It’s not pop music: the rise of the Funan Beat Empire
Funan Beat Empire grew from the combined imaginations of Adrien Gayraud (The Schkoots, Moi Tiet) and Pierre Lenormand, a production team you may remember from...
Category: អត្ថបទ និង កិច្ចសំភាសន៍
An unknown quantity
The great 2020 closing of borders has had many unexpected consequences. Many have found themselves trapped in places – heavens and hells both – with...
Lingua Musica
Dairon Reyes – stage name Kairon – having spent two years out front in the Havana Kings, is stretching out with a new project called...
Blues and the World
In another life I wrote an unpublished comic crime novella that referenced an imagined book called Skinny White Guys: The Unlikely Triumph of British Blues,...
The adventures of Rhiannon Johnson
After eight and a half years in Cambodia, singer Rhiannon Johnson is moving on to her next adventure. She will front one last big gig...
The train starts to roll again
As the city slowly comes back to live music, each week we seem to be welcoming back bands and performers that we haven’t seen for...
The explorations of Intan
As Phnom Penh slowly reopens for gigs, one of the faces and voices making a big splash is Intan Andriana. Both of her Friday night...
A full figure of eight – Dan Davies is back with The Bloody Marys
With St Patrick’s Day in their sights, Darwin band The Bloody Marys have landed in Phnom Penh to bring us their Celtic/ska/punk blend of sounds...
Been really blessed: on the road with Ryan Cook
Visiting Phnom Penh this weekend is Ryan Cook, a Canadian singer-songwriter in the classic vintage country style with a good dose of hillbilly rolled in. ...
Okay, sing! The music and inspiration of Mirasol Aguila
Among the harder working gigging musicians in Phnom Penh is singer Mirasol Aguila. Most weekends she’s out performing with a range of musicians – including...
Building it: five years of 60 Road Studios
There’s a special celebration this weekend in Siem Reap – the recording studio 60 Road marks its five year anniversary with a concert on Saturday...
Perhaps the end, perhaps not
2013 was a dramatic year in Phnom Penh expat music. There were innovative and supportive venues like Equinox, Sharky and Slur Bar, and many bands...
Around the traps once more
New from Battered Hat Creations this week is Around the Traps, a collection of interviews and writings about music in Phnom Penh in 2019 by...
Older (and wiser?) soul rebels
Visiting Cambodia for their fourth tour this weekend and next are the eight piece Australian rock’n’soul outfit PlanB, playing shows in Phnom Penh, Battambang and...
Things to make and do
Singer and songwriter Ariane Parkes has a busy weekend ahead. Friday night she’ll be fronting Phnom Penh ska band Checkered Past at Cloud’s fourth anniversary...
The endless melting pot with a thousand million things stirred in
Leng Pleng is predominantly a live music guide, somewhat biased towards rock’n’roll but attempting to show the diversity of musical offerings available. For the club...
Billy’s journeys
Back again in Phnom Penh this month is Billy Page, a UK singer-songwriter who has been stopping in Cambodia every year or so for as...
2019: An Incomplete and Selective Review of the Year
For the last Leng Pleng of 2019, we’ve passed the hat around for a collection of memories of gigs that were highlights in the year...
A Scotsman, a Frenchman and a German walk into a bar – and play reggae
Tuff Bass Collective is a group of three DJs, Airfix Twin, Professor Kinski and Gorimaa, who are determined to raise the profile of reggae music...
This mysterious instrument
This Saturday night at Garage Bar, PRERNA, an Indian fusion duo of Thomas Hommeyer on sitar and Pervez Gulzar on tablas will alternate sets with...
Taking you somewhere else
Geography of the Moon is Virginia Bones and Andrea Rubbio, an extraordinary duo who have won over audiences across the UK and South East Asia...
More about William
William McCarthy is a New York based singer-songwriter, who in recent years has launched a solo career after long years fronting the bands Pela and...
Behold: Ballychunder
Ballychunder are a high-energy folk punk band from Hong Kong who play songs about beer, whisky and rebellion, influenced by hardcore punk, traditional Celtic folk,...
Got soul, got gospel
This Friday, 8 November, in the evening at Farm to Table we see the welcome return of Kristen Rasmussen with Pavel Ramirez – she a...
Clara and Bosba and more
There is a tendency in these pages to focus on rock’n’roll, but not to the exclusion of all else. Adding to the vibrant mix of...
A heavy future
At Cloud on Saturday night there’s the launch of new album by SamRocker Band, Back to the Roots, celebrating Sam’s return to the heavier music...