Molam sing

Molam sing is the fast, electrified stage form of mor lam, the sung poetic tradition of Laos and Thailand's Isan region. The word sing derives from the English 'racing', a reference to the music's speed and its early following among Isan's motorcycle youth. A lead singer, often trading verses with a partner, delivers rapid-fire, rhymed and frequently risqué texts in the Isan language over a dance band in which the bamboo khaen mouth organ and the amplified phin lute take the lead roles, driven by drum kit, electric bass and keyboards. Staged by costumed troupes with dancers, it is mor lam rebuilt for the dancefloor, and was long scorned by the older generation precisely for that reason.