Music release
Cambodian Rocks
Cambodian Rocks is a 1996 compilation of 22 Cambodian rock and pop songs from the late 1960s and early 1970s, first issued without titles or credits.[1][2]
About the release
The 22 songs mix psychedelic and garage rock with Cambodian circle dance music.[3][4][2] Most were recorded in the late 1960s and early 1970s.[1][4] The music joins Western rock and pop with Cambodian styles, Khmer vocal techniques, new ways of playing and the rhythms of the circle dance.[1][4] Cambodian scales and vocal styles sit over the American psychedelic rock that reached the region during the war in neighboring Vietnam.[2]
Yol Aularong's "Jeas Cyclo" opens with traditional Cambodian percussion and scales before it turns into organ-driven garage rock.[4] Some songs are Cambodian versions of Western hits. Yol Aularong's "Yuvajon Kouge Jet" is modeled on Them's "Gloria," and Sinn Sisamouth's "Srolanh Srey Touch" is a Cambodian take on Santana's "Black Magic Woman."[2][4] Ros Serey Sothea sings on most of the tracks in some way.[4]
The cover shows a charcoal rubbing from Angkor Wat.[1][2][3]
History of the release
The American traveler Paul Wheeler first heard the music on buses while traveling through Cambodia.[4] He went to bootleg tape booths and sang and hummed the songs to vendors so they could find the tapes he wanted.[4] In 1994 he bought about six cassettes in Siem Reap and made a mixtape of his favorite tracks.[1][3]
The underground reissue label Parallel World released the compilation in New York in 1996.[3] A limited vinyl pressing of 1,000 came first, followed by a longer CD edition with nine added tracks, reviewed in October 2001.[5][6] Stranger Fiction dates a rerelease to 2003, still with an anonymous track list.[2] Because no singers or song titles were named, the record was in effect an uncredited bootleg, and the label's failure to credit the artists or pay royalties to their families raised ethical questions.[2] The performers were later identified, largely through enthusiasts working together online and through the documentary Don't Think I've Forgotten.[2][7]
The musicians
The singers later identified on the album include Sinn Sisamouth, Ros Serey Sothea, Pan Ron (also spelled Pen Ran), Yol Aularong and Meas Samon.[8][7] Paul Wheeler compiled the album without any credits or information about the artists.[5][7] The scene they belonged to was destroyed by the Khmer Rouge.[4] Nearly every musician in Cambodian rock was killed by the Khmer Rouge or disappeared.[4] Ros Serey Sothea disappeared in the late 1970s and was almost certainly killed by the Khmer Rouge; the same is true of Pen Ran and Sinn Sisamouth. None of their remains have been found.[2]
Legacy
Loser City called the compilation more than a primer on the music, and a view of a scene wiped out before it could reach its full potential.[4] The album has been praised for its music and for its historical importance, and it revived international interest in Cambodian music.[2][3] Rolling Stone traces the documentary Don't Think I've Forgotten to the filmmaker John Pirozzi's 2001 trip to Cambodia, after which a friend sent him the compilation.[8]
Track list
The songs include "Jeas Cyclo" and "Yuvajon Kouge Jet" by Yol Aularong, "Chnum Oun 16" by Ros Serey Sothea, and "Srolanh Srey Touch" by Sinn Sisamouth.[4][2]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Wikipedia, Cambodian Rocks
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 Stranger Fiction, On Cambodian Rocks, a compilation of Cambodian psych rock from the 70s (February 26, 2021)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Firebird, Rock and the Regime (May 23, 2021)
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 Loser City, Today We Drink Wine: Looking Back at the Tragic History of Cambodian Pop (June 19, 2015)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Jack Boulware, Cambodian Rocks & Dengue Fever (November 12, 2024; first published in American Way, 2009)
- ↑ gullbuy, Patrick R, Cambodian Rocks (October 16, 2001)
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 CambodgeMag, Meas Samon, the Comedian Who Made 1970s Cambodia Laugh and Think (undated)
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Rolling Stone, Jason Newman, New Doc Examines Cambodia's Rich, Tragic Music History (April 28, 2015)