ABSTRACT
Since the majority populations of both the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (hereafter, Laos or PDR Laos) and northeastern ailand are culturally related, their musics have much in common. But because of diff erent political histories, the Lao-speakers in each area have become distinct in many ways, including in music. e Lao of Laos are economically far poorer than the Lao across the Maekhong River, whose orientation is toward Bangkok, its modernization, and its dramatic growth.
