~Have you ever been so obsessed with something that you turned the world upside down to find it?
~For Por-Pairot Damkhong of ‘Baa Records,’ this obsession is with neglected music from the old era—songs that were created, mixed, and recorded onto vinyl records by artists themselves, but never sold or heard of because they weren’t mainstream hits. Eventually, these records end up in dusty warehouses, becoming forgotten plastic discs that no one bothers to dust off or listen to, as if these songs don’t exist in the digital world.
~Before EQ spoke with Por, we tried using Shazam to identify unfamiliar songs that we had heard. However, the screen displayed "No song found," which reflects Baa Records' mission perfectly.
~The first mission is to share older or ‘lost track’ vinyl records, which are tracks that do not exist on current platforms. These tracks, abandoned in old boxes, hide a great sensory experience. The second is to create musical materials or curated playlists for artists, DJs, and beat makers. The third is to seek out the artists, remaster, and reissue tracks to bring them back to life.
~If you’re unsure how a (formerly) lost track might look, Por picked up an album cover of Luk Thung (Thai traditional folk) music featuring a young woman in a Mauhom shirt and palm-leaf hat with a bright smile against a fuchsia pink background. As the needle touched the vinyl, the upbeat rhythm of the song started to play.
“I’m a girl from Khon Kaen, never had a man. My home is in the northeastern land. I’m young and sweet, dreaming of love as I sleep in the evening…”
~Who would have thought that this version of ‘Sao Isan Ro Rak’ is performed by Frances Yip, a Hong Kong artist who is well-known for singing Thai Luk Thung in a disco style. While some tracks are simply ‘radio slips,’ meaning records distributed to radio stations with only text and no artwork, finding the right sound requires listening to every available record with dedication (and obsession).
~Next is the story of Por, a passionate music hunter who has a portable record player as his companion. He is on a journey to search for unique sounds and forgotten tones to revive them once again.
Front Cover: Sunshine Eater, Song Drinker, and Music Devourer
~Before 'Baa Records' project, Por was a DJ whenever he had the chance, using his AKA as ‘Man Eats Sunshine’ (IG: @maneatsunshine). This name, which means ‘sunshine eater,’ came from his time living in Bangkok.
~“Before moving back to Songkhla, I used to live with friends around Ratchada area. Behind Ratchada, there was a store that looked like a vintage shop. Around noon, I would ride my motorbike to find records and cassette tapes that people had discarded. That’s when I saw a garbage collector listening to music. He looked so happy, as if he was soaking up the sunlight, just as happy as I am when discovering new music.
~“No matter where I traveled, I would bring my player along and listen to unfamiliar foreign music, like Chinese, Malay, Indian, or other languages. It was easier when I returned here (Songkhla) because I could travel to Malaysia, where there are different cultures, including Indian, Chinese, Muslim, and Western music. There are more choices here.”
Do you think the music you listened to when you were younger has influenced your desire to hunt for music?
"I’ve always enjoyed listening to music. My father liked to listen to radio stations, and I would sit beside him. There was a local radio station that played Thai music with international melodies, which fascinated me. It was so enjoyable and modern, with melodies similar to Western songs. I noted down the artist’s name. When I had the chance to go to Bangkok, I searched for it at CD shops. I happened to find a shop at Pantip Ngamwongwan that ripped music from cassette tapes onto CDs, so I bought some and kept them."
When did you start looking for vinyl records?
~"I started looking for them when CD prices went up. Vinyl records began to disappear from the market. Back then, records were the only medium used in clubs or temple fairs that needed sound. When CDs came in, the old technology was phased out, so I had to start buying vinyl records because they were much cheaper than CDs."
Side A : Baa Records is a space for the ‘sound-obsessed and sound geeks’
~“Once you are a vinyl enthusiast for a certain period, you often call yourself ‘crazy’ and will go anywhere there are records. No matter where you are in the world, if you see a vinyl record, you’ll run towards it.”
How did Baa Records start?
~“Baa Records started when I returned to Songkhla (after COVID-19). At that time, I had a lot of vinyl records because my main job was to buy them. The music of Baa Records consists of tracks that aren’t popular but are quite unusual. It’s like art, but art that isn’t famous. I thought there might be others who like it just as much as I do, so I began recording the music on Instagram and selling it through Baa Records.
~“After that, I started meeting collectors with similar interests. We engaged in conversations and buying and selling activities related to this type of music. It’s music that wasn’t talked about in the past, or it might be a lost B-side track, or music by artists who weren’t promoted, or even low-production records.
~“Most of the record copies came from old radio stations. They included records that have artist images and those without images on the covers. Generally, B-grade records or those with low production costs would not have artist images and only have text on them. These are often the records that collectors don’t collect, which aren’t popular or widely listened to. I had to sit and listen to the music from these records myself.
~“For the records I found, sometimes I bought records without knowing the language. I had to look at the label, clean the records, and listen to them. If the music wasn’t what I wanted or wasn’t what I was searching for, I’d set it aside for later. For the tracks I liked, I’d keep them and hunt for the cover later to see what it looked like, so it would be easier to find next time without having to listen again.”
What kind of tracks does 'Baa Records' seek?
~“We focus on tracks from the 70s, 80s, and 90s, looking for those with beautiful melodies or grooves, or with unique vocal techniques or musical styles different from what we’ve heard before.
~“Baa Records specializes in synth or modern music. It might use cheap synth sounds or low-cost audio. Sometimes we refer to this kind of music as ‘Synth Luk Thung,’ but in reality, Synth Luk Thung isn’t a genre in itself. We explore every genre—be it reggae, funk, or disco, because on one record, there might be one or two tracks that stand out from the style of the whole album.
~"Because each album is designed to include both slow and fast tracks, I might come across fast tracks with rhythms similar to house or disco music, while slow tracks could be R&B or soul.
~"In the 70s, I found music in Thai that was similar to Hawaiian, psychedelic rock, or psychedelic folk, sometimes referred to as surf music. Some artists from the 80s or 90s may have created dance and pop music with rhythms akin to today's disco or house music. I also discovered these types of music.
~"I selected Thai tracks with disco, soul, funk, or synth-pop melodies for Baa Records.”
Side B: Finding lost tracks, hunting forgotten sounds
~"I want to buy music that I don’t know. I’m looking for tracks that were overlooked but have unique or different rhythms compared to other songs."
What has the experience of hunting for music been like?
~“It was surprising to hear music from a radio station while I was in Songkhla. It was Don Sonrabiab paired with Daojai Paijit, who adapted the Western melody of Elvis Presley into a song called 'Rock Rerng Jai.' I wrote down the name of this song. When I had the chance to go to Bangkok, I went looking for the CD but couldn’t find it. I had to search at CD shops that rip music from tapes to CDs.
~“At that time, it was an era of cover songs, where Thai lyrics were set to Western melodies. Many artists, such as Don Sornrabeab, Royal Sprites, and Sakkarin Boonrit, sang songs with Western melodies. They might sound like covers, but they weren’t exact copies. They just wanted Western-style melodies while singing in Thai.
~“After that, I began listening to more unusual and deeper music. I started searching more and wondered why there was only music from these few artists—there must be others too. So, I kept searching until I discovered many artists who weren’t very well-known. Back then, music wasn’t available on YouTube or social media. I had to search through cassette tapes and vinyl records. I started digging through records and buying tapes to find songs I liked and those that were quite different.
~“As I bought and listened to more music, I ended up with duplicate records. I started selling these extra records to friends or on websites for vinyl enthusiasts. Then, I began searching specifically for songs from my own country. As I learned more about Thai music, I was surprised like ‘Wow, there are songs like this too!’, which were quite different from international music.”
We've heard that reissues have already happened for the discovered lost tracks.
~“Currently, we have reissued one record from the band Phandin, featuring the tracks ‘Sin Ha’ and ‘Ubat-tired'. I chose to reissue it because I had sold a number of original Phandin records before, some of which were sent to Europe. I started tracking down the artists, beginning with Facebook and calling people close to them. I even called the artists directly, who thought I was a scammer (laughs). They had forgotten about these songs since it had been 30 years, so they were quite surprised and shocked.
~“I have a list of artists I want to track down to reissue their work. Since the original records are hard to find now, having been destroyed or discarded. I want to find artists who created music in the past to reissue their work and potentially create new compositions in the future.”
Where can we find lost tracks?
~“You have to dig through records or listen to music in every format. I may not know the artist's details from digging alone, but I would get to know them only through listening, using existing styles of music such as beats, vocal techniques, or musical techniques, and sometimes relying on my own taste as well.”
What is the charm of lost tracks?
~“They might sound old, but they bring a new feeling. It’s very special to find a song without a cover image. I can’t deny that images and sounds don’t always align. Sometimes, you only like the music because you like an artist so much. But when I listen to music from vinyl records or radio slips without knowing the artist, there is only text on the cover and nothing else. Sometimes I can’t even read what it says on the cover, so I rely solely on my own feelings in the search.”
Bonus Track: New menus from the most crafty musical ingredients
~“Baa Records focuses on music from the 80s and 90s. It features modern electronic music with melodies that are universal and easy to groove to. The goal is to pass these tracks on to artists, DJs, or collectors so they can use them as raw material for their work.”
Why do we need to search for unusual, old, or rare music when we can listen to anything we want nowadays?
~“Today, there are apps that can help us find the music we want, but very old songs aren’t always available on these apps. DJs need music from me to create their sets, showcasing their skills in finding tracks. It’s like a set in a show or radio station. We should play music that people can’t easily find.
~“If an app can identify 10 songs per set or 20 songs per set, it means everyone can access those songs. If someone creates a set of 20 songs and I just take those 20 songs and play them elsewhere, I could be a DJ too.
~“For a vinyl DJ, the process of finding music is important. As for beat makers, many artists buy these tracks to loop certain parts and create new music from them.”
Why is discovering new material important?
~“Before the internet, everyone could create freestyle music, almost like experimenting with new things.They didn’t watch YouTube or have proper techniques. They just put their creativity into it.
~“The techniques from the past are different from those of today, where the media makes everything so fast-paced. Back then, creativity was an important part of the experimentation.
~“It’s important because hunting and digging through records is exciting. When I discover something, it feels rewarding, and I want to share it through Baa Records. I want collectors to find and experience unusual music from Thailand, which blends Thai and Western elements. Even if it sounds outdated, it has a special quality to it.”
Join us in digging through vinyl records and searching for great old music at
IG: @baa.records
Soundcloud: Baa Records
Follow Por's vinyl record shop and other collections at
IG: @nusatara.ska, @nakhonnok
Soundcloud: Man eat Sunshine.
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