Music of Southern & Northern Laos

Sound recordist Laurent Jeanneau has spent years travelling among the ethnic minority cultures of Laos and Cambodia. This two-CD set features field recordings performed by minorities from southern and northern Laos. As he points out in the liner notes, most international recordings of Laotian music reflect the dominant Lao lowland ethnic group (around half of the population); many of the other groups are highlanders, who are the focus of this compilation.

The south is dominated by molam music of the lowland Laotians and its base is a singer accompanied by a khene (16-tube bamboo reed pipe). Two lam styles dominate, lam Saravan from Saravan and lam Si Pan Dong, from near the Cambodian border. ‘Lao Lam Saravan’ is an excellent example and this style can be compared to the reed pipe music from different groups, such as the Alak and Pacoh.

The northern tracks begin with a solo from the Hmong queej (bamboo pipes), set in a gourd, and played while dancing to set moves. The tracklist then opens up into a mesmerizing variety of sounds made by, among others, the Khmu, Akha and Bit communities playing gongs, ingenious bamboo clappers, and single-hole bamboo tubes blown in unison, as well as shamanic chanting and courting duets. The variety reflects the incredible linguistic diversity in this region, which sadly remains under threat from development.