Weekly Wrap - Commencing Thursday the 13th October 2016

Preparing for lift off: Srey Channty of CSP – pic: supplied

The Cambodian Space Project will be touching down in Phnom Penh for a special gig at Institut français du Cambodge tonight. The combination of a large number of excitable French Institute students and CSP's dedicated and enthusiastic barang following will make for a very lively audience. This year, the Institut français invested in a brand new, kick-ass sound system - all the better to blast out those increasingly 'Kosmic' CSP guitar riffs. The band's latest studio album, Electric Blue Boogaloo, showcases a more raw and powerful sound than previous sets, via the sterling work of top U.S. record producer Jim Diamond. Space Commander Julien Poulson gave Leng Pleng the heads-up regarding the band's current flight plan:

“CSP's show tonight is a special one-off concert as part of the Institut Francais exhibition program of revivalist Cambodian pop culture. It's classic stripped down CSP line-up tonight with rhythm machines Bun Sophea and Bong Sak holding down the jungle big beat. It's also a time for CSP to take a year off international touring while the band concentrates on releasing the 'Spaced-Out in Bongland' LP and their 2nd full-length feature film 'They Came From Somewhere Else: The Cambodian Space Project' ”

Wow! Sounds like these guys are not ones to let the grass grow under their feet! Check out the Cambodian Space Project's early show tonight (Thursday) at Institut français du Cambodge in Phnom Penh, and check out the video below for a suitably Kosmic '1960's South-East Asian Flashback'!

Yab Moung Records is a home-grown Cambodian/expat recording imprint that gained international attention a couple of years ago in conjunction with bands such as Sliten6ix, No Forever, and ANTI-Fate. Yab Moung is putting on a show this Saturday at Showbox featuring Doch Chkae, Nightmare A.D. and brand-new artist Vartey Ganiva. In keeping with the Yab Moung style, all these bands play heavy, hardcore music of Cambodian origin. Note the early show time.

Later on Saturday, another new combination of musicians will debut at Oscar's On The Corner. The Seng Thoung Country and Western Swing Band is the latest two-stepping, barn-busting, fiddle-bending group of musicians headed up by Clay George. Lots of energetic Johnny Cash and Hank Williams covers will be performed in a style not seen in Phnom Penh since the last Grass Snake Union gig.

Early on Sunday, a group of young Cambodian musicians from Battambang and Siem Reap will be presenting Rock The Street – a concert featuring Khmer rock n roll classics. The show will take place at The Little Red Fox in Siem Reap and features, amongst others, members of Batbangers and Black Rock Band. As the event is being organised by the Phare organisation (Phare Ponleu Selpak), you can be sure that the performance will be something interesting and worthwhile.

Krom released the below video last week to accompany their original song 'From The Heart'. See if you can guess where the video was filmed!

Whatever you're up to over the next few days, stay safe out there and... see you around the traps!

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JOE WRIGLEY