Khamvong Insixiengmai Ensemble

Khamvong Insixiengmai Is A US Based Singer From Laos Skilled In The Styles Of Music From His Home And The Lao Regions Of Northeastern Thailand. The Ensemble Includes Female Vocalist Thongxhio Mansione And Master Khene Player Kamsueng Syhanone And Occasionally They Add Lute And Percussion. Khamvong Insixiengmai Was Born In 1947 In Champhone A District In The City Of Savannarhet In Laos In Southeast Asia. When He Was 10 He Began Learning Lao Folk Songs From A Buddhist Monk Named Somvang. After Six Years With Somvang He Continued His Studies For Five More Years Under The Tutelage Of Different Master Singers And Songwriters In Laos And Northwest Thailand. By The Age Of 18 Insixiengmai Had Established Himself As One Of His Country's Most Honored Singers Of The Primary National Song Form Called Lum. Lum Can Be Either A Solo Narrative Or In Repartee Form Alternated With A Female Singer . It Is Accompanied By The Lao Bamboo Mouth Organ Called A Kean Also Spelled Khene Khaen Or Ken And Can Also Be Accompanied By A Small Ensemble That May Include A Plucked Lute Called A Pin Small Cymbals Called Sing Various Drums Or A Complicated Wooden Instrument That Produces Scraping Rattling And Clapping Sounds Called A Nai Ngawp Ngaep In Addition To A Kean. Lao Singing Stylizations Vary By Region. Insixiengmai Is A Master Of Several Regional Genres Of Lao Vocal Music. He Is A Master Of Poetic Stylizations As Well. He Can Improvise Poetry While He Sings Incorporating Events Of The Day If He Wishes. Lum A Kind Of Musical Poetry Was Traditionally Part Of Ritualized Courtship And Village Life During Work Breaks And After Hours. More Recently Laotian Lum Has Become A Staged Entertainment For Audiences And The Poetry May Or May Not Concern Courtship. The Vocal Musical Expression Consists Of Various Types Of Sung Or Chanted Repartee Of Questions Various Stages Of Courtship Or Perhaps Insults Or Double Entendres. The Lyrics Are Poetic And Often Improvised. They May Also Involve Humorous And Even Feisty Repartee Between Male And Female Singers Who Often Have Critical Interactions With An Excited Audience. In The Past The Singers Sometimes Actually Courted Today Professional Entertainers Are Engaged To Present The Drama. Lum Is Quite Formalized And Requires Trained Singers And Instrumentalists. Because Lao Singing Is So Heavily Based On The Communication Of Poetry It Is Difficult For Nonspeakers Of Lao To Appreciate. In 1965 Insixiengmai Started Working As A Folk Singer For The Department Of Lao National Fine Arts. From 1967 Until He Left The Country In 1979 He Worked For The Lao Loyal Army Where He Was Assigned To Radio Programs And Performing Arts Groups Across The Country. In 1979 Insixiengmai Fled Laos As A Refugee And Settled In Thailand Until He Was Able To Immigrate To The United States One Year Later. On His Arrival In The States He Was Sent To Bowling Green Kentucky And In 1981 He Moved To Minneapolis Minnesota Where There Was A Larger Community Of Laotians. There He Was Determined To Resume His Career As A Singer. He Made An Audiotape Music Of Laos Featuring Many Of His Songs And Started Performing At Local Universities International Festivals And World Music Concerts. Over The Years Insixiengmai Has Devoted Himself To Preserving The Indigenous Music Of Laos And Has Developed A Broad Repertoire That Includes Different Regional Styles Which Tend To Have Their Own Identifiable Forms Of Lum. The Differences Lie In A Particular Use Of Scale A Special Rhythm Or Accompaniment Or Dialect. Insixiengmai Is One Of The Rare Lao Singers Who Can Compose And Sing In These Regional Aesthetic Forms. read less