Mainland Southeast Asia
Thailand · Cambodia · Laos · Vietnam
Mor lam, sung over the khaen mouth-organ of north-east Thailand and Laos, and Thai luk thung. In the 1960s Phnom Penh and Saigon pop absorbed rock and Latin music — until war cut it short.
26 recordings, 1953–2023
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1953
Various Artists, Burmese Folk and Traditional Music
A 1953 Folkways album of Burmese song and instrumental music, produced and annotated by Maung Than Myint with Harold Courlander: sixteen pieces including royal barge music, the saung harp and the saing ensemble.
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1970
Sinn Sisamouth, Sinn Sisamouth
Phnom Penh’s national star, who recorded hundreds of songs from rock to Latin to ballads — and disappeared under the Khmer Rouge in the late 1970s.
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1970
Various Artists, Cambodian Rocks
Rock and pop recorded in Phnom Penh before the Khmer Rouge. Circulated at first without even the singers’ names, it sparked a worldwide rediscovery.
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1972
Ros Sereysothea, Cambodian Psych-Out
A singer known for her high, clear voice; her songs over psychedelic guitars were later rediscovered worldwide as “Cambodian rock.”
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1972
Various Artists, Saigon Supersound, Vol. 1
Popular songs recorded in wartime Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City), absorbing soul, rock and bolero.
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1974
Khánh Ly, Sơn Ca 7 – Và Những Tình Khúc Trịnh Công Sơn
The singer most identified with composer Trịnh Công Sơn. Their songs of wartime grief and longing for peace were sung across Vietnam.
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1984
Carabao, Made in Thailand
A Thai band that made rock-based “songs for life,” about social reality, hugely popular; the title song was a smash hit.
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1987
Pumpuang Duangjan, Thung Nang Khoi
Called the Queen of Luk Thung, a singer from Suphan Buri who brought electronic instruments into Thai country song and became hugely popular.
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1990
Bird Thongchai, Boomerang เบิร์ด ธงไชย — บูมเมอแรง
Thai pop star Bird (Thongchai McIntyre)’s 1990 album, which made him the first GMM Grammy artist to sell more than two million copies and set off the “Bird Fever” that is said to have transformed Thai music and television.
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1994
Moderndog, Soem Sukkhaphap
The debut by Moderndog, who had won the Coke Music Contest as a college band in 1992. Released in April 1994, it launched Bakery Music, regarded by some as Thailand’s first indie label, and the band are called the fathers of Thai alternative rock.
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1998
Kyaw Kyaw Naing, Pat Waing: The Magic Drum Circle of Burma
Kyaw Kyaw Naing, a master of the pat waing drum circle, leads traditional Burmese hsaing ensemble music, recorded in Rangoon in November 1996 and released by Shanachie in the US.
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1998
Loso, Entertainment
Thai rock band Loso’s second album, released in 1998. It moved away from the grunge sound of their 1996 debut Lo-Society towards a more straightforward rock and roll, and stayed on radio playlists nationwide for a long time.
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2003
Inle Myint Maung & Yi Yi Thant, Mahagitá - Harp and Vocal Music of Burma
Classical songs from the Mahagita (“Great Songs”), recorded in Rangoon in January 2000: Inle Myint Maung on the arched harp with singer Yi Yi Thant, preserving court repertoire. The harpist died the following year.
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2005
BODYSLAM, believe
The third album by Bangkok rock band Bodyslam, released in April 2005 on Genie Records, part of GMM Grammy. Following Bodyslam (2002) and Drive (2003), it helped win the band wide recognition in Thai rock.
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2014
Khun Narin, Khun Narin’s Electric Phin Band
A band from Phetchabun in northern Thailand: an electrified phin lute, played psychedelically at village processions.
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2014
The Paradise Bangkok Molam International Band, 21st Century Molam
The Bangkok band play molam — song of Isan and Laos — with the swell of dub and funk.
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2016
Polycat, 80 Kisses
The second album by Polycat, a band formed in Chiang Mai. Leaving behind their early reggae and ska, they leaned fully into nostalgia for 1980s synth-pop, and it became their best-known record.
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2016
Ngọt, Ngọt
Hanoi band Ngọt’s debut, recorded in the city over five months from October 2015 and released with crowdfunding: plain-spoken Vietnamese songs built on electric guitar. It sold 1,000 copies in its first four days.
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2017
Phum Viphurit, Manchild
Bangkok-born, New Zealand-raised Phum Viphurit became a face of Asian indie with breezy English-language pop.
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2018
Rasmee Isan Soul, Arom (Emotions) Rasmee Isan Soul — Arom - อารมณ์
The second album by Ubon Ratchathani singer Rasmee Wayrana’s band, joining the Isan song form mor lam to jazz, soul and blues; it was written and recorded while on tour.
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2019
Hoàng Thùy Linh, Hoàng
Hanoi singer Hoàng Thùy Linh sets northern Vietnamese folk songs and minority legends to electronic pop.
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2020
Tilly Birds, Phu Diao (The One)
The first full-length album by Thai indie rock trio Tilly Birds, released in August 2020 on GMM Grammy’s Gene Lab label. It includes the title song “The One”, issued as a single in August 2019.
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2022
Hoàng Thùy Linh, LINK
Hoàng Thùy Linh’s fourth album, nine songs including the singles “Gieo quẻ” and “See Tình.” It won Album of the Year at Vietnam’s Green Wave and Cống hiến awards.
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2022
Vũ., Một Vạn Năm
The second album by Vietnamese singer-songwriter Vũ., dubbed the “prince of indie”: nine of his own songs, three years in the making, released in September 2022. He became the first Vietnamese artist to have five songs from one album on YouTube’s trending-for-music list at once.
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2023
tlinh, ái
The debut studio album by tlinh, who rose to prominence on the first season of Rap Việt. Produced mainly by 2pillz, it is an R&B record whose single “Nếu lúc đó” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Vietnam Hot 100; NME listed it among the 25 best Asian albums of 2023.
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2023
RPT MCK, 99%
The debut studio album by rapper MCK (Nghiêm Vũ Hoàng Long), who made his name reaching the final of Rap Việt’s first season. Its 16 tracks were recorded between early 2021 and late 2022, and after its release in March 2023 it topped the iTunes and Apple Music album charts in Vietnam.