The khene is a Laomouth organ whose pipes, which are usually made of bamboo, are connected with a small, hollowed-out hardwood reservoir into which air is blown. Today associated with the Lao people of Laos and Isan, other similar instruments date back to the Bronze Age. In Cambodia, it is used among the ethnic Lao population of the province of Stung Treng and is used in lakhon ken, a Cambodian dance drama genre that features the khene as the premiere instrument. In Vietnam, this instrument is used among the Tai peoples and the Muong people. The most interesting characteristic of the khene is its free reed, which is made of brass or silver. It is related to Western free-reed instruments such as the harmonium, concertina, accordion, harmonica, and bandoneon, which were developed beginning in the 18th century from the Chinese sheng, a related instrument, a specimen of which had been carried to St. Petersburg, Russia. The khene has five different lai, or pentatonic modes with specific drone pitches, organized into two families. The thang san family includes laisutsanaen, lai po sai, and lai soi, while the thang yao family includes lai yai and lai noi. Lai po sai is considered to be the oldest of the modes and lai sutsanaen the "Father of the Lai Khaen." Khene can be played as a solo instrument, as part of an ensemble, or as an accompaniment to a Lao or Isan solo singer mor lam. Composers who have written notated music for the instrument include Annea Lockwood, Christopher Adler, David Loeb, Sidney Marquez Boquiren, Christopher Burns, Jinhee Han, H. James Harkins, Jeff Herriott, Vera Ivanova, and Yu Kuwabara.
Players
In Thailand, one of the top virtuoso khaen soloists is the blind musician Sombat Simla. The instrument has also attracted a few non-Asian performers, including University of San Diego professor Christopher Adler, who also composes for the instrument; English musician Clive Bell ; Vancouver-based composer/performer Randy Raine-Reusch, who played khaen on Aerosmith's Pump, Cranberries' To the Faithful Departed, and Yes's The Ladder ; and Jaron Lanier. Since the early 21st century, the California-born khaen player Jonny Olsen has achieved familiarity in Laos and Thailand by appearing on numerous Thai and Lao TV Shows and performing live concerts in Thailand and the U.S. Olsen is the first foreigner to win a khaen championship in Khon Kaen, Thailand in 2005. Stephen Molyneux has played the khaen on his releases The Arbitrary State, The Stars Are the Light Show, Wings and Circles, and in select live performances. Molyneux bought a khaen in Bangkok in 2010 after developing an interest in the instrument while traveling in Laos and Thailand.
Tuning
It has seven tones per octave, with intervals similar to that of the Western diatonic natural A-minor scale: A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. A khene can be made in a particular key but cannot be tuned after the reed is set and the pipes are cut.
