Burmese Pop Music: Identity in Transition
covering burma and southeast asia
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Magazine

COVER STORY

Burmese Pop Music: Identity in Transition


By Min Zin SEPTEMBER, 2002 - VOLUME 10 NO.7


COMMENTS (0)
RECOMMEND (747)
FACEBOOK
TWITTER
PLUSONE
 
MORE
E-MAIL
PRINT
(Page 2 of 4)

Since the early 1970s, outdoor "stereo-staged shows" have been the most entertaining component of Burmese religious festivals. Growing numbers of people were becoming more receptive to Burmese pop music. Interestingly, Burma’s socialist dictators suddenly changed their tune and started using pop music for propaganda purposes. When the socialist regime planned to hold a referendum in 1973, they used stereo-style songs to mobilize mass support for their political agenda. One famous stereo singer, Aung Ko Latt, sang a song titled "Let’s Go to the Polling Booth", which was highly promoted by the government. Since the government did not have any intention to support the development of pop music except to use it for propaganda, Burmese pop music remained unable to enter into the mainstream state-owned media. While cover songs were gaining a foothold in Burmese popular culture, a new trend of original Burmese composition started to become popular in 1974-5. The Wild Ones, a band formed by ethnic-Shan singer Sai Htee Saing and composer Sai Khan Lait, took the lead in this trend. "Original pop music compositions began to flourish widely in Burma in the late 1970s. Famous singers came out with their own bands. You had Khin Maung Toe and The Medium Wave, Khine Htoo and The Phoenix, Khin One and The Rainbow Bridge, Hlwan Moe and The Professional, Kai Zar and The Success, and so on. Most of them were playing and singing their own music compositions," recalls music fan Ko Myo, 48. Despite this trend, however, other artists continued to borrow freely from a wide variety of sources. Although most cover songs were Burmese renditions of top-10 hits from the UK and US, sweet-sounding Japanese, Chinese, Indian and Thai songs also inspired some popular Burmese cover versions. The multitude of sources was matched only by the number of versions a popular song could spawn. "There are at least five Burmese renditions of "Sleeping Child" by Michael Learns to Rock," notes music critic Soe Thein. Some original composers have complained about music fans’ preference for cover songs. They also accuse singers and cover songwriters of being complacent, putting moneymaking ahead of creativity. "Singing cover songs is certainly the easiest way to achieve popularity and make money. But it’s shameful. You could never sell rendition albums in the international market," says an angry own-tune composer who asked to remain anonymous. But Thukhamein Hlaing, the best known and most prolific cover songwriter in Burma, disagrees. "You can’t blame cover songs for the underdevelopment of Burmese original music. Cover songs have played a very important role in helping to improve Burmese fan’s musical sensibilities," Thukhamein Hlaing argues. But how many more years will people involved in the Burmese pop-music industry continue to pursue popularity and money at the expense of creativity? Most original music produced in Burma these days is not even up to the standards of other countries in the region. Many Burmese composers still do not have the opportunity to learn how to create songs in accordance with theory, scale, counterpoint, etc. Most famous own-tune songs in Burma revolve around three or four familiar chords and simple arrangements. Although many composers are poets capable of writing very rich and beautiful lyrics, their melodies often seem boxed in by folkish compositions. In the late 1980s, a young musician named Htoo Ein Thin attempted to break new ground. Htoo Ein Thin does his own compositions, arrangements and singing. Since he was deeply involved in the 1988 pro-democracy uprising and is well read, his lyrics have an idealistic, political flavor. However, some critics say that his sound is still too derivative. "Htoo Ein Thin’s compositions and arrangements sound like the Bee Gees or the Beatles," complains one critic. Others agree that Htoo Ein Thin’s composition style is still in the emulative stage. "Burmese pop music in the past 30 years hasn’t managed to form its own clear identity in terms of original creation," according to analyst Soe Thein. "When you listen to Thai or Malaysian music, you can say that this is Thai and that is Malaysian. They have distinctive qualities. I don’t see that we Burmese have it." Many agree with him, and point out that the lack of exposure to the outside world is one of the main reasons for this problem. At present, only a handful of musicians have access to the latest recordings and music journals available on the international market. "We need international-standard music schools and universities so that our musicians can create original compositions," says Nwe Yin Win, a famous female singer, noting that there are only four or five places to take private music lessons in Burma. Forty-year-old music instructor Ko Doo, who runs one of the music schools in Rangoon, says that demand for formal music training is huge. "In my classes, there are about 80-100 students".


« previous  1  |  2  |  3 | 4  next page »

COMMENTS (0)
 
Please read our policy before you post comments. Click here
Name:
E-mail:   (Your e-mail will not be published.)
Comment:
You have characters left.
Word Verification: captcha Type the characters you see in the picture.
 

more articles in this section