soulful, transcendental psychedelia from Thailand's Khun Narin Phin Sing aka Khun Narin's Electric Phin Band. the group takes it's name from the double necked stringed instrument that's being played, an electrified version of a traditional thai instrument called a phin. they are performing for an ordination ceremony of some sort. the entire audience... men, women, and children, old and young... have their backs turned to the musicians and seem generally oblivious, focused on the ceremony itself. the band members relax in plastic lawn chairs, LOUDLY pumping their dense, reverb-drenched sound through a wheeled PA. the phin player conjures a noise like nothing else i've ever heard, the bassist is fucking killing it while kicked back, chillin' in his chair, and several percussionists combine together to form an incredible groove. it's a very unexpected setting for such a mindblowing sonic experience.
here is their facebook page. apparently they are recording an album.
the first track features an insane phin solo around the 2:00 mark, with a cool, spaced out funk jam afterwards that's pretty damn tasty. the other songs are more sprawled out and epic. beautiful stuff.
EDITOR'S NOTE: here's what a guy named robert horn had to say in the comments section over at Dangerous Minds about this band:
"This is very typical Isan (northeastern Thai) folk music. You can find bands like this doing exactly the same thing all over Isan and sometimes busking on the streets of Bangkok. I suspect that many other Phin players have also used some delay and most definitely lots of reverb. From their vests, it appears this band are all part of a group of "pak soi" - motorcycle taxi drivers. I"m sure they are keeping their day jobs."
and a response from EW77:
"Robert, I experienced the same thing on a trip to Thailand last year (my first). My initial impression while in Bangkok was similar to Marc's....'holy mindblowing dripping third eye reverb!!!', but I ended up seeing so much of this music all around the city over the next few days. At one point, I happened on a police band playing some of the trippiest funked-out versions of this stuff while trying to raise donations for tsunami victims....just couldn't believe that something so utterly awesome could be so commonplace. One of the many reasons I can't wait to go back to Thailand."
ANOTHER EDITOR'S NOTE:
Innovative Leisure Records has released Khun Narin's Electric Phin Band's debut album! here is the official press release, with a healthy amount of background info on the band. and check out a nice little article HERE at Wired with some more info. and HERE is a cool interview with Josh Marcy, the producer who recorded them. Easily one of the great feel-good music stories of the year. ENJOY!
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