Record of the Month
February 2006


Blue Asia
Hotel Bangkok
King (Japan)
UK distribution www.farsidemusic.com

Blue Asia is the project of Japanese producer Makoto Kubota, who gave himself a Herculean challenge: to combine traditional Eastern melodies with Western rhythms, without surrendering to formulaic clichés.

Gradually working his way around his half of the world, Makoto has previously made albums based on the music of Turkey, Bali and Vietnam. Now he takes on the music of Thailand.

In a close parallel with Gotan Project, who invented an imaginary Argentina where the sounds and rhythms of Tango were swathed in reggae dub production techniques, Blue Asia present a surreal version of Thailand, where authentic vocalists and instrumentalists weave their way through the kind of rhythm tracks pioneered by Massive Attack and their trip hop associates.

For me, there’s always a moment of challenge when listening to music from the Far East, as my ear valiantly attempts to adjust to the unfamiliar melodic intervals. Usually, a voice inside my head soon starts asking, why are you struggling with this when there are dozens of other records waiting to be heard, that would be much easier to deal with? But with Hotel Bangkok, the doubt is dispelled during the first thirty seconds of Sao Chumpae Pae Rak (track 2), as vocalist Lady Nan lures us into her embrace with a warm tone and a perfect sense of timing. The rhythm track is multi-layered, spiced with an instrument that sounds like a local equivalent of a guitar, alongside another which surely is a guitar.

Lady Nan is also lead singer on Dao Ruang Dao Roi (track 4), which opens with just piano and violin before an elaborate melange of percussion instruments sets up a very satisfying shuffle-and-lurch rhythm. This might be the pinnacle of an album that has few weak moments and many revelations.

If you need three songs to convince you, try Esarn Kornkaen (track 6) which comes closest to the blues tinge alluded to in the project’s name, driven by a banjo-like instrument and with spoken interjections by male vocalist Pon Rimpong.

For each of us, our private musical history is marked by landmark albums that opened up previously closed worlds. Hotel Bangkok has given me a new route into Eastern music and, if it gets played in enough coffee shops and boutiques over the next few months, it could unlock windows and doors for many others too.

Charlie Gillett