In January 2024 Cambodia was one leg of a Southeast Asia tour by Wild Flowers, a band out of Portugal. This week, two thirds of that band – American guitarist Joe Mac and British bass player Natasha – are back in the country for another round with their band Chakra Shakers. LengPleng caught up with Natasha and Joe (and their guest drummer, Phnom Penh-based Troy Campbell) pre-gig in Siem Reap, where they are opening up their Cambodian shows at Laundry Bar on Friday night and then Atlantis on Saturday night.
LengPleng: Welcome back to Cambodia.
Joe: It’s awesome to be here. We had a blast last week in Bangkok, just messing around more than anything. We did end up sneaking a gig in, playing with yet another drummer – seems we have an open drummer relationship. Statistically Troy is playing more gigs than any other drummer on this tour.
LengPleng: What have you got for us this time?
Natasha: It’s a whole different band. I have been pushing Joe to put his passion first, and do more of his songs. He’s such a brilliant songwriter, and an incredible drummer, which makes all the difference to Wild Flowers, but it’s great in Chakra Shakers to have him up front and doing what he’s been doing best since he was 14 years old. It’s a real treat to hear his songs being listened to for a change. He’s too humble.
Joe: We love Jessica and Wild Flowers, there’s no question of that. It’s more a matter that she has a different lifestyle to Natasha and I – we’re touring and playing music all the time. She’s a great songwriter, but she has a house full of animals and other obligations in Portugal.
LengPleng: So as in Cambodia, it’s not a matter of one band stops, another band starts?
Natasha: Wild Flowers has about a one hour set, and we tend to get booked for two hours, so Chakra Shakers opens for Wild Flowers, or Wild Flowers opens for Chakra Shakers. Book one band and you get them both.
Natasha and Joe as Wild Flowers, January 2024
LengPleng: It seems Cambodia really left its mark.
Natasha: One big excitement is coming back to Cambodia and playing the two songs that were inspired by our first visit here, Unsmashable and Soksaby. [Both are available on Bandcamp.]
Joe: The Cambodian vibe really appeals to me. The wild west, lawless feel. The music is the same – the idea that you can take any song that you like the melody of and put your own spin on it, and now you’ve got a song.
Natasha: It’s really exciting to be going to Battambang, where so much of the music came from.
LengPleng: What else is new this time around?
Joe: By the time we made it to Asia last time we had about 11 confirmed gigs; this time we arrived with 26 confirmed gigs. We just added two more Bangkok shows after some face-to-face contact, so we’ll have five shows there in total – a mini-tour of Bangkok alone. Also this time we’ll be playing in Indonesia and Malaysia. Part of what makes it so much fun is that exploratory part.
Natasha: And Troy’s never been to Indonesia, we’ll be taking him along for those shows. It’s all new to Troy.
Joe: So new he hasn’t heard it yet.
The Cambodian version of the trio meet up in Siem Reap, December 2024: Joe, Natasha and Troy. Photo supplied.
LengPleng: How are you feeling about all this Troy?
Troy: Just being back in Siem Reap, where I spent much of the pandemic, is a bit of a trip. It’s amazing to see all the pavements and roads now rebuilt. It’s lovely to be here. And I’m getting a crash course in being a Chakra Shaker, a lot of magnificent music.
Joe: By the time we get to Phnom Penh we’ll be a solid three-piece. We’ll do a double set at Laundry Bar and a set of heavy originals at Atlantis in Siem Reap.
Troy: I have not seen a band at Atlantis, although when I was in Siem Reap I would hang out there and watch heavy metal videos. This is all new to me as well.
LengPleng: What have you been up to since we saw you last?
Joe: We did a little trip through Eastern Europe this summer; it was travelling more than playing. There’s a club in Berlin called Wild at Heart, a classic rock’n’roll club. I’d played there back in 2000, and actually they remembered that gig, so I was happy about that.
Natasha: There’s something about the freedom of the people in Berlin. It doesn’t matter how you’re dressed, if you’re showing everything, if you’re showing nothing, people are dressing for themselves, not looking around to see what everyone else is noticing. It’s kind of like the Cambodians wearing their pyjamas all the time.
LengPleng: Good luck with the tour – any last words?
Joe: We’re trying to push the message of peace, love and rock’n’roll, trying to remind people that the good vibes are there if you want them. It’s a scary time, but it doesn’t mean that you have to fall in line with that. People need to hear it, people need to say it: peace, love and rock’n’roll.
After Siem Reap Chakra Shakers head for Battambang, then to Phnom Penh for shows at Cloud, Oscar’s on the Corner and Craft, then join The Extraordinary Chambers for New Year’s Eve at Oscar’s.
