Youth Identity and Regional Music in Northeastern Thailand.

Abstract

Music in the northeastern region of Thailand comes in several forms, including luk thung, which has been identified by scholars such as Craig Lockhard (1998) and James Mitchell (2015) as the most popular genre of music in Thailand, and mo lam, a local style of singing and dancing mainly performed only in this region. Both these genres trace their origins to Isan, the northeastern region of Thailand, and are strongly associated with the country's Lao minority and rural identity. In the 1990s a new Isan musical genre combining musical characteristics of luk thung and mo lam became popularized throughout Isan and the rest of Thailand. Scholars such as Sanong Klangprasri (2541/1998) and Tinnakorn Attapaiboon (2554/2011) have referred to this genre as luk thung-mo lam. While still firmly situated in the Isan region, this genre has gone through various stylistic changes. Resembling the changing job market of the northeast region, this music is experiencing the effects of urbanization, while still maintaining regional flavor in the sonic effect and sentiment. This study will explore expressions of regional identities in contemporary luk thung-mo lam music as experienced by young people in the Isan region. Through analysis of interviews with university students, lyrical translations, music videos, musical transcriptions, and observations of live performance environments, I examine the relevance of the various forms of luk thung-mo lam among university students at Ubon Ratchathani University and argue that this new musical form brought on by the region’s urbanization is used to assert a newly emerging, regional identity while still maintaining cultural values from the past. For a new generation, the popularity of luk thung-mo lam shows both the international connections of Isan and its regional value as an integral part of the national culture and economy.