thailand record hunt........
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just got back from another holidays in thailand and burma. did some record digging in bangkok again after i met a austrian expat last time i was there on a market who told me where to find all the stores in bangkok. during my stays before the latest two i tried hard to find some stores/markets that are selling vinyl but i didn't find any. the records below are the ones i bought during my last two trips this year march and september/october.buying records in thailand is not that easy at least when you're searching for old thai stuff cus of the thai writing that makes you quite dependend on the store owners who usually don't have a clue what they are selling as most stores even lack a record player to listen to stuff. i was told that most of the owners of the record stores are owing the real estate of their store so the pressure to actually sell is not too big and most of them actually don't seem to sell too much. when you dig in bangkok for just 10 minutes your finger will be completly black giving you the feeling that nobody touched these records in the last two years. regarding the prices it ain't that cheap especially when it comes to lps. most 7" are around 1-4 dollar. lps can cost up tp 35 dollar though there are ones that are a lot cheaper ( i think the most expensive lp i bought was 10 dollar. the impossibles -stage show- for example was seven and the record is unlike the cover near mint).i'm gonna upload some of the new stuff tonight so make sure to listen. dope new music!!!! you can listen to the music here:www.myspace.com/bangkokfunksome of the stores in bkk:this stores used to be one of my favs earlier this year. got the stage show lp and others there. this time it apered to be a little sold out.
getting finger dirty
this is the store on weekend market. this one mainly has western stuff but some nice thai finds as well. don't be mislead by the tina turner record in the front 
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those are the records i bought.i found a dead stock of this rare first "johnny guitar" (did only show up on ebay once so far) so i bought four really nice copies. the other record i found doubles of is "the law and the sandy". really dope four track ep. some type of thai ska exotica whatever. one of the tunes called "paradise in bangkok" was featured on the "thai beat a go go vol. 3". the "oh oh oh" song from this ep is the one up on myspace. a little more obscure then the rest.... 
the highlight of these records are the two in the brown paper covers. it's an ost called "top teen talent" with four dope funk jazz tracks that i have never seen before. check the soundclips that i'm gonna put up tonight. the third record is some thai song sung by an american girl back in the early seventies. this one was one the "thai beat a go go" series as well. 
this is my copy of the "stage show" lp plus another really dope funk impossibles lp full of drum breaks and samples. this one unfortunatly had no cover and the "stage show" got some cut outs where some thai girls in the seventies cut out her favourite members of the band to hang them next to her bed. damm!!!:)
some johnny guitar again and some garage or what ever record from malaysia by "ramsiah m. ali and the tornados".
and some more records:
getting finger dirtythis is the store on weekend market. this one mainly has western stuff but some nice thai finds as well. don't be mislead by the tina turner record in the front ....those are the records i bought.i found a dead stock of this rare first "johnny guitar" (did only show up on ebay once so far) so i bought four really nice copies. the other record i found doubles of is "the law and the sandy". really dope four track ep. some type of thai ska exotica whatever. one of the tunes called "paradise in bangkok" was featured on the "thai beat a go go vol. 3". the "oh oh oh" song from this ep is the one up on myspace. a little more obscure then the rest.... the highlight of these records are the two in the brown paper covers. it's an ost called "top teen talent" with four dope funk jazz tracks that i have never seen before. check the soundclips that i'm gonna put up tonight. the third record is some thai song sung by an american girl back in the early seventies. this one was one the "thai beat a go go" series as well. this is my copy of the "stage show" lp plus another really dope funk impossibles lp full of drum breaks and samples. this one unfortunatly had no cover and the "stage show" got some cut outs where some thai girls in the seventies cut out her favourite members of the band to hang them next to her bed. damm!!!:)some johnny guitar again and some garage or what ever record from malaysia by "ramsiah m. ali and the tornados".and some more records:
Comments
now be a sport[not like ken] and make a mix using the best pad thai coconut meat
and post that jammy here son
nice pictures!
Is that US dollars? My friend lives in Thailand and has told me how cheap everything is there. Could this be a case of record store owners taking advantage of tourists?
Even managed to pick up some good Bollywood stuff for under a buck each at the crazy dog spot.
for sure this might be the case but i suppose this is hard to avoid without a thai helping out. furthermore i'm not sure cus i saw thais buying records in some of the stores and they passed similar amounts. but whatever. i won't complain. wether i pay 2 or 6 bucks for a stage show lp does not really matter to me as long as it is 100 on ebay......
there was a massive change of prices especially at the stores in china town when i compare my trip earlier this year to my recent. all of the stores doubled their prices for lps. don't ask my why. just out of curiosity i asked for prices of records i bought before and they asked for the double without being willin to bargain.....
I'm about to visit Thailand for the first time. I'll be in Bangkok, and Chang Mai. Can you possibly clue me in on where i should dig, and where not to. My girlfriend's mom lives there and speaks fluent thai, but she has no idea where any record stores/ markets are. Thanks in advance.
Much respect
Ix Lives