gloriously remastered from the original sources and officially licensed from the original label, Sound of Siam Co. Ltd. Includes performances by Sroeng Santi; Plearn Promdan; Rung Petchburi; Rung Fah Puping; Petch Burapa; Teungjai Bunpraruksa; Riem Daranoi; and Jalwal, Annie & Geerasak.