The gloriously
unpredictable Phnom Penh music scene shifts into high gear again this
week. Highlights include a visit from one of the most important
DJs in the history of hip-hop music and the 8th birthday
bash of a seminal arts and music centre.
With gigs being thin on
the ground last weekend, I left Timothy to man the helm at Leng Pleng
Towers and ventured into the countryside for a few days. With
Television Ted still off wrestling crocodiles in Australia, I thought
I stood a good chance of getting my expenses for the trip written off
by the nice lady in the Leng Pleng accounts department. Hopefully she
will sign off on the hire bill for the 250cc Honda Degree (and the
subsequent repair bill) together with my accommodation costs. It was
a work trip, after all. I spent a couple of days and nights
researching the music scene in Kirirom National Park, Kampong Speu –
350 square kilometres of beautiful, mountainous woodlands, lakes,
rivers and waterfalls.
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The author
...or is it
Jack Diamond?
|
On the second night, I
was beginning to worry that the only live music available in Kirirom
forest was that provided by the plethora of birds singing night and
day. Fortunately, I stumbled quite by chance upon a happy
hardcore/techno 'all-nighter' taking place in the very hamlet in
which I was staying. As luck would have it, the tall stacks of
speakers erected next to the village temple were powerful enough to
wake me from my early slumber in a nearby wooden house. In fact, the
DJ played so loud that I was able to enjoy the entirety of the
seven-hour set from the comfort of my room. I guessed that the other
residents of the village were wholly enjoying the set from their houses too – nobody complained or otherwise disturbed the small
congregation of hardcore revellers dancing around the speakers. I did
drift into a shallow sleep a couple of times when the music went
quiet for a few minutes, despite the chilly mountain climate and the
unforgiving nature of the hard wooden bench I called a bed.
Fortunately the DJ soon woke me up again each time I fell asleep -
dropping some huge Khmer anthem or an extremely fast and distorted
hardcore beat. Thanks for an epic night, DJ Kirirom.
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DJ Mix Master Mike
will be making a special appearance at D-Club
next Wednesday evening. This
is something of a coup for the Phnom Penh venue, who have managed to
grab the legendary US hip-hop figure as he makes his way to Hong Kong
for a gig the following night.
Leng Pleng would advise the purchase of an advance ticket from the
venue. Mix Master Mike,
both as a solo artist and as a member of Invisibl
Skratch Piklz and The
Beastie Boys, was
a pioneering
figure in the emergence
of 'turntablism' – where DJ
decks and
mixer are transformed from
things that play music into
things that create music. In
the 1990's,
Mike won the DMC World DJ Championships three years in a row before
withdrawing to become a judge of the contest. Check
out his skills via the video below.
Meta
House are throwing a
party this Saturday to celebrate eight years in Phnom Penh. As
readers of our sister publication www.kumnooh.com
will know, the German Cambodian
Cultural Center
has always been at the heart of the modern arts and film scene in
Cambodia as well as being a centre for education, a bar, nightclub,
restaurant and a music venue. If you have had anything at all to do with
the arts in Cambodia over the last few years, you probably will have met Nico, Johannes,
Richard and the rest of the team at Meta.
Thanks
guys and well done! DJs from Kimchi
Collective will
be making sure the party is rocking on Saturday.
Rhiannon Johnson always seems to pick the very best musicians around to join her on stage: Phil Javelle on keyboards, Stephane Routtier or Euan Gray on saxophone, Toma Willen on drums. This weekend the Rhiannon Johnson Quintet will be in action on two occasions – catch the band at Doors Phnom Penh on Friday and again at Metro Azura restaurant in Tuol Kork on Saturday for some excellent funky jazz and soul.
Rhiannon Johnson always seems to pick the very best musicians around to join her on stage: Phil Javelle on keyboards, Stephane Routtier or Euan Gray on saxophone, Toma Willen on drums. This weekend the Rhiannon Johnson Quintet will be in action on two occasions – catch the band at Doors Phnom Penh on Friday and again at Metro Azura restaurant in Tuol Kork on Saturday for some excellent funky jazz and soul.
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Rhiannon Johnson |
Kok Thlok
are so lively and vibrant on stage they sometimes seem like a rowdy
extended family. One never knows how many band members to expect –
often finding ten or more players and singers performing their
own style of classic Khmer rock'n'roll fusion. Enjoy Kok Thlok in the
splendid surroundings of Cabaret
on
Friday night. Also at Cabaret, Mathias
Aspelin and
Alan Breen
will
start the weekend early with an
evening of
excellent
jazz on
Thursday.
Take it easy and… see you around the traps!
Yo Bro, Happy birthday. I wish I could have stayed around an extra week to hang with you for your birthday. Enjoy dood! !!
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