Mor Lam and Luk Thung: A guide to Bangkok's Thai folk music scene

Khao San Road’s bars and clubs might paint a different picture, but the most popular form of music in Thailand is actually Luk Thung, or Thai country music.

You’re most likely to come across it in Bangkok during a taxi ride as many drivers -- who typically come from up-country –- keep their radio stations set to listen to a steady stream of Luk Thung and its folk music cousin, Mor Lam.

Here's a guide to the history of Thai country music and where to experience it in Bangkok, proving that a night of loud, rowdy entertainment does not have to preclude new cultural experiences.

The music might sound jarringly foreign at first but that’s the point, no?

What are Luk Thung and Mor Lam?

Luk Thung developed in the early 20th century in central Thailand in the provinces just north of Bangkok. Suphanburi province in particular became the Memphis of Luk Thung, producing multiple hitmakers in the 1960s including the "Thai Elvis" Suraphol Sombatcharoen, the most influential Thai country musician of that era.

(Click here to hear a traditional Luk Thung song by Suraphol Sombatcharoen.)  

Drawing from both traditional Thai folk music and foreign influences, Luk Thung has been compared to Western country music. Its roots, the crooning and the contents of the songwriting make this an apt comparison, but in terms of sound modern Luk Thung is more similar to power pop ballads than anything else.

Not unlike U.S. country music, Luk Thung songs today -- often backed by electronic instruments and electric guitars -- are very different from what they were during the genre's golden age in the 1960s. But they still retain enough of their traditional flavor to distinguish themselves from Westernized modern Thai pop. 

Mor Lam's roots are older and originate in the northeast Thailand region known as Isaan, which has close ties to Laos. The music derives from a tradition of singers relating a tale of woe over a melody provided by the khene, a mouth organ made of bamboo pipes of different sizes, among other instruments.

While Luk Thung singers are crooners, the Mor Lam (expert singer) is a fast-paced storyteller, inflecting generic accounts of unrequited love with social commentary and bawdy humor. (Click here to hear an Isaan musician playing the khene in the fast-paced lam peun style of Mor Lam.) 

In recent years there has been a great deal of cross-pollination between Mor Lam and Luk Thung. Both now share many of the same popular singers, and are played on the same radio stations. The fact that Luk Thung is more popular throughout the country means that many Mor Lam singers sing both to increase their appeal.

The lyrics for both forms of music deal with similar subject matter: the hardships of rural life, leaving behind the love of your life in the village to come work in the city and missing home cooking.

The songwriting isn’t particularly inspiring, but nevertheless it resonates strongly with Bangkok’s Isaan community. And obviously, unless you speak Thai it won’t be a factor in your night.

The performances/venues

Several music halls in Bangkok host daily performances of these traditional forms of Thai music, and on weekends they become packed with homesick migrant workers who become more and more boisterous as the night progresses.

The venues are usually set up with a raised stage at the front with rows of tables throughout the rest of the music hall. There isn’t a proper dance floor. Rather, people will first sit down and eat a meal while listening to the first few performers of the night, who will generally start things off with a slower tempo.

Different singers and dancers get up on stage while the backing band stays the same. As more food and alcohol gets consumed the music keeps pace with the audience’s inebriation, and soon the crowd is on their feet dancing.

The beats get faster and the lyrics start to get lewd and vulgar. The on-stage dancers' costumes, already loud to begin with, shift from frilly and innocent to erotic. This isn't the result of modernization. Mor Lam in particular has always had a racy, sensual element.

Everyone is ready to enjoy themselves and act silly and they’re more than happy to help tourists join in on the fun as well. In fact, you might find yourself with more than a few willing dance partners. 

To experience it for yourself, check out the following popular venues that are closest to the center of the city. Showing up on the later side of the evening is recommended. You’ll take away a memory that, for better or for worse, will stay with you for a very long time. 

Isaan Tawandaeng

484 Pattanakarn Road, near intersection of Phetchaburi Road and Phra Khanon Road. +66 (0)2 717 2320. Open weekdays, 8 p.m.–midnight and 8 p.m.–3 a.m. on weekends. 

Rong Lao Tawandaeng

Pattanakarn Road, opposite Isaan Tawandaeng. Open Monday-Friday, 8 p.m.–midnight, Saturday-Sunday 8 p.m.–2 a.m. 

Khrua Yaa Jai

15/8 Lad Phrao Soi 71. +66 (0)2 542 4147. Open Monday-Friday, 8 p.m.–12.30 a.m., Saturday-Sunday 8 p.m.–2 a.m. 

Isaan Tur Tur
Somdet Phra Pinklao Road, next to PATA department store near Pinklao bridge. +66 (0)8 992 4584. Open daily, 7 p.m.-2 a.m.