Note: this article will remain open for new contributions for the next couple of days. Send your recollections to gigs@lengpleng.com.
Steve Porte
2024, briefly.
Best gigs: 60 Road Festival 2; Skeleton Goode at Factory; MeDha Drum Troupe at Friends; Maki Orkestr at Raffles.
Favorite new bands: Electric MuXu Orchestra; Jazz Sauce; reformed Soselo Summer.
Welcome back: Frankie Teardrop Dead; Geography of the Moon.
Saddest departures: Dickie Betts and John Mayall, two favorites in the 60/70’s.
Skeleton Goode, August; MeDha drum troupe, January
Will Canuck
H’mm…highlights of 2024? All the usual suspects put on great shows but I have to say that my year was one primarily marked by change on the musical and personal fronts. The big shift being that after nearly four years it was time for me to put my band blender to rest, a move that allowed the bands Crash Boom Bang and Shake 79 to come into their own.
My ongoing partnership in The Lark with Scoddy Bywater, William Rosas and Andy Potter set the stage for that transition as my job in that band taught me that stepping away from centre stage and playing a support role could be as musically fulfilling as anything else I have done. That same epiphany was reinforced by a hard rocking tour de force show featuring Hugo St Leger along with Neil Fury and Adam Lane as a member of The Boys are Back during Hugo’s Phnom Penh visit back in January.
Health challenges this year could have put paid to any future musical endeavours not just in 2024 but full stop. The emotional and practical support of my friends and family, the skilled staff at Calmette Hospital and it turns out, my own Lazarus-like ability to never stop playing, all contributed though to a happier outcome.
I now embrace life smoke free for the first time in 46 years as well as with a somewhat slimmer profile courtesy of an absolutely required and strictly adhered to healthier diet. I miss both cheese burgers and cigarettes desperately, but their absence is a small price to pay for the blessing of still being able to play and more importantly, keeping a solemn promise to my daughter Juliana to do and be better.
Rod Tolentino
My highlights for the year 2024!
- Jam-cha mini tour “On the Road Again”
Phnom Penh – Oscars on the Corner (Feb 29)
Kampot – KAPAL (March 1)
Nesat Village Festival! (March 2)
Was a great mini tour! Met old friends and new faces along the way. I lost my voice after the last gig at Nesat! 😛
- Scapegoat Candy – LAUNDRY (June 7)
Love playing original scapegoatcandy tunes and of course place was packed (thanks to all our friends and new faces for supporting original music)
- The Wildmen – 60 Road Fest Volume 2 (November 30)
Great vibe and bands we share the stage with! The power outlet was burnt in the mid set of Japan Guitar Shop. 😕 We managed to play in the dark, a minimum lights but still we rocked the stage!
- Jam-Cha – Siem Reap Beer Festival (December 1)
Place was packed with people dancing and headbanging for our set! Awesome beer, international and local!
- Jam-Cha – Laundry (December 6)
After a long period of not being at Laundry at last we made it again! Awesome crowd and vibe as always when Jam-Cha is at Laundry. We did a little different set for this night. (electronica rock) and eclectic rock sets as usual!
- The Wildmen (This Friday / December 27) – Laundry
It’s THE WILDMEN’s 4th year anniversary! For sure this gig will be a part of my highlight this year! PUNK ROCK METAL original songs!
The Wildmen at 60 Road Festival, November
Matt Bloomberg – The Deck
An interesting year was 2024. We bought The Deck because we wanted to throw the best parties in town. That’s it. The rest was just gravy. And we did. But the parties were too good – the neighbours, the police, the landlords, conspiring in an undefeatable alliance to bring an end to late nights, big drums, basically anything that shook the foundations of the place (and theirs).
So, we scaled back the volume and were able, in some instances, to replace it with quality and creativity for our stripped back Saturdaze early sessions. Big thanks to Wind Up Mice for giving the new format a chance – their show in February was captivating and showed that the format could be made to work. Pure class. One of the highlights of the year, and always something a bit different. The imagination of TTP Jesus Lewis McTie also saw the Meece line up in the middle of the Deck late in the year, sat in a circle surrounded by an entranced crowd. No one puts as much effort into making shows special. Lewis, your little sprinklings do not go unnoticed. Thanks also for bringing your Originals sessions to the Deck. You are our 2024 MVP!
The best of the rest included the Bustaka Band, a bunch of self-taught Cambodian kids that are sure to find stars once their main man Bin Daro is done with grade 12 and can focus on what really matters. High energy and they had the place hopping three or four times over the course of the year with new and old Cambodian tunes punctuated by the good stuff – their own brand of homebacked originals. The legend Kosal Khiev also provided a late contender for highlights of the year – returning to the mic with his unique brand of spine-tingling street poetry to have a room full of guests wondering what the heck they had walked into. We purposely invited two people who had previously professed unambiguously a pure hatred of slam poetry. They’re both stone frozen still sat in their seats staring at the spot where Kosal was. Men in raptures. Haters converted. Kosal the doctor. Fixed em both. Yeah baby! The man is back!
Speaking of hopping, for 2024 most raucous, it was doors shut and Paddies in as we joined forces with Cairdre Khmer GAA club to host afters for the 2024 Asian International gaelic football tournament. With the tongue-twisted troubadour (Dan Reidy) at the helm, it was almost like the old times. Batten down the hatches. Damn the neighbors. F**k the police! And then midnight struck, along with reality. A strong dose of reality.
Thank you dearly to all Deckheads who participated in the fun. We love you like we love 2024. And to all prospective Deckheads, what are you waiting for?
Oh, and Men of Faith, we see you. Enough with the carry on! It is simply unacceptable that the band would go into hibernation, perhaps extinct, without having put your sound in the Deck. Sit down, strip back and let’s get it on!
Adam Marsland
I started out 2024 in Siem Reap, where I’d been sliding in and out of the scene for five years. I learned a lot there…reconnecting with my love of performing, grappling with strengths and weaknesses. I met people I loved deeply. Above all, I learned humility. Sometimes in life, you can offer a great pair of pliers, but maybe folks just need a hammer.
I end 2024 in Phnom Penh, which has proved a place with meaningful friendships, sympatico musicians and general encouragement to be the best I can be, try the things I want to try, and to pitch in as a part of a vibrant community. That’s all I’ve ever wanted, and so far, that’s what’s happened.
I am immensely grateful for so many people (you know who you are) encouraging me to come here and welcoming me to stay. I’m extremely happy to be here and hope I can continue being a part of it all. I will do the best I can to entertain people and hopefully generate a nice sound.
Mia Priest
Playing with the original “Corruptors” line-up for NIGHTMARE A.D.’s 10th Anniversary, playing with DEFILED from Japan (I shared the stage with them with my other band ABSENCE OF THE SACRED back in 2008 in Bangkok), co-organizing Slam City with Chihiro and Paolo back in March which was both hellish and fun
Marianna Hensley
This has been one of those years that seems at once endless and fleeting. It takes a moment to recall what has been in 2024. The Atkinson Brothers’ duo piano concert was definitely a top highlight this year. The music was exceptional. Even more, the energy of big brother pride and little brother admiration was palpable across the two pianos throughout the performance. It was a beautiful evening. Music adjacent, Kosal Khiev’s recent cover-to-cover reading of PTS DREAMZ at Meta House was another evening not to be forgotten. It’s also been a pleasure to see Miss Sarawan (Mealea Lay) come into her own as a musician this year and reach a place of thriving.
Personal performance highlights and memories this year include the 1973 Tribute and the emergence of Electric Muxu Orchestra — both in January at Oscar’s on the Corner. The one-off, can’t-be-bothered-to-come-up-with-a-name performance of The Nameless Trio with Gaby Courroux and Dan Davies at The Vine at the beginning of the year was pure joy. Every opportunity to play with Metta Legita was (and is) a highlight. Then there was rehearsal for the October Mimi and the Merrymakers performances with Gaby as a special guest — who innocently highlighted that I am a quarter century older than he. (Kids these days!) And maybe most significant this year was EMO’s return to the Oscar stage with Greg Beshers in December. I find myself in a place of deep gratitude for this place, the myriad music experiences, and (most of all) the people in my life as 2024 draws to a close.
1973 tribute at Oscar’s on the Corner, January
Phil Javelle
2024 was my 15th year of Music in the Kingdom of Wonder and I was blessed with many creative opportunities and thrilling collaborations.
I would first mention sharing the stage with some of the most popular rising Cambodian talents: Kai, M-Fatt, Sophia Kao, Kwan, my buddy Jimmy “Baby I’m Sorry” Kiss’s coming back, and more recently Prema and Tep Piseth. They definitely set the bar higher and brought me to a completely new musical scene with audiences wanting to extend their culture and knowledge. Jazz, Neo Soul and Neo Pop artists are blooming in Cambodia and I’m so glad to be both a privileged witness and a guest of it.
Phnom Penh’s constant musical vibration enabled me to team up with new accomplices and create two bands: The Philthies, a 1920’s Jive combo, and Limóntuno, a Latin Fusion trio, featuring great talents: Leo Fonseca (drums), Troy Campbell (drums), Darvel Martinez (upright bass) and Cameron Smith (trumpet).
Erudite music lovers such as Larry Ng from the HKBAC and Lorrain Talmant from Cohiba Lounge have funded events enabling me to write arrangements for bigger bands: a Baroque Ensemble tribute to Ennio Morricone’s film scores and a Hong Kong Movie concert featuring legendary singers Lee Lung Kay and Johnny Yip.
The Baroque Ensemble had me play the harpsichord after years without practice, quite a cool challenge. Following this, conductor Ross Clarke made me the honor and pleasure to join the brand new Phnom Penh Philharmonic Orchestra for the Bach Christmas Oratorio. Joyous!
Writing arrangements for horn sections, string ensembles and choir is my fav, and I had quite a lot to do this year, so I’m absolutely grateful for all who made it happen: clients, sponsors and of course the musicians who joined. Special love to Vannda who praised my string arrangements for the Coca-Cola mega concert.
2024 was also the year of reuniting with my old friend Motown trumpet player Steve Cannon. We did a fantastic Jazz gig at Metropole Underground to the invitation of our beloved Jazz Diva Intan Andriana. He will be back in January 2025 for a very exclusive Miles Davis “Kind Of Blue” tribute at Bellini.
Happy holidays to all of you music folks and to our faithful followers. Kudos to Scoddy for the Leng Pleng work, a precious support that we deeply appreciate, and to the one and only Steve Porte who seamlessly captures our best angles. Cheers!
Keiko Kitamura
Highlight of the year:
As audience, “Atkinson Brothers” on February 22 at Bellini. A very rare occasion to listen to a grand piano duo by two excellent players, equally skilled in both classical and jazz repertoire; and they played our favourites.
As a player, “Improvising music performance for the opening event of the Photo Phnom Penh festival” on November 20 at Institut français du Cambodge. Colin and I played as a duo for the photo slide show screening. 100 photos, 8 seconds each, for 15 minutes. I played snare drum, cajon, shaker, and Angkouch (Cambodian jaws harp) . It was challenging, but fun, and it was nice to hear that the audience enjoyed it.
Atkinson Brothers at Bellini, February
Colin Grafton
I can hardly remember the beginning of the year, but a lot of good music came floating in around January & February. Just after New Year, a singer/guitarist from Burkina Faso via Bangladesh—Dramane Bakwan, aka “Chibeen”—did an impromptu gig at Meta House; and then two Indian musicians appeared in February, Arnab Bhattacharya (sarod) and Nilimesh Chakraborty (tabla), who were simply amazing. Among those who stayed (or are staying) longer, Danny Healy and Cameron the Cornet spring to mind. Sorry Cameron, I’m not too good at names and it’s the cornet that sticks in my brain…shades of vintage Louis Armstrong & King Oliver. What a variety of music we have here!
As for playing, Keiko forgot about “Chapei Diary” (again in early February) at the IFC. We did this collaboration with Keat Sokim (chapei) a few years ago with other Cambodian musicians and Pavel Ramirez. This time we had Gaby Courroux taking over from Pavel (who is on a long vacation), and it worked out pretty well. Playing with Gaby is always fun and quite challenging, and our trio thing “Rags to Rainbows” has gone on for a full year now.
Bunthoeurn Thiem
Troy Campbell
From the genius of Phil Javelle to the beauty of the Philharmonia, joining genres with The Tuesday Welders, shaking it up on the road with The Chakra Shakers and flowing downstream with my Fish Brother Scoddy Bywater, once again this prodigal son was warmly welcomed back in the fold and put back to work in a big, bad, wonderful way. The eclectic nature of Cambodia’s music community, with a rather high bar these days (yet still as friendly and inviting as ever) beckoned me back once again and gave me a big hug upon arrival. Pretty amazing. And thank you.
Frank Scarfone
Hello everybody, greetings from Italy!
This year, 2024, truly flew by! I was much busier on the architectural side than the musical side, but it was still filled with incredible moments I’d love to share.
It was the year of tours and festivals with the Japan Guitar Shop family. We grew closer as a group, playing in some amazing venues across four different countries and being part of unforgettable festivals like Shambala (Thailand), Beer Fest (Kampot), Bassac Street Party (Phnom Penh), Zandari Festa (South Korea), and 60 Road Fest (Siem Reap). I’m sure Colin will share more details about those soon. 😉
It was also a pleasure to keep the Blue Monday night going at Oscar’s during the first part of the year with The Blue Souls. We had a blast with some truly memorable gigs, but what I love most about this project is its inclusiveness. It’s been a joy to share the stage with so many talented musicians—locals and travelers from around the globe. Such a blessing! (Danny, come back!!!)
A standout moment was the event at B Box, where Japan Guitar Shop opened for Skeleton Goode (a Saigon-based surf-prog-psych-pop band). The venue was fantastic, with a big stage, incredible sound quality, and a crowd that was fully engaged. That night had all the right ingredients to create a lasting memory.
A huge thanks to all the venues that continue to support live music, even in challenging times. Stay strong—I hope more will choose to invest in music in the future! Another big thanks to the bands that keep our hot nights alive with music, and to all the fans who make it worth it.
Wishing you all a wonderful 2025!
Cove Aaronoff
The highlight of the year for me was Greg Beshers returning to the stage after his brief hiatus, and just realizing how valuable what we have here is, on multiple levels. It’s more than a scene, as they say, and I’m so grateful to be a part of it.
Scott Bywater
This year I played with The Extraordinary Chambers, Cardboard Li-Fi, The Lark, The Sock Essentials, Miss Sarawan, The Tuesday Welders, The Fish Brothers, a couple of ad hoc duos and trios, and solo. This culminated in late November with a Wednesday – Sunday run of 16 sets with nine different individuals across six different repertoires (including one cancellation). A character building week.
New venues for me this year included Lost Bar, Let It Be, Back Street Bar and Noisy Chili, and I was also honoured to be a part of Originals Acoustic, now moved to The Deck. Alternate Sundays at Villa Grange with Miss Sarawan were a consistent highlight, and the Sunday Sundowner Sessions open mic at Tacos Kokopelli continues to surprise and delight. I didn’t make it to any of the festivals, either as performer or audience, but there’s a goal for 2025.
With my Oscar’s on the Corner hat on, we were pleased to see the revival of Oscar Band, renamed Bart-Psar, and the return of Montra (formerly K’n’E) after a maternity/paternity break. Checkered Past came back from the operating room. Also new was the Electric Muxu Orchestra as a new most-Sundays band, formed during an intense January in parallel with the delayed 1973 tribute – their triumphant return in December was an inspiring sight. We are looking forward now to the delayed 1974 tribute.