V/A "Begging the Moon: Phleng Thai Sakon & Luk Krung, 1945-1960" LP

• A beguiling collection of mid-century Thai popular song - jazz-inflected, romantic, and deeply rooted in tradition.
• For fans of: Sublime Frequencies, Finders Keepers, Khruangbin, Dengue Fever, Bombino

Begging the Moon is a collection focused upon an early-to-mid 20th century style of Thai popular song, commonly named Phleng Thai sakon (meaning "song which is both Thai and universal"). With recordings taken from the end of WWII until the start of the 1960s, many of these tracks may also be referred to as Luk krung (meaning "child of the city") - a more urbanised style of popular song that is in contrast to the Thai country music known as Luk thung ("child of the field").

Following the Thai cultural revolution of the 1930s, Thai culture began to adopt more western influences - with Thai traditional and classical music starting to incorporate western notation and particularly Jazz-orientated themes. Thai folk melodies were also adapted to create "ramwong" - a merging of popular western dance music styles such as the tango or rumba, spear-headed by the pioneering Suntaraporn band.

In the years following WWII, the Phleng Thai sakon began to gradually develop sub-genres focused on rural topics, eventually leading to a formal demarcation between the polished, western ballad-orientated Luk krung and the more traditional Luk thung. The recordings compiled here display potent aspects of traditional Thai music within their beguiling and romantic arrangements.