Music of Burma - Popular Music

Popular Music

Western music gained much popularity in Burma starting from the 1930s. Despite government intervention at times, especially during the Socialist era, popular Burmese music has become considerably influenced by Western music, which consists of popular Western songs rendered in Burmese and pop music similar to other Asian pop tunes. Classical music was also introduced during the British occupation.

Rock music, called stereo in Burmese has been a popular form of music since the 1980s, having been introduced in the 1960s. Pop music emerged in the 1970s and was banned by state-run radio stations. However, many artists circumvented this censorship by producing albums in private studios and releasing them in music production shops. During the Socialist era, musicians and artists were subject to censorship by the Press Scrutiny Board and Central Registration Board, as well as laws like the State Protection Law. During this period, the arrival of various bands including the influential Thabawa Yinthwenge (The Wild Ones), which included lead singer Sai Htee Saing, an ethnic Shan in 1973, paved the way for ethnic minority musicians to gain visibility in the Burmese music industry.

During the 8888 Uprising, restrictions loosened and many artists began writing music with themes of freedom and democracy. However, after the State Law and Order Restoration Council usurped power in 1988, the Press Scrutiny Board was reformed to censor specific political and social issues, including poverty, the sex trade, democracy and human rights. The Myanmar Music Asiayon (MMA) was established by the SLORC to further censor Burmese-produced music. Popular musicians including Zaw Win Htut and Sai Htee Saing have produced propaganda albums written by military officers such as Mya Than San.

Hip hop and rap emerged in the late 1990s and is now the prevailing genre of music among Burmese youth today. Bands like Iron Cross, Emperor and BigBag are popular among the middle-aged and some groups of youth. There are hip-hop enthusiasts all over Burma with artists such as Ye Lay, Sai Sai, and J-me. Thus, there are many underground rock, punk and metal bands such as All Else I Fail, Last Day of Beethoven, Yakkhadeva, Temper Level VIII, Tha Ta Lin Chate, Idiots, Offkeys, etc. The prevalence of Burmese cover songs (particularly from Asia nowadays) has led to the adoption of "copy tune" and "own tune" to describe the origins of a song's melody.

In recent year's punk has been growing in popularity in Burma, just like many other southeast Asian nations. Modelling many 70s and 80s classic Western punk bands, Burmese punk shows a musical defiance that has not been seen before in Burma. In the German made 2012 documentary film "Yangon Calling" over a period of six weeks film-makers Alexander Dluzak and Carsten Piefke secretly filmed, as they documented the Burmese punks life, documenting everything from meeting friends and family, visiting rehearsals and filming secret concerts.

New websites that have poped up in recent years such as Myanmar Xbands have given attention to the Burmese punk scene along with other alternative Burmese music. The site has developed into a hub for artists to display their music to a Burmese and international audience for free download. While other Burmese punk bands like pop punk band Side Affect, turned to raising funds on IndeGoGo, to release their first album. The band just managed to raise enough funds to release their album in May 2012, shortly before their efforts fell short to international sanctions. However, other popular Burmese punk bands such as No Uturn or Rebel Riot has turned to self release, releasing their demo’s on popular download sites such as Myspace and Reverb Nation.