Believe it or not, Myanmar has its own “Myanmar Hip-Hop Association”; it has its own guitar gods, country music icons, trip-hop and trance underground scenes. Don’t let its international image obscure the vibrancy and creativity of its youth. The problem, obviously, is finding out about that stuff in the first place. I will focus on Burmese hip-hop and guitar music at another time, but I wanted to ease into some of those extremes with the one of the biggest bands in Burma — Emperor.

First of all, who listens to all this stuff? What would Burmese kids recommend? Well, hear them for yourself (My friends in Mandalay on what the kids like in Burma)

I found this Emperor cassette (entitled “New Place”) in the same Mae Sot shop I found the hand-drawn Karen cassette below. Emperor formed in the late 80s, led by vocalist Zaw Win Htut, and my sources tell me this album dates back to the early 90s.

“NEW PLACE” MP3
PURPLE HAZE COVER MP3

info and translation from Naw Laung