Isan molam singer Ken Dalao remembered

National artist Ken Dalao was known for his wit & sometimes earthy style & believed the flexible style of Mo Lam would always survive, adapt & change with the times.

Ken Dalao, left, a legendary molam singer.

MUSIC

Farewell to Ken Dalao

Hugely influential traditional Thai music singer passes away, but a new exhibition aims at making sure he is never forgotten
21/10/2014
Adapted from article by John Clewley

The famous Isan molam singer Ken Dalao passed away earlier this month at the age of 84. Ken was one of the most influential and well-loved molam singers of his generation. He was made a National Artist in Performing Arts in 1989 and sang with his late wife Boonpheng Faiphewchai also a National Artist. For many years he was the chairman of the All-Thailand Molam Association and during his career taught scores of young molam singers.

Born in Ubon Ratchathani province in 1930 to a musical family — his uncle and brother were molam performers — he took to the stage at the age of 16.

Unlike the mo khaen (players of the khaen musical instrument), who are largely self-taught, the molam has to study as an apprentice before being allowed to sing.

Ken's uncle made his apprentice Ken study texts for a year. "You must be literate to study and learn text on religion, history and folk tales,” he said. "You must know Dhamma and the arts generally. After that you can start learning to sing and how to be a molam performer."

The earthy humour of a Ken Dalao YouTube video involving a cucumber.

This solid background, plus a dynamic and witty style of performance, made him a firm favourite with Isan people. He was able to work into his lyrics a wide variety of topics from traditional themes drawn from history and religion to contemporary issues such as Aids and the environment.

He was also a very witty and ribald performer, particularly during the lam ching cho (repartee) singing he did with his wife. His swift, side-splitting comebacks were one of his trademarks. Verbally jousting with the female molam singers he sang with.

You can enjoy some Ken Dalao-style earthy humour on a short lam glawn video on YouTube that involves a cucumber. Not one for the faint-hearted. Here:

Ken’s other trademark was lam glawn, the more poetic solo style of lam, for which he was always accompanied by mo khaen Home On-Dee. He would perform lam glawn in small villages in Khon Kaen, at weddings and village parties. 

At one village, he invited me to photograph his wai kru ceremony that he performed privately before every performance to pay respect to his teacher. He explained the importance of the ritual and, one by one, went through the articles of worship he placed on a tray. These included five pairs of candles, a comb and hair, flowers wrapped with banana leaves, a 1 baht coin and a bottle of rice wine. He then paid respect to these articles by whispering a quiet prayer in front of the tray and bowed.

Ken was convinced that the reason molam had survived this long was that it was a flexible way of singing (or genre) that changed with the times and believed that lam glawn would always be around. He will be missed by lovers of Isan music everywhere.

He might have passed on, but his legacy and spirit is there for all to see at the new exhibition, "Joyful Khaen, Joyful Dance" at the Jim Thompson Art Center in Bangkok which runs until March 2015 before going on tour in Isan, and is a must for molam fans.

The exhibition is a multimedia show, set in three rooms that details the history of molam and its social significance. The photographs of Ken’s wai kru ceremony are on display along with original backdrops, old photos, a narrated slide show, records and cassettes, costumes, song lyrics and posters — you name it. The curators have done a fantastic job of sourcing molam paraphernalia.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/lifestyle/music/438729/farewell-to-ken-dalao

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