Creator
Yol Aularong
Yol Aularong was a Cambodian singer and songwriter of the Cambodian rock era, known for garage rock songs with a satirical edge. His best-known song, "Jeas Cyclo", is about the cycle-rickshaw drivers of Phnom Penh.[1][2] His name is also romanized as Yol Aularang and Yos Olarang.[3][4]
Career
The press kit for the documentary Don't Think I've Forgotten: Cambodia's Lost Rock and Roll names him as one of the new rising stars of 1970.[3] He came up with the wave of psychedelic garage rock of the early 1970s, and The Big Issue calls him a proto-punk star.[5] The Cambodian Vintage Music Archive describes him as a leader of the garage rock scene and says his songs were noted for social commentary.[1]
Most songs of the period were love songs. The filmmaker John Pirozzi has said that Yol Aularong stood out by writing sarcastic songs.[6] Cambodge Mag writes that the scholar LinDa Saphan counts him as one of just two songwriters of that generation who truly wrote social satire.[4]
"Jeas Cyclo"
He wrote and recorded "Jeas Cyclo" (Cyclo Riding).[7][3] The Diplomat dates the song to 1974 and calls it one of the most lasting pop hits of the years after independence. In the song, cyclo driving is poorly paid work but a vital part of the city's transport.[2]
Other songs credited to him as singer and composer include "Navany" and "Rather Die Under the Woman's Sword", and he sang "Whiskey, Whiskey".[3]
Fate
Cambodge Mag writes that he was last seen leaving Phnom Penh with his mother on April 17, 1975, during the forced evacuation of the city.[4] The Cambodian Vintage Music Archive presumes that he died under the Khmer Rouge between 1975 and 1979.[1]
Legacy
Western listeners came to his music through the compilation Cambodian Rocks, released in 1996.[4] Writers name him among the artists who defined Cambodian rock, together with Sinn Sisamouth and Ros Sereysothea.[8] He is one of the singers featured in John Pirozzi's documentary Don't Think I've Forgotten (2014).[3][9]
In Lauren Yee's play Cambodian Rock Band, first staged at South Coast Repertory in California in 2018, "Jeas Cyclo" is the signature song of the fictional band the Cyclos.[7] Present-day bands such as the Kampot Playboys play his songs.[10]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Cambodian Vintage Music Archive, The Legendary Singers (undated)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Diplomat, Laurie Parsons, Going Nowhere Fast: The Plight of Phnom Penh's Traditional Transport Workers (June 29, 2016)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Argot Pictures, Don't Think I've Forgotten: Cambodia's Lost Rock and Roll, press kit (April 6, 2015)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Cambodge Mag, Yol Aularong, the Forgotten Rebel of 1970s Khmer Rock (September 7, 2026)
- ↑ The Big Issue, Dee Peyok, How the Twist ignited Cambodia's musical golden age (March 26, 2023)
- ↑ Phnom Penh Post, Long-awaited film tells the tale of Cambodia's musical 'golden age' (January 10, 2014)
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Washington City Paper, Ian Thal, Cambodian Rock Band Captures Rock 'n' Roll Genocide (July 31, 2023)
- ↑ South China Morning Post, Marissa Carruthers, Cambodia's psychedelic rock enters new phase, inspired by golden age of 1960s and '70s (February 24, 2016)
- ↑ Phnom Penh Post, Brent Crane, Khmer 'golden age' rock finds a US fanbase on tour (May 15, 2015)
- ↑ South China Morning Post, Cambodia's golden age of rock revisited by bands putting their own spin on pre-Khmer Rouge classics (June 17, 2018)