Master of Bamboo Mouth Organ

The free reed bamboo mouth organ, the khaen or khene, is the iconic musical instrument of Laotians living in Isan (Northeast Thailand) and Laos. In Thailand, Sombat Simla is widely regarded as one of the finest khaen players in the country, and is sometimes called the ‘God of Khaen’. Japanese field recordist and researcher Yasuhiro Morinaga recorded Simla in rural Maha Sarakham province in 2018. The first song Morinaga asked Simla to play was ‘Lot Fay Tang Lang’, a khaen track that mimics the sounds of a train journey – think of a blues harmonica train song but with added sounds from the journey. Simla obliged and it appears as the mesmerising opening track, ‘Line Road Fai – Train’. The album is divided into two parts: five solo pieces by Simla and five molam songs accompanied by Mali Moodsansee on percussion and Pattardon Ekchatree on ching (small temple cymbals). The solo tunes showcase Simla’s delicate phrasing and beautiful tone. The molam songs, recorded in a cowshed, have a typical rolling molam groove and they go right to the present on the final track, ‘Khene Lam Sing’, a great version of lamsing, the most popular molam trend of the day.