Creator
Baksey Cham Krong (band)
Baksey Cham Krong was a Cambodian guitar band formed in 1959 by the teenage brothers Mol Kagnol and Mol Kamach.[1][2] It is often called Cambodia's first guitar band, and it helped start the Cambodian rock of the 1960s.[3][4] The band took its name from a temple at Angkor.[5][6] Its name is also spelled Baksei Cham Krung and Baksey Chamkrong.[4][7]
History
Mol Kagnol played lead guitar. He took his lead from instrumental groups such as the Ventures, which he heard on shortwave radio, and the Shadows, while Mol Kamach modeled his singing on crooners such as Paul Anka.[5][1] Mol Kagnol has said that he came to the electric guitar by accident.[6] At first the group had no bass player, and from 1962 it performed as a band of three guitars.[1][4] Hong Samley, later a founder of the Bayon Band, was also a member.[8]
The band began on the stages of Phnom Penh's high schools and went on to play on national radio. It sang in French and in Khmer.[5] The Chanchhaya label released two of its records, in 1963 and 1964, and "Pleine Lune" became a hit.[5][9] The Big Issue describes the instrumental "B.C.K." as a hit that drew screaming teenage fans.[7] The band's success inspired a wave of other guitar groups.[1]
The brothers broke up the band to go to university, and they last played together in Cambodia in 1967.[1][10][11] Mol Kagnol later produced a record for the band Drakkar in a makeshift studio at his family's home.[10]
Mol Kagnol was on a test-pilot course in the United States when the Khmer Rouge took power in 1975, and both brothers lived through the regime outside Cambodia.[6][1][5]
Revival
When the filmmaker John Pirozzi was making Don't Think I've Forgotten: Cambodia's Lost Rock and Roll, the people he interviewed named Baksey Cham Krong as the first band. Mol Kagnol then came forward with original records and photographs of the group.[10] The band is featured in the film.[4] For its United States premiere in April 2015, three of the four original members played together again at City Winery in New York.[11][6]
In 2016 the label Akuphone reissued the two early records, under license from the brothers.[9][5]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Phoenix New Times, Jason P. Woodbury, Music Documentary Traces Cambodia's Lost Musical History (May 26, 2015)
- ↑ Cambodian Vintage Music Archive, The Legendary Singers (undated)
- ↑ Phnom Penh Post, Long-awaited film tells the tale of Cambodia's musical 'golden age' (January 10, 2014)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Argot Pictures, Don't Think I've Forgotten: Cambodia's Lost Rock and Roll, press kit (April 6, 2015)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Akuphone, Je te quitterai, Mol Kamach and Baksey Cham Krong (reissue notes, 2016)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Democracy Now!, "Don't Think I've Forgotten" Uncovers Cambodia's Rock 'n' Roll Era Before the Khmer Rouge (April 24, 2015)
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 The Big Issue, Dee Peyok, How the Twist ignited Cambodia's musical golden age (March 26, 2023)
- ↑ The Cambodia Daily, Alice Cuddy, Rock 'n' Roll Documentary Has World Premiere in Phnom Penh (January 13, 2014)
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Akuphone, Ne Penser Qu'à Toi, Mol Kamach and Baksey Cham Krong (September 5, 2016)
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Vice, Lauren Oyler, 'Don't Think I've Forgotten' Documents the Cambodian Rock Scene, Pre-Khmer Rouge (June 2, 2015)
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Phnom Penh Post, Brent Crane, Khmer 'golden age' rock finds a US fanbase on tour (May 15, 2015)