As usual, we begin our overview on 31 December 2023, with the Kampot Radio (then Radio Oun) Top 100 Songs of All Time poll for 2023. The top spot went to Coz Collective for You Don’t Get To Love Me with Geography of the Moon coming in second with Deadbeat Poet. Here’s some stats: 83% of songs fell into the Cambodia-related category, including the entire top 20. Although only a small proportion – 16% – were at least partially in Khmer language, this presents the big challenge for next year. Also of note is that only three songs in the top 10 had male lead vocals.
There was something of an increase in overseas touring acts in 2024 – highlights included Maykidz and Darthreider & The Bassons from Japan, Arnab Bhattacharya & Nilimesh Chakraborty from India, Biggles Big Band from the UK, Luis Zapiola / Coastal Connection and Skeleton Goode out of Vietnam, PlanB, The Tommys and Salt & Steel from Australia, and Miserable Man from Italy.
The small but loud metal community has continued to host visiting bands (from Japan, China, Vietnam and Denmark), either with day-long festivals like Slam City Asia in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, or for individual shows, mostly at Atlantis and Cloud. Local metal band After God released a new music video and went on tour for the first time, and the original line-up of Nightmare A.D. played a reunion show with the original line-up for their tenth anniversary.
Festivals included International Jazz Day celebrations over six venues, five days and two cities. In Siem Reap, 60 Road held festivals March in March (with Japan Guitar Shop and Battbangers) and November (Blue Strangers, Cecile Hinas, Frankie Teardrop Dead, The Wild Men, Sokunthea & Andrey, Vort-X, Ya & Friends and Japan Guitar Shop). In Kampot, the first PepperFest in March (with KAN, Bamboo Train, Cartoon, Roberto Salgado, YoYo, Dydou. Chris Garcia, Alli G, Barang Barang, Placard, Doch Chkae and Ricky B) will be followed by Friday 27 and Saturday 28 December (with After God, Alli G, Bamboo Train, Bob Passion, Cartoon, Kan, Roberto Salgado and Ricky B). Other major events included Carnaval at Raffles Le Royal featuring Maki Orkestr and visiting Afrobeat band Osoko from Ho Chi Minh City; also at Le Royal later in the year was the Phnom Penh International Music Festival 2024 highlighting Eastern European musical heritage. Over the Bon Om Touk (Water Festival) weekend, M’Pai Bai Bay on the island of Koh Rong Samloen hosted the four-day Dave Fest, featuring Vince Solomons, We Are Ewe, Men of Faith, Wind Up Mice, Melody & Joe, The Broken Cymbal, Ruadhan, Liam Jones, LDLP, Soselo Summer and Faceslap.
January saw Oscar’s on the Corner host a tribute to 1973, with an all-star cast of thousands. We’ve seen the creation of the rootsy funk band Electric Muxu Orchestra, trad jazz outfit Jazz Sauce, Khmer fusion act Lakhon Luong, the old Oscar Band re-imagined as Bart-Psar, the original alt-country of Clay George & the Riverside Kings, Wooden Bridge in Kampot, the Anglophile rock of Shake79 and the skiffle of The Tuesday Welders. The Originals Acoustic Showcase continues to impress after a move to The Deck.
Returnees to the stage this year included Clay George (from wanderlust), Frankie Teardrop Dead (restructured), Cartoon (forerunner to Cartoon Emo), Montra (formerly K’n’E)(post-pregnancy), Troy Campbell (from Korea, China and Hong Kong)and Checkered Past (from apparent retirement). Relocations to Phnom Penh included Summer Lee Carlson from Kampot and Adam Marsland from Siem Reap; Siem Reap in turn received Gareth Bawden and Joshua Chiang. Among those playing their last, for different reasons, were Absolute Zero, Penh Pals, Darryl Packo Paxton and Master Kong Nay.
In terms of venues, Phnom Penh newcomers to live music include Let It Be Cafe, Lost Bar, Bat Muk Yu and Uniga. Noisy Chili moved south. Voodoo Boulevard closed, only to have The Box Office move in and expand. Bellini has been creating classical and jazz concerts, either side of rainy season. The Deck scaled back their music programme to acoustic sessions on Saturdays. In Kampot, we have recently seen the revival of the famous Madi Bar, and the Art for Kep campaign is putting on concerts every weekend during high season.
Plenty of recordings were released in 2024 – notably Done You Right by Japan Guitar Shop, Aberdeen Hiroshima by Geography of the Moon, Respectable People by Summer Lee Carlson & Mute Speaker, The Submerged Generation by Soselo Summer and Never Frightened by Little Thieves. In a less rock’n’roll format, Metta Legita released a single, Hop On Hop Off, and a series of videos of jazz compositions.
One last significant event to mention was Not Fragile, a benefit concert for Charity Dannang, wife of Denver (Boxchords, Psykic Elektric), who had to relocate back to their home town in the Philippines after a diagnosis of kidney failure. The show, on September 1, featured a long list of Phnom Penh-based performers including Mayari, Maia Diokno, Joshua Chiang, Pervez Gulzar and Skeptical Chemistry. A video to promote the event was swiftly pulled together, and an impressive amount of money was raised.
On New Year’s Eve we’ll count down the Kampot Radio Top 100 Songs of All Time Poll from noon, soak up the music at Nesat Market Festival or Oscar’s on the Corner or wherever else good music is played, and wish ourselves a happy and prosperous 2025.
This hastily prepared document tries to sum up what went on in the last 12 months – next week is the turn of the audience to note their highlights from a tumultuous year.
