Krom
Monster is
an experimental musical fusion of traditional
Khmer instruments with electronically-produced
sounds.
Sour Vanna
on Gong
Tum
(an
array of cymbals arranged
in a circle),
Chamroeun Phan
on Tro
Sao
(a
bowed, violin-like
instrument) and
Lun Panith
on Ksae
Diew
(a
plucked string attached to a half-shell) combine
with avant-garde
electronica
music produced
by David Gunn
(on his laptop).
The band, not to be confused
with Phnom Penh based 'noir' group Krom,
will be performing a brace of concerts at Meta
House
this week. Check
out the Vimeo and Soundcloud links below. The
highly atmospheric and captivating music of Krom
Monster can
be heard live at
Meta this
coming Friday and again on Wednesday.
Amanda
Bloom is celebrating the
completion of her second album, entitled Atlas
- Journey of Hope,
with
a special show at FCC
– The Mansion on
Saturday night. Amanda is a completely original artist – combining
virtuoso piano and vocal skills on
her
own classical-world-fusion compositions. She is joined at the
concert by regular collaborators Tara
Mar
(cello), Michele
Bowen
(bassoon) and Malaysian drumming legend Lewis
Pragasam
(percussion). Amanda
told Leng
Pleng:
"I'm
really excited to be playing with my trio again after a really hectic
year. We've all been off doing various things... Michele had a baby,
I went to Nashville and India... this is a really special gig for us
to be back together again and doing what we love the most... playing
for audiences."
As a bonus, Amanda has persuaded Conrad Keely (of U.S. band ...Trail of Dead) to give a rare solo piano set and superb newcomer Clayton England to perform some of his original compositions. This gig has all the makings of a great Phnom Penh night: a group of incredibly good musicians hailing from several different countries, playing new and inspired original music, in an evocative outdoor setting.
Julien
Poulson of The
Cambodian Space
Project (CSP)
has been busy in Kampot over
the last few weeks, transforming an old building into the home of
KAMA (Kampot Arts and Music Association). Never
one to sit idle for more than thirty seconds at a time, Julien has
also found time to form a
new band, The Bokor Mountain Magic Band,
before the return of CSP for their upcoming
5th
Anniversary shows. In
Julien's own words:
“KAMA
is a new initiative
to nurture, mentor, promote and present contemporary artists and
musicians in Cambodia and abroad. We're creating a great venue space
and an annual program as well as fund raising via Indie Go Go to make
all this happen... Out
of KAMA, we also have a brand
new act called The
Bokor
Mountain Magic
Band...
preparing to première
in Phnom Penh on Saturday at the Latin Quarter.”
I
will
be spending most of my weekend crammed into a Cambodian public coach
with The Jumping
Jacks
as we take
a spin up to Siem Reap and Battambang, hitting Laundry
Bar on
Friday and Here Be
Dragons on
Saturday. Credit to Dragons
for
pushing
the
boundaries of the Battambang music scene and getting bands up there
to play events (previous
Dragons
shows include gigs by Kampot
Playboys and
Cambodian Space
Project).
Cambodia's second city has a thriving arts scene but does not
see anything like the level of tourist footfall required to support
regular
live music gigs. The
Jacks will be joined at Dragons
by Khmer songstress Miss
Sarawan
and Australian solo artist Tim
Hall.
Tim is perhaps Battambang's best kept secret – a seasoned performer
and storyteller of a
very
high calibre. I
hope to see the entire town turn up for the event on Saturday!
Back
in Phnom Penh this
weekend, a couple of interesting Sunday
daytime
gigs require
a mention.
From
9 until 11am, A group of Khmer musicians led by Min
Bona
will play traditional instruments at Wat
Ounalom
(on Sothearos Boulevard near the FCC). There will also be instruments
on display until 5pm. From
1pm at the Cambodia-Korea
Cooperation Center,
a host of young Cambodian stars including Jimmy
Kiss and
Nikki Nikki
will perform
a fund-raising concert
for Pour
un Sourire d'Enfant (PSE) – a non-profit
organisation that supports children in Cambodia.
Whatever
you're up to over the next few days, enjoy the music and... see you
around the traps!
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