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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 May 2024
In the place where I lived there were special birds [ny, niaq], such as cuckoo [kwaqbu] and turtledove [zilbeqle]. They make sounds to signal a particular time of the year, such as cultivation and harvest seasons. Their sounds were so important to us, so I gave my [artistic] name after these migratory birds. I am the fifth son in my family, so people have known me as “W Ny Ah Wu.” They would know my aspiration to encourage people by singing when they hear my name and my voice.
—Lisu “Song King” W Ny Ah Wu, interview with the author, December 17, 2017
December 30, 2017—Apartment studio room, Sanchaung Township, Yangon.
Born in Myanmar's northernmost town, Putao, Mar Tee Yet has been considered as the best-known Lisu professional musician, a talented guitarist in his forties. He recently reopened his OMEGA home studio at his new residence located in a residential building hidden in a boisterous neighborhood of Sanchaung Township near the Myaynigone intersection, one of Yangon's busiest districts. Mar Tee Yet's apartment is on the fifth floor in a six-story residential building. His previous boss owns the apartment and let the family live there free of charge. Without worrying about the financial pressure for high rent, he is able to start his studio in this ready-made space while he and his wife raise five children. The front door stays locked all the time to prevent wandering dogs from slipping in. His second-eldest daughter comes downstairs to open the door for me, and I am warmly welcomed by his family on entering their home. In this compact space and facing the living room are two small bedrooms; the kitchen is in the right corner. Each is equipped with rudimentary furniture: two chairs, a cabinet with a small television, a peddle sewing machine in the living room, and camping tents in the bedrooms. After a quick exchange of pleasantries with his wife Alddul, I walked into Mar Tee Yet's studio at the left corner of the living room.
Unlike many other professional studios that are equipped with rented office rooms, recording chambers, and world-class recording equipment, Mar Tee Yet's studio is a single bedroom-based operation with facilities essential to make a digital music album.
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