Y/Our Music sets North American premiere at SXSW

Y/Our Music, the unusual documentary about unusual Thai musicians, has found probably its perfect platform – the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas.

Directed by David Reeve and "Art" Waraluck Hiransrettawat Every, Y/Our Music makes its North American premiere in SXSW's 24 Beats Per Second section alongside other documentaries on world music and rock 'n' roll, such as Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, Sir Doug and the Genuine Texas Cosmic Groove and Made in Japan, about Japanese female country music star Tomi Fujiyama.

Here's the festival synopsis:

Y/Our Music immerses itself in the world of Thai music, from traditional music to labor songs and classical pop to urban indie music, spanning different locales and generations. As nine musicians each display their music, the rural or urban environments that influenced their sound are explored. The hands that play traditional instruments amid the red dust clouds, the labor songs being hummed in front of grains awaiting harvest, and the indie music born out of concrete basements create a melodious ecosystem. While they inhabit different musical worlds the musicians are connected by the same passion to bring their artistic aspirations to the fore and survive in the outskirts of the mainstream.

Best as I can recollect, Y/Our Music will be the first Thai film at SXSW since Ong-Bak 2 made a midnight bow in 2009.

A survey of unsung musicians, mostly performing traditional Thai folk and country (mor lam and luk thung), Y/Our Music premiered at last year's Busan International Film Festival, and later had a one-off Bangkok screening. Hopefully, more screenings will follow.

SXSW runs from March 13 to 22.