THAILAND

High quality record label releasing Thai roots inspired music with elements of folk, jazz and other styles often with a nostalgic feel.

Funky 70s morlam and lukthung sounds mixed with funk, disco and psychedelia.

One of Thailand's greatest ever singers, Pompuang Duangjan, the Queen of Lukthung, died in 1992 aged 31. She left behind a legacy of great recordings, featuring her wonderful voice on both rootsy and modern style lukthung recordings.

Born in 1971 in Isaan, northeast Thailand, the prolific Jintara Poonlarp is a superb female morlam and lukthung singer who has released an array of stunning albums.

Born into a farming family in Udon Thani province, Isaan, in 1963, Siriporn's father formed a family morlam troupe and Siriporn has been performing lukthung and morlam ever since. The smoky voiced singer is known particularly for her lukthung ballads.

Born in Isaan in 1970, Mike Piromporn is one of lukthung's biggest stars, his albums selling over a million copies. With the addition of funky saxaophone his music owes as much to morlam as the lukthung style he has come to represent.

Some of the greats of yesteryear, singing infectious blends of Thai luk thung and luk krung with western and Latin rhythms and influences.

Lukthung is a slow style of ballad or mid-tempo pop, with wavering notes, full of emotion, often with traditional instrumentation, and is sometimes called Thailand's country music.

Morlam is from northeast Thailand, the dry and poor region called Isaan, a style that is one of the undiscovered jewels of south east Asia, where traditional and modern influences blend with inspiring results.The music features khaen (bamboo mouth organ), violin, and the plucked stringed instrument, the phin. The funky rhythm can sound similar to reggae and the vocals are often delivered in a rapid, rap style.

Morlam sing is the funkiest music of all, featuring the same instrumentation as morlam, but with even faster rhythms. Scormed at by the older generation, morlam sing has found its largest audience with the young.

From northeastern folk tunes on khaen (bamboo mouth organ) pong laang (xylophone).Thai kick boxing music to a superb series of Thai Classical music CDs.

Caravan and Carabao blending Thai and western folk with a political edge and the tsunami aid compilation.

From pop and rock classics to dance mixed with Thai tradtional and roots music.

1940s and 50s jazz to Southern Thai roots music.

Rough Guide to Thailand plus classical and folk compilations.

Vinyl LPs, more to come.

Morlam sing, morlam and lukthung tapes