| By MIN ZIN | SEPTEMBER, 2002 - VOLUME 10 NO.7 |
Dominated by cover songs derived from foreign imports, Burmese popular music continues to struggle to find its own voice. In a closed society like Burma, culture is all about preservation and less to do with innovation. Any creative breakthrough produces moral panic, not only in the minds of the powers that be, but also of the majority of folks. In a deep-down analysis, the structural interests of both politics and the market are the most decisive factors in shaping the creative capacity of the society at large. The 30-year-long journey of Burmese pop music can be seen in this light, since it is very much a product of this control culture and is still subject to the restrictive and exploitative political and market structure. It was in the early 1970s that Burmese pop music began to set a tone. But it did not get off to a flying start. "After the military staged a coup in 1962, the regime prohibited all export and import licenses," recalls one Rangoon-based music producer, speaking on condition of anonymity. "Since we could not import musical instruments, recording equipment, long-play discs or even music magazines, the Burmese music industry suffered economically as well as technologically." Another unfavorable condition was the emergence of censorship. The regime set up a censorship board for the Burmese Broadcasting Service (BBS) radio music program in the late 1960s. The board set certain criteria for the selection of songs, including vocal quality and lyrics. In most cases, it rejected Western-style compositions. "Accordion" Ohn Kyaw, one of the leading musicians in the early days of Burmese pop music, collected some of his censored songs and produced a reel-to-reel album, giving it the title "Rejected Songs". "It was the beginning of the Burmese pop music industry. After the success of his album, many young musicians who were denied access to the government-radio venue followed his example, which was the best alternative for young musicians," Maung Thit Min, a famous composer and music researcher, explained to The Irrawaddy. A similar album by another rejected singer, Takatho Tun Naung, became very popular among young fans, and his greatest hit, "Mommy, I want to have a girlfriend, please find someone for me," kicked up a row in the cultural environment in the late 1960s. Denunciation of nascent Burmese pop music, especially "cover songs" derived from foreign music, was quite common in the mainstream establishment at that time. The xenophobic ruling generals saw the newly emerging pop music as a social disease imported from foreign countries, threatening Burmese culture and traditions. They often vowed to root out such "un-Burmese" influences from the youth culture. Ironically, however, many popular marching songs honoring the Burmese army were equally foreign, being Burmese renditions of Japanese military songs. These cover songs have been played over and over again on the state-owned radio and TV stations every day since Burma gained independence. Despite attempts by the conservative ruling class to nip Burmese pop music in the bud, however, technological changes worked in favor of the progressive forces. The new sound systems that music producers adopted in 1970s contributed to a better audio quality. When the censor board refused to play their cover songs on the state-owned radio station, young musicians recorded those songs in private studios and distributed them through music production shops. "Those new songs had a unique character, not only in terms of melody and unconventional lyric style, but also in a technological sense. All radio songs were in the mono system, but newly produced cover-song albums were stereo. That’s why Burmese pop music became known as ‘stereo songs’," noted Soe Thein, Burma’s best-known music analyst. Although BBS’s Burmese-language service continued to reject Western-style cover songs, many of the "stereo-song" pioneers had a small window of opportunity to display their talents to a wider audience on the BBS English-service’s weekly half–hour "Local Talent" program, which aired Saturday nights. Artists such as Tony Hundley, Joyce Win, Marie Conway and Jimmy Jack, who sang in English on the "Local Talent" program, later went on to become famous "stereo" singers under their names Bo Bo Han, Nwe Yin Win, Tin Moe Khaing and Lasho Thein Aung. However, the most popular stereo singer in the 1970s was Min Min Latt. "He was ultra-advanced. You can call him the savviest pioneer of Burmese pop music," opines guitarist Myat Thu. "Yes, he only sang cover songs, but he injected a new taste into the sensibility of Burmese music fans." While Burmese pop music made new strides, a number of music bands came out, with hip names like Electronic Machine, Playboy, The ELF, and The King. Local amateur bands also mushroomed. This led to the beginning of outdoor concerts in Burma. 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". Many trainers complain, however, that the younger trainees do not really want to learn music theory and do not have enough perseverance to become proficient at playing an instrument. "They simply want to be popular, without having any foundation," says Ko Sai, a guitar teacher. However, some point out the lack of opportunity for well-trained musicians to exercise their talents. "One older musician received training at the Tchaikovsky Institute in the former USSR. He learned violin, flute and oboe, but the government didn’t support his efforts to found an orchestra. He ended up opening a small private music school in Rangoon. It was a waste of talent," relates a Burmese violinist who requested not to be named. For pop musicians, however, finding an outlet for their talents is less of a challenge than simply honing them. For the serious-minded, the dearth of places to study music and the limited opportunities to attend international music schools presents the greatest problem. "Music schools here are very much underdeveloped," laments Singapore-trained Rap musician Myo Kyawt Myaing. Meanwhile, the technological sophistication of the Burmese music industry has progressed rapidly since the late 1990s. In the studio, sound engineers record the music with highly advanced 32-track systems or hard disks. Since many varieties of software are available, musicians can computerize not just performances but also whole music arrangements. Although these technological advances have fueled a growing demand for genres such as Heavy Metal, Rap, Hip Hop and Alter-Rock, such music still has a limited following among young Burmese. Many observers note that Burmese audiences tend to favor the instant relaxation of easy-listening music over the demands of less familiar genres. They note that albums of newly produced easy-listening cover songs and updated renditions of 10-20-year-old songs are always on the top-ten list of the Burmese music industry. Market conditions in Burma make it difficult for musicians to commit to any particularly genre, or to take chances with creating a new sound. Many Burmese musicians who came out as "Rockers" in the beginning, for instance, later started singing pop, country, techno, and other popular genres. "Many of these problems can be attributed to the music market," maintains Nwe Yin Win. "Creating a beautiful original composition may take four or five months, but the composer will earn only thirty thousand kyat or so. How would he survive?" Apart from its reluctance to embrace new varieties of music, the Burmese music market is also quite limited in size, despite the country’s population of 50 million. "In neighboring countries, one album can sell more than a million copies. Here we have to try very hard to sell ten to fifty thousand cassette tapes," explains U Chit Khin of Yin Mar Music Production. Unlike most other countries in the world, music cassettes are still the most popular format in Burma. Although other formats, such as CD, VCD and DVD, are also available, they tend to lead to piracy, which has become a major headache for producers. "Since Burma does not have an audio copyright law, piracy has been getting out of control," says composer Maung Thit Min. In neighboring countries, market expansion of the music industry is effectively facilitated by both state-owned and privately run media, particularly TV stations. "Neighboring countries have MTV. Live concerts are also shown on TV everyday. These programs are the best promotion for the music industry," notes music analyst Soe Thein. "There is no MTV-style program on Myanmar TV or Myawaddy TV, even for 30 minutes a week, let alone live shows or an MTV channel." However, a tiny space has opened up since the inauguration of a new FM radio station in the Rangoon area, run by the city’s municipal government. The new station went on the air in January 2002 and broadcasts from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Residents of Rangoon can enjoy listening to this FM station, since it plays Burmese pop music most of the time. "It is an oasis in the desert," says Thukhamein Hlaing. "But since it is only for the Rangoon area, it is still just a drop in the bucket." Meanwhile, many musicians in Burma complain that it is becoming more difficult to stage outdoor concerts. Some say they hope to organize a big open-air concert to increase HIV/AIDS awareness and deliver an anti-drugs message to young people. "Young people are now seeking an outlet for their frustrations. They need to be persuaded to channel their potential for betterment. We as singers have a responsibility," says Zaw Win Htut, a famous rock singer who recently performed at concert sponsored by the United Nations Drug Control Program (UNDCP) at the Strand Hotel in Rangoon. "I’ll seek permission to hold outdoor concerts when I get back to Burma so that we musicians can join and work together for social betterment. I believe in the power of music," Zaw Win Htut told the BBC Burmese-language service during a recent visit to London. However, in Burma the power of music is always constrained by the power of politics. "We all support Zaw Win Htut’s beautiful intention," says one well-know musician who spoke to The Irrawaddy on condition of anonymity. "But I don’t think he will get the permission he is seeking. Apart from performances that support the government’s propaganda, the junta doesn’t like any independent attempt to mobilize the people." After decades of military rule, Burmese music continues to struggle with forces that seem to conspire to prevent its development, both artistically and as a form of social expression. "We are in a straightjacket," the musician concluded. With additional reporting by Khun Thar and Saw Oo.