Traditional music
Thai music has recorded the influences of civilizations such as China, India and the Khmer Empire. The culture of the latter is, for example, particularly perceptible in certain instruments originating in India, which Thailand has reappropriated, such as the phin (diatonic lute originating in Isan), krachap pi and sueng (two other forms of lute) or the pi chanai (a kind of oboe). In the chakhe, a three-string lute, the Chinese influences of an instrument called huqin can be detected.
Although traditions vary enormously from region to region, on the whole, songs are sung in unison, and low tones are mostly absent.
Otherwise, as in the rest of the South-East Asian basin, Thailand too cultivates an ancestral tradition (some 800 years old) of orchestral ensembles. The most "classical" (read: "traditional") is the piphat, originally intended for the court, but now often accompanying theater and dance. In its common form, it is composed of pi or khlui (wind instruments) and numerous percussion instruments whose role is both rhythmic and melodic: xylophones, gongs, ching cymbals, taphondrums..
The most popular ensemble is undoubtedly the khrueang sai. Literally meaning "string ensemble", this orchestra is mainly made up of fiddles and zithers. Its intimate format produces calm, joyful music, ideal for accompanying songs, dances and festivals.
The last major ensemble, the mahori , has nothing to do with Polynesia. It is a purely Thai orchestra, traditionally played by women and combining the instruments of the khrueang sai and piphat ensembles. Its gentle playing supports song and dance.
Two names to listen to and get to know to approach traditional Thai music: Montri Tramote and Luang Pradit Pairoh. The latter is a local legend, master of the khong wong yai (an impressive circular structure made of 16 gongs) from the age of five, and music teacher to King Rama VII and his wife. Indeed, the royal family has traditionally nurtured a passion for musical practice. Today, it's Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn who excels in this field, playing (often in concert) several traditional instruments to perfection.
Popular music
No musical styles are more authentically Thai than luk thung and mor lam. The former, which originated in central Thailand, is a kind of local country music that emerged in the 20th century and whose leading exponents are Pongsri Woranuch, Pumpuang Duangjan and Suraphon Sombatjalern. The second, mor lam (or mo lam), is said to be an heir, an evolution, of luk thung. Typical of Isan (north-east), mor lam is also a rural genre, but its form is distinguished by its very "groovy" rhythm for a Western ear and the importance given to the voice - and above all to vocal performances. The genre has evolved over time into a hip psychedelic rock genre, as can be heard on the fabulous Sound of Siam compilation (released in 2015 by Soundway Records), and bands like the Paradise Bangkok Molam International Band are taking the genre to stages around the world.
The other major form of popular music is so-called string music. Not strictly speaking a codified genre, the term appears as a local synonym for "mainstream" and designates a way of making music adapted to the vast majority of the country's radio waves and TV channels. With its omnipresent presence in the country, it's impossible to escape this music, its mushy lyrics and its stars (such as Tata Young), as it's a huge mishmash of genres (most of them Western: rock, dance, hip-hop, pop...).
Classical music
In its Western sense, classical music was introduced in the 19th century, at the instigation of the royal family. Since then, the genre has borne the stamp of a certain aristocracy in the country, and is really only for the elite. A minor genre that nevertheless includes a musician worth mentioning: Phra Chen Duriyang (1883-1968). Author of the national anthem, he also remains one of the country's greatest pianists and the artist who introduced the European sacred monsters (Bach, Mozart, Beethoven) to Thailand, as well as being the founder of the first Thai symphony orchestra, at the beginning of the 20th century. If we had to remember just one name, it would be his.
Jazz
Fun fact: although there's a real jazz scene in Thailand, the country's most famous artist of the genre is perhaps... the late Thai king Rama IX or Bhumibol Adulyadej! Yes, His Majesty is an accomplished jazz musician and composer, whose style was even described as " Phleng Phra Ratcha Nipon " ("royal composition").
While the local jazz institution is by far the Saxophone, a Bangkok club with an excellent international program, the south of the country has its own quality event, the Hua Hin Jazz Festival, an annual event with an often interesting line-up.
Theater and dance
Anyone who has ever set foot in Thailand knows that theater and dance are national treasures here. Starting with that emblematic jewel of southern Thailand, the nora. A vigorous and skilful dance drama, it is accompanied by improvised singing and performed to fast-paced music calling for complex movements of the legs, arms and fingers. The nora may deal with all kinds of heroic epics or, as is often the case, devote itself to Buddha's past lives. If nora holds such an important place in the hearts of southerners, it's because the practice incorporates the region's dialects, music and literature. Five hundred years old, nora is still practised to this day and can be seen, for example, during religious events in temples, and is particularly prevalent on the south-west coast, a practice included on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity alongside another highly prized form of masked dance drama: khon. Interpreted by the graceful movements of mute dancers (and sung by a choir on the side of the stage), the story is inspired by the Ramakien, an epic of Hindu origin (the Ramayana) recounting the mythical confrontation between Good and Evil. Aside from its artistic aspect, the show has a didactic function, teaching a number of values such as respect for elders and hierarchy, and the triumph of good over evil. On the dance side, the most emblematic are the fone thai, which includes the fone tian (candle dance), fone ngiou (scarf dance), fone leb (fan nail dance), fone mahn goum ber (butterfly dance) and fone mahn mong kol (dance of joy). Another famous dance, ram muay, is a ritual performed before every boxing match. Also very popular in southern Thailand, nang yai is a form of shadow theater performed with life-size puppets made from painted buffalo hide (nang means "leather"). There is a variant, called nang talung, which differs from the former in that it uses much smaller puppets. Both nang yai and nang talung generally feature episodes from the Ramakien, are performed in open spaces, even outdoors, and are accompanied by a piphat ensemble.
Contemporary music
Like absolutely everywhere else, Thailand has fallen under the spell of hip-hop. After a wave of pioneers in the 1990s led by artists such as Joey Boy, J Jetrin, Thaitanium, BMT and Dajim, the genre exploded in the hands of artists such as Youngohm, with his unbeatable flow, Illslick, more melodious, Og-anic, with his raw style, or Daboyway, Twopee Southside and MikeSickFlow.
In October 2018, an interesting episode unfolded in the Thai rap landscape when a group called Rap Against Dictatorship (RAD) released a song and video sharply criticizing the current Thai government. A resounding success, the video garnered hundreds of millions of views on YouTube, drawing the wrath of a government that tried, unsuccessfully, to ban the song (it's still online today).
