Jimmy Kiss is a 28
year-old singer-songwriter from Phnom Penh. JACK DIAMOND spent a
fascinating hour with Jimmy before his smash performance with
Songkites at The
Amazing Acoustic Picnic II. In
his first full
English-language interview,
Jimmy talked about joining Dub Addiction;
the lessons he has learned from his famous singing father; and why he
is happy to be known as 'The Wildman' of the Cambodian music scene.
All photographs courtesy of Jimmy Kiss.
All photographs courtesy of Jimmy Kiss.
Who is Jimmy Kiss?
I
was born and live in Phnom Penh. However, I spend more time in the
Cambodian jungle and other places around Cambodia than I do in Phnom
Penh. I do a lot of travelling around Cambodia because I work as a
tour leader. I take customers of the tour company around Cambodia. I
often take foreigners from Laos, Phnom Penh, and Siem Reap. The
feeling I
have when I am
in the jungle, compared
to being in
the city, is so different. I
am too young to live in the jungle now but
if I have enough money from playing music
I
will go back to the jungle life
and
write
songs.
Your
hairstyle is quite different...
Most
Cambodians don't
wear
their
hair long.
I
don't understand why
they don't
like curly hair because,
as you may
know,
you can go to Angkor Wat and see
lots of
carvings
that
have
curly hair like mine.
If you go to the provinces then
there are a
lot of guys that
have
curly hair but I wear it long – so people say 'you look different'.
My father has the same hair.
Which area of Cambodia
do you like to visit on your tours?

When
people think
about Kiriom mountain it is
usually about the
Cham
Bok community or
about the waterfall and pine
trees.
However,
when I arrived there I met a Khmer Rouge family and
we became friends – probably because I brought my small ukulele.
I
asked them a lot about their land
and their home
and, as
such,
we found a lot of beautiful places
which
other
people
don't know about. When people go to
Kirirom
they just go to the
pagoda
and the
waterfall
but there are
also
some
places
there
called Jerooa P'dat Chivet and Tmor Loy – they
are
so beautiful. We also
found
a
place called L'ang Cheeum D'ap - 'bleeding cave'. There
is a
lot of blood on the stones.
I want all the schools in Cambodia to give students the opportunity
to spend more time in the jungle and to not feel so scared when they
are there.. I want the students to love the music of the birds and
the trees and to learn how beautiful life is next to the jungle.
When
you sleep in the jungle, the sounds
that you never hear in Phnom Penh will appear to your ear. Relaxing
sounds, meditation
sounds. That's why I like to stay in the jungle more than Phnom Penh
because it helps create my
songs. I usually
take a small ukulele and
when I get there I forget
everything about Phnom Penh. There
are good smells,
beautiful views,
the feeling of smiling faces around you
and this creates a good
environment for writing new
songs.
There are so many
sounds of birds
in the jungle and they are
all so different. These
sounds
make music in your brain automatically. The sound of an animal [makes
animal sound] becomes...
[sings] 'Baby I'm Sorry'.
Can
you remember the first song you wrote?
'Jom-riang
Thmei Jam Srey Vilvinh'
- It means 'A New Song is
Waiting for
You When
You Come Back'. I was a Christian, I was in a church and a team of
people from Singapore came to
meet us. It was the
first time for me to
see a foreigner. Then a spirit came into my brain, it was the first
time I made a new song. I made that song and I thought
'I hope she's coming back' then I will show the song to her - but she
never came back ! I was around 19 or 20 years old. I'm 28 years old
now. I have loved singing
since I was a very small
child.
My
father was a very famous singer before
the
Khmer Rouge period.
Unfortunately, he
had to burn all his albums and photos and throw
them
in the river. He
did this
to protect his life. If
they had
known that
he was a famous singer then they would have
killed
him. So
he cut off his hair and made his skin very dirty and
no-one
knew he was a famous singer. He's still alive today.
Now he is
62 years
old.
I think people of his age will
know
him well.
His name is Vor Sarun. 'Bontorng Ksaey Ko Sak Seiy', that's his song. Also a very famous one is 'Maxi Songha'.
It's hard for me to
understand his life. Some television channels ask him to perform and
some bands ask him to join them but it seems that he just wants to be
a farmer. He lives on the Kirirom mountain and has a farm. He enjoys
working with his tractor and his cow. He enjoys that life. Maybe it
is the Pol Pot period that made him feel that way. He used to be a
very famous singer but after the Pol Pot period he changed a lot.
Most of his friends and his band were killed by the Khmer Rouge.
Maybe this broke his heart. He
still likes singing
and
he taught me a lot about how to do
it.
He
also
taught
me a lot about how to be a good person for Cambodia, but he doesn't
care much for
singing
in
public
any more - for
me I love it. I have to do it!
My
father taught me how to sing and he showed me 'the
feeling of the singer'.
He said it's very important to put real soul into
the song. Sometimes if you lose your
confidence on stage then the
song is not your song at all - it becomes something else. The
most important thing is that you have to put the real story into your
soul and then you feel that 'oh, it's my problem' and then your heart
beats at the right speed. Sometimes I cry when I sing. I
use
emotion - it's very important.
![]() |
Jimmy's Father, Vor Sarun |
I
have
played
music for 6 years. The
most amazing time for me on stage was the first time I sung with
Bobby Michaels
[American Gospel singing star, did
a lot of Christian 'Musicianary'
work
in Cambodia and Asia up until his death in March 2009]. It was
at a concert for Khmer
for Crisis.
I
sang a song called
You Raise Me Up.
I
was very nervous as this was the
first time I
had ever sang
in front of an audience. Bobby told me to take a deep breath and hold
it and
then I would feel confident. It worked! It
was the an
amazing because, for the
first time in my life, I could
sing with love inside my
heart and
have
confidence
on stage.
![]() |
Bobby Michaels |
Also,
I
used
to sing with Philippe
Javelle
at
the
Topaz Restaurant.
I
would
sing
my own original songs,
Sinn Sisamouth songs, and
Western
songs with
him. We would sing
about ten songs per day then I would
go
home. My
father also
taught
me Western songs. 'If
you want to be a famous singer then
you have to learn Hotel
California'.
If
I sing that song then
I have to make sure that
I have
had enough sleep and done enough
exercise. There is not much space for breathing in that song.
When
I see you sing, it's like watching an Opera singer, you sing with
your whole body, very loud. You start by holding the microphone next
to your stomach, then bring
it up to your mouth and throw your head back.
Most singers
haven't got that kind of power...
I
also need
to make sure I get
enough sleep
and exercise on
the day of a performance. This is very important for a singer. When
you exercise you make your lungs bigger and stronger. You have to be
bigger than the song. 'Baby I'm Sorry'
is a
difficult
song
because
it
has high notes.
I have to practice
so that I feel that I
can reach the notes.
If
we do a lot of preparation like this then it is easier to sing.
You
have to be more than the song and
then you can control the song. You can do more because your lungs
are
bigger.
I will feel scared if I don't sleep enough the
night before the performance. I have to do exercise like Bobby
Michaels
taught me - take a breath and
hold it for a long time. Then I feel good and
confident.
Push-ups are good idea – doing push-ups and taking long breaths.
Then you hold it and come down again. You make your lungs bigger and
stronger. When we sing, we also need to know where is our sound? In
Cambodia we call it the 'ghost sound' and 'original sound'. Ghost
sound is high and original sound is like speaking. When you find it
you can make original sound and ghost sound together. It's not easy.
Tell
me more about the Songkites project...
Philippe
told
me about Songkites. I
then
went to have interview and
I
became a member. There are ten members of Songkites
and
we meet once or twice a week to make a workshop and brainstorm.
It's
very important to see each other once per week. It's been going
around 3 months. I love Songkites
so much - it's
like we
are a
family. They offer
a lot of experience to
Khmer people. I know how to make a song but I don't have much
experience. As
you may
know,
we don't have a lot
of
good quality of musicians
in Cambodia
because of the Khmer Rouge
period.
So
the people involved -
Euan Gray,
Charlie Corrie,
Philippe
and Sebastien
[Adnot]
use
Songkites
to help with this problem.
I have
gained a
lot of experience from
what they have told me.
What
they bring for Cambodian people is the real thing.
Songkites
has
given me a lot of motivation for new songs. The
songs come
to me
like a storm. I have written around
30 of my own songs, but, for
now,
I have
only performed to
people around
fifteen
songs. For New Song Production
I gave
them about ten
songs. People use them for recordings. It
seems that
trying
to
sell
new songs does
not meet with a lot of success -
maybe Cambodians like cover songs.
I
write
songs not
only
for Songkites
but
also for
other organisations. For
example, I
am also
a
freelance artist manager at JTone
Productions.
I also
made
a movie called Kon Dap Dia Krung Pas Jong
Kung Jun Na Bot.
It
was released around 3 months ago. I am also
a
Bokator
[Cambodian
Boxing] student.
I was
a
boxer for about
one
year but I
did not do this on
television because my family did not like
it.
Generally
I just went
to the provinces
to fight.
Can
you see yourself as a star?

How
did the Dub Addiction collaboration happen?
I like that kind of music so much but I had never had experience with
it before. Sebastien and Jan [Mueller] called me to
join the band and it was like 'wow!' Surprising, exciting. I like it.
We just started right around the same time as Songkites.
Sebastien was helping Songkites by playing bass. We
talked with each other and then we made a song together. They had
already made some very beautiful music and they asked me if I could
do something. I just took the microphone, closed my eyes and said
'let me use my soul'. The music happened to me. I put the new melody
to it and lyrics at the same time. They said 'Wow! You can do it...
can you join the band?'
I do sing traditional music also. I try a traditional style with Dub
Addiction. Traditional music is not only wedding music but also
Sinn Sisamouth songs. Sinn Sisamouth used to put a lot of traditional
instruments in his songs. Sinn Sisamouth would sing the Khmer
Oeurn style - it means the style of going up and down [in
tone]. Jror Lorng Sek Meas is my favourite song - it is
so beautiful. Sinn Sisamouth mixes the Khmer instruments with the
Khmer singing style. Like monks, we sometimes don't need instruments
– it is beautiful just with singing.
My father said the most important thing is knowing what we are
singing. If you are Khmer you have to know your Khmer style and then
when you mix it with western style it will sound like something
interesting. Now, with Dub Addiction, for the first time I am
mixing Khmer style with a western style. My first dream has been
realised!
Jimmy Kiss plays
Slur Bar with Dub Addiction
on Friday the 21st
February, together with Wat A Gwaan
and headliners Reggae Rajahs. On
Saturday 1st
March Jimmy performs at 'Big Folk'
music festival at Doors Phnom Penh. See
more of the 'Wildman' at the Songkites album launch concert later
in March (stay tuned to Leng
Pleng for details).
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