Tuesday, May 13, 2008

DRUNKEN GHOSTS OF BURMA

Since we haven't had much in the way of good news out of Asia lately, let's check out the East during some of it's better days. The crucial Sublime Frequencies label's latest edition of it's "Folk & Pop Music of Myanmar (Burma)" is called "Music of Nat Pwe." It's all fairly bat-shit crazy (to use the ethnomusicological terminology.)

Nats are spirits who met tragic or violent deaths, so I would imagine there's a lot of them around Myanmar lately. Which means they'll need more Pwes, the ceremony held to appease a Nat. It's crazed trance ritual music, full of clangorous percussion, exited vocals and psychedelic production. Supposedly it drives the faithful into ecstatic fits. I'd believe it.

Sein Moota "Pay Kyaw Chit Tae Doe (Father Kyaw Loves His Son)"

U Kyaw Nyunt & Yee Yee Thant "Father Kyaw the Drunk Nat"

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

i just wanted to say that i think you are, indeed, mr. fab. thanks for the music.

Modera said...

i read an article somewhere on the internet about a month ago, that the people who help the believers deal with the nats are transgendered people -- they are believed to have a more spiritual sensitivity to these things i guess. Yes, it's a spiritual fad that's going around there right now.