Who is the narwhal? Scott Bywater introduces Greetings from Adventure Bay
Okay, so a new release from Scoddy Bywater. There are so many Scoddy songs out there – does this mean we finally get proper recordings...
Category: អត្ថបទ និង កិច្ចសំភាសន៍
Let’s do something! – An Introduction to The Balcony Show
Coming this Saturday evening to your screen/device of choice is The Balcony Show, an on-line Phnom Penh-produced variety production put together by some expat friends...
Good Habits Lead to Good Health
Guest writer Clara Shandler, the Sidewalk Cellist, shares her thoughts about the work of Music Arts School and the importance of everyone keeping active and...
Tip of the iceberg: selections from Passing Chords Vols 1 & 2
Passing Chords (a few things you might not know about…) has been a feature of Leng Pleng since May 2019, and while full length articles...
In Memoriam – Passing Chords: a few things you might not know about Peter Doyle
Passing Chords: a few things you might not know about… Photo: David Flack Peter Doyle. Pete is an around-town troubadour and balladeer who worked in the...
Tunes, laughs, and the smell of an oily rag: Kampot Radio
While we find ourselves staying home an awful lot these days, in sleepy Kampot, and indeed all over the world, folk are tuning in to...
Don’t fear the Siem Reapers: Son Sabor Latin Trio
From this Saturday until the following Saturday, Phnom Penh streets and dance floors will be vibrating to the sounds of the Son Sabor Latin Trio,...
Joining in: a patchy but joyous history of Grass Snake
Once upon a time in the early years of the previous decade, one of the most popular bands on the Phnom Penh expat circuit was...
From the El Mocambo to Cambodia: the long strange story of Will Canuck
There’s a familiar story told around the traps by musicians in Phnom Penh – “I’d given up on music before I came here, now I...
Capos, burnout, bed bugs and the craft beer rescue: Jeff Baker
Tucked away in an alley off Street 51 clustered with small Japanese restaurants is Embargo, a craft beer bar co-founded by Jeff Baker, a sometimes...
Sometimes they suck: the crazy world of the Table 6 Miniature Harmonica Orchestra
One of the more unusual musical developments of 2020 in Phnom Penh was the emergence of the Table 6 Miniature Harmonica Orchestra (T6MHO). You may...
2020: An Incomplete and Selective Review of the Year
Just like last year, for the last Leng Pleng of the year, we’ve passed the hat around for a collection of memories of gigs and...
2020, or The Year Phnom Penh Became the Live Music Capital of the World
This year started as the preceding few did: Phnom Penh had increasingly been on the itinerary of bands passing through South East Asia, there were...
In the Joezone: Joe & the Jumping Jacks
Way back in August 2013 I took to the stage behind the drum kit at Slur Bar in a brand new rockabilly band with my...
The search for the tonic: Michele Bowen and Clara Shandler
Phnom Penh can be a tough town for a classically trained musician; gigs are few and far between. This weekend there are two treats –...
A series of leaps: Vanntin Hoeurn
Vanntin Hoeurn, the softly-spoken, loudly-screaming, rock’n’roll-haired front for Sliten6ix, Phnom Skor, The Phnom Devils, Reign in Slumber and Blood Bricks is about to leave Phnom...
Uncommon denominators: Little Thieves
Call me old fashioned, but while styles and gadgets come and go, the wheel keeps turning back to the simple alchemy of a couple of...
Exotic textures and captivating rhythms
Another post-COVID weekend in Phnom Penh, another new band. The six piece Maki Orkestr will be “kindling the fire of the Gypsy spirit,” playing music...
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...
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...