On the Airwaves This Week - 6 FEB. 2025
Celebrating immigrant stories through music, featuring Thanh Tan of SEA Vinyl Society and her collection of banned records from Saigon's pre-75 era.
It’s been a hell of a week, y’all. With everything unfolding on the geopolitical stage, it felt only right to dedicate this week’s show to the stories of immigrants—songs that transcend borders, carry our shared struggles, and echo our resilience and dreams.
In moments like these, solidarity isn’t just a word—it’s a necessity. And music has always been the bridge linking histories, generations, and movements, reminding us that no matter where we come from, we are not alone.
‘Eastern Echoes’ has always existed as a space dedicated to the songs and stories of those underrepresented in the global music scene. A space where we could discover new and old sounds from all throughout Asia. On a more personal note, this show has also been an opportunity to rediscover my roots through music.
As a child of refugees displaced by the Secret War in Lao, I’ve found my family’s story woven into the melodies of so many others. Much of the music from pre-communist Lao was destroyed—erased as part of an effort to silence a past that spoke of democracy, free thought, and creative expression. But music has always been resistance. Across borders, in the shadows, there were those who risked their lives to smuggle and protect these songs—because those in power knew what music could do. They feared its ability to unite, to inspire, to remember.
That’s why this show exists.
Each week, I share music from the displaced, the immigrants, the refugees, the lost, and the hopeful. It’s my small contribution—a way to keep these voices alive, to celebrate the cultures that refuse to be forgotten, and to remind us that music is more than just sound.
It is survival. It is history. It is home. You can listen to the show on 6. FEB 2025 HERE
For more information on this music and preservation efforts, check out Thanh Tan and the SEA Vinyl Society.
This Weeks Highlights
45s from Saigon’s Pre-75 Era:
DJ, collector, journalist, and community organizer, Thanh Tan, began collecting records from Saigons pre-75 era nearly a decade ago. Through family friends, travels back to Vietnam, and Ebay, she’s amassed one of the largest (currently known) collections of South Vietnamese records from this time period.
Much of the narratives around the Vietnam War were filtered through the lens of U.S. policy and military reports, with Vietnamese voices being largely absent in U.S. media, except when portrayed as enemies. This music is window into the lives of the South Vietnamese, their stories, hopes, and dreams.
Music was a way to uplift the people and was part of the effort to win their hearts and minds. Much of this music evokes the memories of a place that doesn’t exist in the same way, the diasporic experience.
A Grain of Sand: Music for the Struggle by Asians in America | 1973
“Chris Kando Iijima, Nobuko JoAnne Miyamoto, and William “Charlie” Chin recorded the experiences of the first generation to identify with the term and concept Asian American—a pan-ethnic association formulated upon a shared history of discrimination. They sought a connection to their cultural heritage; to claim their historical presence in the United States; to resist their marginalization; and to mobilize solidarity across class, ethnic, racial, and national differences. Music provided a powerful means for expressing their aspiration to reshape a society reeling from a prolonged war, ongoing struggles against racial inequity, and revelations of the Watergate cover-up. As writer and activist Phil Tajitsu Nash would state many decades later, A Grain of Sand was “more than just grooves on a piece of vinyl,” it was “the soundtrack for the political and personal awareness taking place in their lives.” Equal parts political manifesto, collaborative art project, and organizing tool, it is widely recognized as the first album of Asian American music.”
Synthesizing the Silk Roads: Uzbek Disco, Tajik Folktronica, Uyghur Rock & Tatar Jazz from 1980s Soviet Central Asia
“In the summer of 1941, as the Nazis invaded the USSR, Stalin ordered a mass evacuation. Sixteen million people were put on trains bound eastward to Soviet Central Asia, especially Tashkent, Uzbekistan’s picturesque capital. Among those onboard were gramophone engineers who later established the Tashkent Gramplastinok plant in 1945. This factory became central to Soviet record production, part of a network of plants churning out 200 million records by the 1970s.”
During this period, the Soviet Union became a superpower of electropop and new wave music, welcoming discotheques, jazz clubs, music and artistry from a melting pot of cultures caught in the grips of a geopolitical stronghold. Within this compilation, you can find mind tingling music featuring Uzbek disco, Tajik electronic folk, Uyghur guitar licks, Crimean Tatar jazz, Korean brass, and genre-defying styles from Soviet Central Asia.
6 FEB. 2025 Playlist
Somos Asiaticos | Chris Kando Iijima, Joanne “Nobuko” Miyamoto & Charlie Chin A Grain of Sand: Music for the Struggle by Asians in America | 1973
A Grain of Sand is widely recognized as the first album of Asian American music, released in 1973.
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Imperial Twist | No-No Boy feat. Robert Vifian 1975 | 2021 Smithsonian Folkways
The debut album from Julian Saporiti, exploring Asian American heritage, racism, and immigration through folk-pop.
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Your Best American Girl | Mitski Dead Oceans | 2016
Mitski explores issues of identity and cultural assimilation in songs like Your Best American Girl.
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Temple | Thao & the Get Down Stay Down Temple | 2020
Written after Thao Nguyen's trip to Vietnam, the song explores themes of war, identity, and freedom.
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Everybody Wants to Love You! | Japanese Breakfast Psychopomp | 2016 Dead Oceans
Japanese Breakfast performed this song live at KEXP in 2016. Watch here:
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One Wish | Hiroshima Best of Hiroshima | 1994 Sony Music Entertainment
Hiroshima blends jazz, pop, and traditional Japanese music into a unique fusion sound.
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Swoop | Haley Heynderickx Seed of a Seed | 2024 Mama Bird Recording
A song about "tiny Filipino moms," blending indie-folk with modern themes.
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はやぶさと私 | Sachiko Kanenobu み空 | 1972
Often regarded as Japan’s first female singer-songwriter, Kanenobu’s Misora is a timeless folk classic.
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Yellow Peril | Nat Myers Yellow Peril | 2023 Easy Eye Sound
A Korean-Kentuckian blues album about American wanderlust, train hopping, and post-pandemic restlessness.
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Uku | Dengue Fever Cannibal Courtship | 2011 Fantasy
Inspired by pre-Khmer Rouge Cambodian psychedelia. Watch their documentary: YouTube.
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Kota Bandung | Nusantara Beat Kota Bandung / Layung | 2023 Lamunai
A collective of Dutch-Indonesians rediscovering and reinterpreting Indonesian music from the 60s and 70s.
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Nào ta cùng hát (Patchworks Ashby mix) | Sàigòn Soul Revival Mối Lương Duyên | 2020
Vietnamese rock, bolero, soul, and jazz fusion. Featured at Trans Musicales Festival in Rennes, France.
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Jai Dum | Paradise Bangkok Molam International Band Araya Lam | Unknown
A Thai hybridized roots band blending molam with blues, folk rock, and dub.
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Sugarcane Funk | Salin Cheewapansri Kouta in Siam | 2023 Amari Music Records
Thai-born drummer and producer exploring the enchanting sounds of Northeast Thailand.
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Current | Salin Current | 2024 No Label
A Thai funky drummer/producer, inspired to wake the world with conscious lyrics and danceable beats.
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Another Fish | Apichat Pakwan Esantronics | 2019 Animist Records
A Dutch-Thai band blending mor lam, electronic music, dub, and hip-hop.
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Maranao (Album Version) | Free the Robots DATU | 2019
Underground hip-hop producer blending beats and global influences.
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Salah Tingkah | Aria Yunior Geregetan | 1979 Musica Studios
An Indonesian female-band that gained prominence in the 70s and 80s.
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Habibi | Ahmadi Hassan Immanya Manusia | 1988
Killer Malay Funk with an Arabic Middle East groove.
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Pinoy Funk | Regalado Ayo Ke Disco: Boogie, Pop & Funk from the South China Sea (1974-88) | Unknown
Jun Regalado, a legendary Filipino drummer, considered one of the most recorded session musicians in the Philippines.
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Minarets of Nessef | Various Artists Synthesizing the Silk Roads | 1970s-1990s
A compilation of Uzbek disco, Tajik folktronica, Uyghur rock & Tatar jazz from Soviet Central Asia.
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Tantsuyushchiy Ostrov (Dancing Island) | Angelina Petrosova | Unknown
Tashkent was a hub of Soviet recording, welcoming artists from across the Asian expanse of the USSR.
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Aarezoo Gom Kardam (I Lost My Dream) | Nasiba | Unknown
Nasiba Abdullaeva, a Soviet-Uzbek pop singer, performed in Uzbek, Persian, Azerbaijani, Arabic, Tajik, and Russian.
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Paidot Kardam (Found a Sweetheart) | Khurmo Shirinova | 1984
One of the most famous Tajik singers and composers of Soviet-era Tajikistan jazz.
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Meyhane | Efsane | Unknown
Uzbek disco from 1980s Soviet Central Asia.
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Sài Gòn (Saigon) | Trúc Mai | 1960
A song capturing the romantic, nostalgic spirit of pre-1975 Saigon.
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Ngàn Năm Mây Bay (A Thousand Years of Floating Clouds) | Mai Hương | Unknown
A deeply romantic song using drifting clouds as a metaphor for longing and separation in love.
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Lâu Đài Tình Ái (Castle of Love) | Nhật Trường | Unknown
A grand love song about an idealistic, timeless romance.
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Yêu Đời (Love Life) | Hùng Cường & Mai Lệ Huyền | Unknown
An upbeat anthem about embracing life despite hardships.
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Đêm Nguyện Cầu (Night of Prayer) | Thanh Vũ | 1966
A soldier’s heartfelt plea for peace and strength through prayer.
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Cát Bụi (Dust) | Lệ Thu | 1969
A song reflecting nostalgia and memory.
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Don't Speak | Pan Ron Dengue Fever Presents: Electric Cambodia | 2010 Minky Records
Pan Ron was one of Cambodia’s most popular singers during the 60s and early 70s.
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Black to Gold | The Cambodian Space Project Whisky Cambodia | 2014 Metal Postcard
A psychedelic rock band blending Khmer rock with 60s influences.