= Live Music 
= DJs 
= Open Mic 
= Live Music & DJ * = International
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| Phil Javelle - pic courtesy of artist |
Phil
Javelle is
a long-established member of the Cambodian music scene
– expertly navigating different venues and styles.
On
any
given night,
he
might begin with a
jazz trio in a five-star hotel, continue with an
intimate solo dinnertime set in a fabulous restaurant, and conclude
with a raucous DJ collaboration in a crowded nightclub. He is just as
comfortable behind the piano
keyboard as he is on clarinet, saxophone, lead vocals or
percussion. This Thursday night finds him in a cosy and elegant spot
called The Alley Bar
near the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh. Phil modestly describes the
evening's musical
program as 'mostly
acoustic pop tunes, just me and my piano'.
The tempo increases on
Friday night with the launch of the beautifully-designed new Phnom
Penh venue Duplex on St.
278. Phil will be blowing tenor saxophone with DJ
Shaman.
DJs Bluesabelle
and Illest
are also in attendance to entertain what promises to be a very large
contingent of the city's finest movers, shakers and party-makers.
Television
Ted and I will try to
slip in via the service entrance. No word yet of any plans for live
bands at Duplex
but, as always, watch this space for any developments.
A
great
line-up of bands and musicians gather at Oscar
Rock Cafe
this Saturday night to pay tribute to,
and
celebrate with,
the
very
determined
Oscar. The road to success has not always been smooth for the Street
51 venue and Oscar has not made a secret of the setbacks he has
encountered in trying to keep his place going. As long as the Rock
Cafe
doors are open, however, there will be a great stage available for
local bands to perform on and
a uniquely unpretentious live music destination for late-night
gig-goers. It may not be to everyone's taste, but the bar provides a
refreshing alternative to the clean, modern, homogeneous
hospitality-industry
developments
overtaking Phnom Penh. If David Lynch makes his next movie in
Cambodia, Oscar
Rock Cafe
might serve as a choice location for the nightclub scene. Smokin'
Kenny Smith,
Pavel Ramirez,
Joe Wrigley,
Miss Sarawan,
3Some and
the man himself Oscar
join
forces on Saturday to try and breathe a bit of life into the venue.
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| Oscar Rock Cafe - pic courtesy of venue |
Sometimes the best live
music experience is found in the most intimate or unlikely places.
Kheltica perform a special
gig at Le Temps des
Cerises
earlier
on Saturday evening. The first set will consist of Arabic music
performed on guitar, djembe and flute – see the sneak preview video
below, courtesy of Kheltica
bass-man Andre
Swart.
Afterwards the band will add several more instruments to render their
own special take on Celtic folk music.
Brazilian
drummer and percussionist Luis
Arambarri
(playing the djembe drum in the above video) is an expert on Latin
music. The former professional dancer has assembled a new trio
comprising of piano, bass guitar and drums to bring some authentic
bossa-nova, Brazilian and Cuban music to Cambodia. Leon
Kondo and
Dima Verba
complete Luis Latin
Trio –
making their début
at
Slur
Bar this
Saturday before heading to Doors
Phnom Penh
for a show on Wednesday evening.
 |
| Luis Latin Trio - pic courtesy of artist |
The
Phnom Penh music scene loses (only
temporarily,
we hope) one of it's best-loved members this week as Troy
Campbell
departs for the U.S.A. The Austin, Texas-bound drummer elevated every
open mic in town to a new level of musicianship over the last few
months by showing up and grabbing whatever drum set, boxtop or random
item of furniture he could find and pounding out hours of musical
rhythms. Happily addicted to making beats, Troy could rarely tear
himself away from the jam for more than one song at a time – and
the jam sessions will be much the worse without him.
Finally,
a big shout out to our everyone
taking
part in the Cambodian
Music Festival
in Hollywood this weekend. As
stated
below in the fantastic video
by Sok
Visal's
391 Films: 'You
can focus on the dark
and dirty background...
or
you can focus on the light and beauty in front of you.
Respect
to all the individuals and organisations promoting Khmer Culture,
Arts and Positive Initiatives. Peace, Love and Unity'.
The
track is called 'Don't forget the Sound of the Cambo Land' by the
very talented UK artist Gobshite.
Until next time, stay safe out there and... see you around the traps!
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