A peace of jazz
The International Day of Peace, established by the United Nations in 1981, is celebrated on 21 September. This year it falls on a Saturday, and...
Category: Articles and Interviews
Test your metal ears
It’s another big weekend in Cambodian metal, in a year that has already seen an unprecedented level of travel and exchange within the loud community. ...
Have bass, will play
Phnom Penh’s not-so-new-now ska band, Checkered Past, returns to Cloud on Saturday night. Band leader Jon Banules sat down with Leng Pleng to talk about...
It’s not a gun
Those who get around the traps regularly would recognise photographer Steve Porte, whose work is hard to escape if you are a Phnom Penh musician....
New Irish and Returning Reggae
Not many Phnom Penh bands can claim to have had their first gig in Hanoi. The Riel Capital formed through a response to the observation...
We will bring the fire
This weekend sees the first birthday of LF Social Club on St 308, a venue that quickly became one of the preferred rooms for many...
Open (mic) for business
Open (mic) for business While it carries its share of risks, the open mic format has an important role, particularly in transitory expat communities, in...
Moore Wood
The Uncomfortably White Brothers are one of the more unusual bands in today’s Phnom Penh – they’re all about love and soul and being serious...
Straightforward, raw, abrasive and fast
Cambodian rock’n’roll can’t have seen anything like this for a while. August 2019 will see Doch Chkae play at Wacken Festival in Germany, the Kampot...
The state of becoming
Wes Chester gets right to the point. “I have always been a traveler, but usually not for holidays.” Born and raised in North Carolina, he...
Jazz in a Balkan key
A little over two years ago, Slovenian guitarist Stan Paleco arrived in Phnom Penh from Chiang Mai. He’s been spending time taking a look at...
Living in song
Ernie Buck can be heard out front in the Uncomfortably White Brothers and the Cham Ticks, sometimes behind the drums and sometimes solo with a...
In the zone
This weekend The Goldilocks Zone returns for a show at LF Social Club. They were forced to take a break while their bass player Hansley...
Once again with nonet
Fete de la Musique ten years ago, at the newly opened Chinese House, featured the first full public gig for a new outfit, La Magic...
A different feel
Multi-lingual rapper and music producer Mehdi ‘12me’ Benabdessadok embarks on a very different Original Sessions on Sunday evening – a boat cruise and an all...
Nomades says it all
A few months ago, Phnom Penh-based bass player, guitarist and bandleader Sebastien Adnot was invited to Hong Kong by his friend and fellow musician Roy...
A quick Q&A with Ken Kawamura
Visiting jazzmen from Japan, keyboardist Ken Kawamura and soprano sax player Jose Terada are in town this weekend for two gigs – Friday 7 at...
One giant person
Back at the end of 2016 there was a sudden explosion – certain parts of the city were hit night by night by a hurricane...
Wacken is calling
Every year, the tiny town of Wacken in north Germany hosts the most prestigious heavy metal festival in Europe. Tipped off by a documentary by...
Notes from the studio: Miss Sawaran Band records Sabay Jong Jam
By special correspondent Greg Beshers. Saturday – pre-production day We packed the van and set off for Siem Reap around 8.30 am, arriving at 60...
Cacophony, camaraderie and a coma: two years of Kampot Radio
And they said it wouldn’t last two weeks – Kampot Radio is this month celebrating its second birthday, the highlight of which will be a...
The F16s by Scott Bywater
The last couple of years has seen an acceleration in international touring bands passing through Phnom Penh – to our benefit! – as part of...
Interview with Ian Anderson and Dave Maybe
What’s so funny ‘bout the Stiff Little Punks and the Sexiest Singer in the UK? Ten years ago, back in the day when a Phnom...
Leng Pleng interview with Ingolv Haaland
Ingolv Haaland is a ‘freelance musician/composer/arranger/producer, programmer and professor’ from Norway. Haaland has composed, performed and produced five albums of fusion music which successfully blended...
Metta Legita - 'Scenic Spirit' Album Preview
On the eve of the release of her debut studio album, Indonesian jazz piano phenomenon Metta Legita talked with Leng Pleng about how the tracks...
Interview With Greg Beshers - By Scott Bywater
There’s a new player in town: guitar and bass and vocals, knows how to run a band and how to get the most out of...