Thailand

Manifesting in several variations, Mor Lam is a music genre that originated in the northeast of Thailand. Focus.

The Land of Smiles can boast of a rich musical heritage. If you don't believe it, ask to hear a piece of Mor Lam during your next getaway to a rural village in Isan. At dusk, when the family gathers around a wood fire, resting from the hard work in the rice fields, the melody comes as a comfort, like a gentle and tender friend.

Belonging to folklore, Mor Lam is a form of popular music through which peasants express their nostalgia, anxieties, or religious fervor. Once played with a rudimentary string guitar, it now incorporates electric instruments while fully retaining its symbolic and identity value. Listening to a Mor Lam song is one of the must-do things during a cultural trip to the heart of Isan! And all tourists who have experienced this will agree.

The Origins of Mor Lam: A common music style between Isan and Laos

Mor Lam, or Molam—both spellings are accepted—is a music genre born in Isan, the northeastern region of Thailand bordering Laos. More precisely, it was introduced by the ancient Siamese tribes, who migrated from the Yunnan province to move southward. These migrants passed on to their descendants the knowledge of rice cultivation and a taste for music.

In its beginnings, Molam was confined to the religious domain. The singer played the phin, an ancestral guitar with triple strings. The lyrics of the song dealt with the story of Buddha: his meditation under the Bodhi tree, his victorious battle against the demon Mara, his abduction to paradise, his earthly life among his own, etc. As recently as 1920, young talents spread Mor Lam throughout the northeastern region of the Kingdom. Continuing its march, the music style gained success in other regions of Siam, to the point of conquering the cabarets and nightclubs of Bangkok in the mid-1970s. Rural exodus is behind this spread: in hopes of escaping poverty and the hardship of agricultural work, many Isan peasants moved to the capital, where they continued to play the melodies of their ancestors.

Mor Lam in today's Thailand

As a characteristic of Isan, Mor Lam now transcends the confines of Buddhist temples to resonate in all public places. Recognized artists such as Sawai Kaewsombat or Kammao Perdtanon have appropriated Mor Lam, thereby becoming ambassadors of Thai music internationally. Some have even performed concerts in Paris, London, Berlin, Warsaw, Amsterdam, and many other European capitals. The Paradise Bangkok Molam International Band is just one example.

The composers have given Mor Lam a modern aspect. Abandoning Buddhist tales, they highlight secular themes. Moreover, cross-cultural influences from Indian, Chinese, Khmer, and Malay cultures have given rise to regional variations, somewhat altering Mor Lam's original sound.

Musical instruments accompanying Mor Lam

The melody is played with traditional musical instruments:

• The phin: a triple-string guitar with a naga tail, a serpent-like creature popular in Buddhist scriptures;
• The nimp: a lute composed of three strings or more;
• A flute, drums, and medium-sized bell-shaped cymbals.

The younger generations of singers increasingly rely on professional guitarists, saxophonists, and drummers to complement the traditional musical equipment.