Party like the Thais: Enjoy morlam music, a Bangkok-Thai-pop-karaoke-sensation
Dec 6, 2010
Jeffrey Alford wrote a great article for Afar Magazine last month about Morlan, a music style popular throughout Thailand but especially popular in Bangkok. While it's hard to tell the difference between contemporary Morlan music and any other kind of Asian pop, if you go clubbing in Bangkok you will hear it and you definitely will dance to it (and probably with a lovely lady-boy). Afar doesn't have an online component, so we're going to share with you some valuable things to know about Morlan and the party culture surrounding it.
There are two different types of Morlam; traditional and contemporary. Traditional Morlam is found in the Isan region in the east of Thailand. It is distinguished by the use of the khene (a large reed mouth organ), poetry-based lyrics and a flexible, partially improvised melody that's often determined by the tones of the words being sung. Contemporary Morlam developed from those roots but is heavily influenced by Western music styles such as rock & roll and house. The result is an infectiously danceable, distinctly Thai style of music heard in dance clubs and karaoke bars throughout the city, echoing around construction sites and blasting out of the windows of passing taxis. Though a product of the agrarian culture of the Isan region, Morlam has been adopted by the Thai people as a whole and is one of the most popular styles of music in Thailand.
When you're in Bangkok, make sure you pay a visit to the Tawan Daeng Club, a place Afar author Jeffrey Alford raves about and beloved by the locals. It's considered the premier Morlam club in Bangkok (and arguably Thailand as a whole) and the party never stops. While it is very much a local joint, any tourist visiting will unavoidably be greeted with Thai enthusiasm and vigor. If you show up at the right time (11PM or after), you'll be hugged, happily shouted at in Thai and subsequently dragged onto the dance floor. Tawan Daeng also has a kitchen that serves up Isan cuisine, a hybrid of Thai and Laotian cooking. Tawan Daeng is open every night and only closes its doors after the last dancer drops from exhaustion. Finding things in Bangkok is never easy The Tawan Daeng Club can be found at 484 Pattanakarn Road, near the Phrom Phong stop on the Sukhumvit SkyTrain line. If going by taxi, use this map to give precise directions:
And finally, a typical scene from the Tawan Daeng Club:
