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The Kings of Skank
Jahzad
is a name associated with many good memories. Readers
new to Leng Pleng
may
now be thinking something along the lines of 'what
is a Jahzad?' Those who have
been around Phnom Penh a little while
longer will recall famously fantastic gigs at Latin
Quarter, Equinox
and the FCC.
Why does 2013 feel like such
a long time ago? Jahzad
is one of those band names
uttered fondly by expats during
late-night drinking sessions: 'What ever happened to those great
bands... Grass Snake Union, Mekong Pirates and... that really amazing
Jazz-Ska fusion ensemble that we used to dance all night to...?'
Well, for one night at least, Sebastien Adnot's
'dream team' of genre-busting ace musicians are back at Doors
Phnom Penh. Euan
Gray (sax), Alex
Scarpati (trombone),
Phil Javelle
(sax), Jan 'Professor
Kinski' Mueller
(guitar) and Toma
Willen (drums) will
join Seb (upright bass) for
a Friday night session. The band are directly inspired by the music of the
Skatalites, which comprises
of high-powered, jazz-inspired horn arrangements married to
irresistible, high-tempo Jamaican rhythms. If
this music doesn't move you...
Back to Mothership Earth
The
Cambodian Space Project formed
in Phnom Penh nearly six years ago and
have been going from
strength-to-globe-trotting-strength ever since. Their sister group,
Bokor Mountain Magic Band (BMMB),
perform a similar brand of
psychedelic Cambodian space-rock. BMMB
will be playing a special show at FCC
– The Mansion in
Phnom Penh this Friday night. The event will be filmed by
a production team from
Vice.com – this
could be a great chance to
have your funky moves captured for all the world to see!
Leng Pleng
has even heard a rumour
that the FCC
will be installing an
awning to protect the band and audience from any potential rainstorms
– a
smart move
for an outdoor music venue in Cambodia in the rainy season and
an improvement on the previous strategy of 'let's hope it doesn't
rain'. BMMB and CSP
wing-commander Julien
Poulson telegrammed
this brief communiqué:
 |
| CSP in the UK - pic: CSP Facebook |
“CSP tour in the UK has been absolutely brilliant. We've added a second guitarist, Jason Shaw, a Scot who has recently moved to Kampot. Also a horn section. All this ended up being recorded and broadcast live by BBC3 at WOMAD and sounded blimmin' marvellous. Other news is that CSP's newest album 'Electric Blue Boogaloo' is now available on CD and we'll have copies on sale in Cambodia from next week.”
Cheers,
Julien. Bokor Mountain Magic Band will
continue their
rocking journey with a home-coming gig at KAMA in Kampot on Saturday
night. Meanwhile, Miss Sarawan Band
will be extending the Cambodian 'Golden Era' vibe at FCC
– The Mansion.
Ultra-cute twin sisters Lay Mealea
and Lay Mealai will
be performing on Saturday
with a full band including
guest tro (an instrument described as the 'Khmer violin')
player Om Ton.
Bat'Bangers Band will be rocking Sharky Bar on
Saturday night. These four fresh-faced young guys from Battambang
play modern, high-energy Khmer-language rock'n'roll with a great deal
of exuberance. Bat'Bangers Band are relatively new to
the Cambodian music scene but have already toured the length and
breadth of The Kingdom.
 |
Fare-thee-well, our Scoddy
Best
Leng Pleng wishes and
good luck to Scott Bywater
as he prepares to leave
Cambodia following a very
productive few months of
music-making. Knowing 'Scoddy', it will only be a matter of time
before he swings by these
traps again. Before
he steps on to that big bus, however,
there will be enough
time to see him perform a farewell solo gig at Farm To
Table on Friday evening, a
mixed-media poetry show, The Stones Are Awake, at Meta House
on Saturday and at the Sunday
Sundowners
open-mic session at Alley
Cat Cafe.
Attend all three gigs to win a signed book of poetry by
Scott
Bywater
(unconfirmed).
 | ||
| 'Scoddy' at Showbox with Andre Swart. pic: Show Box Facebook |
Rockin' on in Kompong Som
Brooke Palmer is
a talented singer-songwriter from the U.S.A. She gave up a 'cushy
expat life' in Shanghai to hit the road, armed only with 'one big
backpack and one ukulele'! ('Traveling Uke' YouTube channel). Like
many other musicians travelling through Asia, Brooke soon discovered
the irresistible charms of the Cambodian lifestyle and last year
settled in Sihanoukville.
Since then, she has been lighting up Kompong Som music spots with her
beautiful and powerful voice and tiny instrument. Brooke
Palmer told Leng
Pleng
how
she
keeps working even during
the 'low season':
“I'm busy because I'm kind of the only regularly working musician around! I'm very versatile because I play a really wide variety of music and try to play 'to the people' and keep things accessible. The scene is very supportive and friendly. It seems like a lot more businesses are getting going with live music now because they want to get set up for high season. I like low season because there is not so much 'noise' - you get to know people and businesses better. There are still a lot of musicians around who want to jam and we've had a lot of very talented travellers come through... so there's still some variety.”
Brooke Palmer performs weekly at Utopia, Led
Zephyr and Wish You Were Here in Sihanoukville. Keep
up-to-date by checking the 'regular gigs' section of the Leng
Pleng Gig Guide and follow Brooke's adventures via her
Facebook page and YouTube channel. Check out the video above to hear
an original Brooke Palmer song.
Whatever you're up to over the next few days, stay safe out there and... see you around the traps!
CLICK HERE FOR LATEST GIGS
Joe Wrigley
CLICK HERE FOR LATEST GIGS
Joe Wrigley
