The
music of Thailand reflects its geographic position at the intersection of China and India, and reflects trade routes that have historically included Persia, Africa, Greece and Rome. Thai musical instruments are varied and reflect ancient influence from far afield - including the
klong thap and
khim (Persian origin), the
jakhe (Indian origin), the
klong jin (Chinese origin), and the
klong kaek (Indonesian origin). Though Thailand was never
colonized by
colonial powers,
pop music and other forms of modern
Asian,
European and
American music have become extremely influential. The two most popular styles of traditional Thai music are
luk thung and
mor lam; the latter in particular has close affinities with the
Music of Laos.