Kantrum ( th, กันตรึม, km, កន្ដ្រឹម) is a type of

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

played by the Khmer in

Isan Northeast Thailand or Isan (Isan/ th, อีสาน, ; lo, ອີສານ; also written as Isaan, Isarn, Issarn, Issan, Esan, or Esarn; from Pali ''īsānna'' or Sanskrit ईशान्य ''īśānya'' "northeast") consists of 20 provin ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

, living near the border with

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

. It is a fast, traditional

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded danc ...

. In its purest form,

cho-kantrum Kantrum ( th, กันตรึม, km, កន្ដ្រឹម) is a type of folk music played by the Khmer in Isan, Thailand, living near the border with Cambodia. It is a fast, traditional dance music. In its purest form, cho-kantrum, sin ...

, singers, percussion and

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

s dominate the sound. A more modern form using electric instrumentation arose in the mid-1980s.

Language

Kantrum is interesting from a linguistic perspective. As the Khmer native to

are bilingual, kantrum songs can be sung in

Thai Thai or THAI may refer to: * Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia ** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand ** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand *** Thai script *** Thai (Unicode block ...

( Isan dialect), Northern Khmer or a combination of the two. In the case of the later, it is most common that a complete verse will be sung in Thai followed by a reciprocating verse in Khmer. However,

code switching In linguistics, code-switching or language alternation occurs when a speaker alternates between two or more languages, or language varieties, in the context of a single conversation or situation. Code-switching is different from plurilingualism ...

between the two languages within the same verse also occurs, lending to a wide variety of possibilities for rhyming and tonal euphony.

Performers

In the late-1980s, Darkie became the genre's biggest star, crossing into mainstream markets in the later 1990s. Another artist known for Kantrum is

Chalermpol Malakham Chalermpol Malakham (also written Malakam, th, เฉลิมพล มาลาคำ) (b. 10 October 1962 in Surin Province — ), is a singer from the Isan area of Thailand. Known mostly for the Luk Thung and Mor lam styles, he is also ...

although he is also a popular performer of Luk Thung and

Morlam Mor lam ( Lao: ໝໍລຳ; Thai/Isan: หมอลำ ; ) is a traditional Lao form of song in Laos and Isan. ''Mor lam'' means 'expert song', or 'expert singer', referring to the music or artist respectively. Other romanisations used inclu ...

Language

Performers

See also