Planet Lam

The Paradise Bangkok Molam International Band's second studio album sees the band move on from the rootsy molam music of the 2014 debut 21st Century Molam to a spacier, more dub-orientated sound. The idea for the album came from DJ Maft Sai's Studio Lam club, a local Bangkok focal point for roots music, drawing on the influences from various international musicians and DJs who’ve performed there, like Andrew Ashong, Miles Cleret, The Electric Phiphat Band and Awesome Tapes From Africa.

The album features roots tracks such as the khaen-driven grooves of ‘Lai Wua’ (Chasing the Cow) and the beautiful ‘Namtok’ (Waterfall). The sound is sparer than before, with dub effects dovetailing neatly with the soft chimes of small temple cymbals. There are also some nice surprises, such as the frenetic ‘Thai Boxing (Re-fix)’ and perhaps the most unusual and adventurous track on the album, ‘Studio Lam Suite’. This is an excellent follow-up to the band's debut in 2014. The new, spacier sound deftly incorporates musical elements from various sources but, throughout the album, the molam root remains strong.