Radio Thailand: Transmissions From The Tropical Kingdom

[coll]: Radio Thailand: Transmissions from the Tropical Kingdom
Reviewed by Sadie O., 7/28/06
Collages of bits of Thai radio broadcasts from 1989 to 2003 (music and spoken bits). Really quite enjoyable and listenable, and often quite amusing. CD 1 seems more musical and has less static than CD2, it seems to me.
FCC clean, although the short English bit in CD1 track 10 is pushing it a bit. Track 8 on CD 2 is completely INSANE. Other than that I like tracks 2, 6, 8 and 9 on CD 1; 5, 7 and 9 on CD 2.
CD1:
1. 4:30 Lam Barometer
**fast, driving beat, tenor vocals, spoken interlude, then slower, swingy groove
2. 6:05 21st Century Perspiration
***starts with female speaking in English, then uptempo bit, some street sounds, totally weird vocals with rock background. Nuts!
3. 5:27 543 Years Ahead of YOU
**slow swingy groove, nasal vocals, some rather staticky bits, some groovy mambo and laughter

4. 4:03 Northeastern Provincial Frequencies
**dramatic and cheesy farfisa opening, smooth male vocals, ends with crazy squeals
5. 4:41 Tourism Past the Medium Wave
**starts with news in English, some random electronics, midtempo odd song – more randomness for first half than most tracks
6. 6:52 Isan Immortal
***crazy midtempo beat and vocals, farfisa, some truly odd noises, then midtempo almost gamelan sound with female vocals
7. 6:12 Torrential Nostalgia
**midtempo swingy groove, male vocals, then cute duet, a bit of halting speech in English about computers, female singing, then odd noises and random bits
8. 6:51 Pad Pen Pinh
***traditional stringed instrument of some kind, groovy midtempo rock ‘n’ roll with female vocals, some utterly manic male singing, a bit of hard rock, then lounge farfisa. Gonzo!
9. 5:17 Rao Rao
***chorus, almost sounds like an advertising jingle, static, then another one, then a loungey bit with insane horn
10. 5:52 Mak Mak Darkie
*male speaking, midtempo horn, random bits, bit of English about “purgative, causes one to defecate” – may be FCC
11. 4:48 Dongrek Apparitions
**monks chanting, scratchy violin and downtempo groove, strange vocalizations without beat.
CD 2:
1. 5:34 Giant Catfish Fry
**odd male vocals and squeezebox, long spoken bit in English about giant catfish, cute female singing -sounds like film music.
2. 5:14 Krung Thep Marketing
*excited male spoken word (static), drums and more speaking. A lot of random stuff, then female singing.
3. 5:28 Space Station Hilltops
**female singing with odd percussion. Gamelon, then slow jazzy sax, sweet female singing, random bits, monks chanting
4. 5:06 Blow-Dried Pop Collage
**odd male vocals and violin, midtempo swingy groove, bit of cool rock ‘n’ roll midway through, then odd interview, random bits.
5. 5:22 Folk DJ’s Armed with Technology
***goofy pop beat and female vocals, truly weird squeezebox and male vocals. Definitely a crazy track.
6. 5:50 The End of the News
*monks chanting, high speed gamelan, midtempo pop, not great sound quality. Then accordion and oddness.
7. 4:52 Rubber of High Quality
***groovy beat and childish vocals, bit of news in English
8. 5:20 Oddities in Humidity
!!!!***absolutely bum-fuck mad!
9. 5:24 Welcome to the World of Music
***applause, pompous keyboard and sax, slow ballad, some hula music (?!), monks chanting, rock ‘n’ roll
10. 4:27 Tropid Audio Ephemera
*emotional spoken dialog, bit of English translation, midtempo song, jazzy sax and female vocals
11. 5:32 The Outer-Periphery Splash
**crazed spoken bits, midtempo swingy groove, ends with truly weird female vocals (continues into next track)
12. 6:51 Amplitude Massage and Beyond
bad quality, but nice rockin farfisa, bit of news in English about AIDS, monks chanting (or something)