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55 albums · 1962–2022

Music of Thailand, from luk thung and morlam to Carabao, Moderndog, Bodyslam and today

· 2 min read · by 1001 Albums

Carabao on an open-air stage at night, Aed Carabao singing in front of the band under the buffalo-skull logo
A piphat ensemble in white coats playing ranat ek, pi and drums outside a white building in Bangkok in 1963Phum Viphurit smiling in a dark satin shirt at a press event in 2018
Carabao in concert at Bo Phut on Koh Samui in 2009. Photo: Per Meistrup, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. · A piphat ensemble in Bangkok, photographed in 1963. Photo: Sherwin John Carlquist, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. · Phum Viphurit in Bangkok in 2018. Photo: Sry85, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Thailand's popular music starts in the countryside with luk thung and morlam, Suraphol Sombatcharoen and Pumpuang Duangjan, Banyen Rakkaen and Angkanang Kunchai with the khene of Isan, then the phleng phuea chiwit of Caravan and Carabao, the string pop of Thongchai Bird McIntyre, Asanee-Wasan and Christina Aguilar out of Bangkok's studios, the rock of Loso, Silly Fools and Bodyslam, Moderndog and the Bakery Music indie of Pru, Scrubb and Palmy, the hip hop of Joey Boy, Thaitanium and Milli, the Paradise Bangkok Molam International Band and Rasmee taking morlam into the clubs, Phum Viphurit, Tilly Birds and Ink Waruntorn today, and Fong Naam's piphat for a nod to the classical tradition. The list has 55 records from 1962 to 2022, one or two by each of the names above and only a small part of what they made; Illslick is on Deezer only as one long collection and Pongsit Kamphee's early records not at all, and the piphat and khrueang sai beyond a nod, the song of the south and of the north, the temple and the court music would each need a list of their own. About 41 hours of music, 5 days of a few records each.

By genre

Rock 20%Pop 17%Hip hop 3%Other 60%
  • Rock 20%
  • Pop 17%
  • Hip hop 3%
  • Other 60%

The genres named most: thai, pop, rock, indie pop, luk thung, morlam.

The colours of the covers

A stripe for each cover, in the colour Tidal picks from it, sorted by hue; the greys at the end.

Where the music comes from

Music from 1 country: Thailand 55. The deeper the colour, the more albums: one, two to four, five to nine, ten and more.

The 1960s

The 1970s

The 1980s

The 1990s

The 2000s

The 2010s

The 2020s

More lists

Lists of Countries first, then others; all of them on the blog. The blog.