Cambodia's Lost Rock and Roll


... As the peasant Khmer Rouge army closed in on the capital city of Phnom Penh, Cambodian rock and rollers played at rooftop parties while bombs ignited the evening sky.


Sieng Vanthy, former lead singer and Go Go Girl.

http://dontthinkiveforgotten.com/synopsis/index.htm

During the 60's and early 70's, as the war in Vietnam threatened its borders, a new music scene emerged in Cambodia that took Western rock and roll and stood it on its head-creating a sound like no other.

Cambodian musicians crafted this sound from the various rock music styles sweeping across America and England, adding the unique melodies and hypnotic rhythms of their traditional music. The beautiful singing of the renowned female vocalists became the final touch that made this mix so enticing.

As the peasant Khmer Rouge army closed in on the capital city of Phnom Penh, Cambodian rock and rollers played at rooftop parties while bombs ignited the evening sky.

On April 17, 1975, after taking over the country, the Khmer Rouge began one of the most brutal genocides in history, killing 2 million people - 1/4 of the Cambodian population. Intellectuals, artists and musicians were murdered simply for their status. Only a few miraculously survived to tell their story.

This documentary film, "Don't Think I've Forgotten," provides a new perspective on a country usually assocated with war and genocide. By celebrating this powerful music, and the people who created it, Cambodia's musical heyday emerges from the shadows of tragedy into the light of history.

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YouTube trailer:

YouTube - Don't Think I've Forgotten (Cambodia's Lost Rock And Roll)

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Ruppert Bottenberg has an interesting article about the band Dengue Fever.

"I asked myself why Americans would be interested in Cambodian music,” recalls Ch’hom, a Cambodian-born 20-something from a celebrated musical family back home, who was working the Cambodian community’s wedding-singer circuit over here. “I didn’t think they were lying to me, though. They were the first to listen to and play a Cambodian style of music here.”
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Via Sethpian's MOG, Cambodian Surf Rock MP3 Downloads here


Posted: Fri - February 2, 2007 at 10:58 PM            

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