Wat Phayanakharat by Mirt • Ter

This is the eighth in a series of albums documenting soundscapes of places that are somehow important to us or just interesting and that we have managed to record during our travels.

Wat Phayanakharat is hidden away a kilometer behind the garden surrounding the Memorial to the Enlightenment of Luang Pu Khao Analayo. Both places are situated near the village of Long Khot in the Chiang Mai province. The temple is located on the slopes of a mountain range covered with forest and dense bushes.

The half-abandoned temple is exactly what we are looking for while wandering through remote villages in Asia. A bit ugly but intriguing with strange architecture and crude, primitive carvings, victims of some amateur artist who decided to leave his or her distinctive mark on them. Everything here is unique and different from what we have seen before. Sculptures of the Naga serpent that might as well have taken inspiration from Aztec art. Chedis made of cheap metal roof tiles are placed on a concrete platform dotted with flashy tiles of various kinds. They form a pattern, but still seem chaotic. Not less disturbing is the placement of numerous statues inside. The stairs leading to the chedi placed on a high platform resemble an emergency corridor from some industrial facility. On one side, the entrance is guarded by a large concrete elephant disturbing the symmetry. Many Thai temples have a rather traditional look, they are quite similar to each another, so this one is a real treasure.

The soundscape of this place is a strange combination. In the afternoon, you can hear the typical sounds of birds hidden among the treetops. Then, the entire structure, under the influence of the scorching sun, deforms with a characteristic, metallic murmurs. From a distance, you hear the sounds of nearby villages, the echoing melancholic luk thung music (or is it molam?). Trucks are passing by and sometimes signal their presence with the nasal sound of their horns.

We didn't meet anyone in the temple itself or at the foot of the mountain, where we were passing buildings inhabited by just a few - I assume - monks taking care of that place. Maybe their attention was already focused only on the shiny new Memorial to the Enlightenment - a dozen or so meters high, realistic representation of the monk Luang Pu Khao Analayo surrounded by a manicured garden. These two places seem to be polar opposites.

Since 2014 Saamleng is a label dedicated to field recordings.

We release physical and digital albums. We are interested in soundscapes in all forms - biophony, geophony and anthropophony can be equally fascinating to us.

We do not release music. We listen to all field recording demos, but only respond if we are interested in releasing the material.

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