***for full gig listings jump to the bottom***

Greetings,

Tonight, Thursday, you can check out the Goodness Me! It’s Gluten Free launch featuring The Sock Essentials at Shophouse Gallery, Woody Dares at Botanico, Pablito Y Robertito at The Plantation and The Extraordinary Chambers as usual at Oscar’s on the Corner.

On Friday, Skin & String are at Botanico@Odom Garden, Gareth Bawden is at Tacos Kokopelli and Panhara Lay & Christina Sen play Green Pepper.  It’s an underground pop rock night with Escapes and Memo at Cloud, while Psykic Elektric are at Bosporus and Jam-Cha are at Duplex.   Late and loud, Stiff Little Punks with special guest Steve Murray (ex-Fast Cars) plus K’n’E at Oscar’s on the Corner.  In Kampot, Joe & the Jumping Jacks play Monkey Republic while Low Season Riders and Fred are at 1960 Restaurant.  In Siem Reap, find Electric Soup at Laundry Bar.

On Saturday, enjoy Kampot Playboys Trio at The Deck, Better Shot at Craft , Phil O’Flaherty at Botanico and Kiss Bang Bong at Le Vin.  Geography of the Moon play Meta House and then Joe Wrigley celebrates his birthday with Cambodia Country Band, Joe & the Jumping Jacks and K’n’E at Oscar’s on the Corner.

The Naturals are at Kep Natural in Kep, and in Kampot The Kampot Geezers play 1960 Restaurant.  In Siem Reap, Woody Dares is at YINI Teahouse and there’s another artist showcase at The Harbour with Max Jones, Zaine Fynn and Cecile Hinas.

**For the rest of the gigs check out the listings at the bottom of the page** As Wednesday is starting to grow as a live music night, remember to check the guide early next week, as many shows are not advertised early and so won’t be included until the last minute **

Cambodian Living Arts and Entertain Impact announce the release of Bangsokol: A Requiem for Cambodia, by Cambodian composer Him Sophy, as an album via streaming services, with a special premiere presentation on YouTube live tomorrow, Friday 20.  “It’s a moving interpretation of the traditional Buddhist burial ritual Bangsokol where a white cloth is placed over a dead body and slowly removed by a monk to signify transmigration into the next life.”   See the trailer here.

Fancy a radio show?  RadioOun.com is interested in expressions of interest for new shows – if not in Kampot you would need to be able to prerecord in a suitable sound environment.  Contact the station for more information.

The Leng Pleng Feature

Guided by Angels: Steve Murray’s long strange trip

It’s somewhat of a truism that those drawn to Cambodia have to have a bit of a story, a bit of character – the bland are not attracted.  This is very much the case with Steve Murray, an English musician who had been close to being signed to a major label as a 20 year old coming out of the Manchester punk-pop scene.  Initially he visited this country while backpacking around the world with a friend while he recovered from the shock of the death of his 19 year old daughter, Georgia, during heart surgery.  He’s now been in and out of Cambodia for the last ten years.    He plays this Friday at Oscar’s on the Corner with the Stiff Little Punks, and he sat down in the rain to talk to Leng Pleng about where he’s going and where he’s been.

“I’m here because of losing my daughter, because of my charity work, and I also enjoy getting involved in the music scene as well.”

“I first heard Anarchy in the UK in December 1976 on a little tiny transistor radio.  I remember the moment, it was life-changing.  This song just came blasting out: what is that?  We’d had Bowie and Bolan when I was younger, but that had kind of slipped away, and there was a gap.  I was never into the Deep Purples and the Black Sabbaths and the Pink Floyds, just couldn’t get it.  I tried to get the kids at school to make a punk band, but they didn’t get it like I got it.”

Read the full article here

Passing Chords:  a few things you might not know about…

Woody Dares.  Woody first discovered rock’n’roll in St Louis, Missouri.  He has been teaching music for 15 years, performed more than a thousand shows across Europe and South-East Asia, and recorded three studio albums. He has recently moved to Phnom Penh and is currently teaching at the Phnom Penh International Institute of the Arts, Music Arts School and Soundskool.  He plays tonight at Botanico and on Saturday at YINI Teahouse in Siem Reap.  He recently uploaded this video to YouTube.

Do you have a pet musical hate?

I would say Garou. He is a terrible contemporary french singer that you probably never heard about and believe me, it’s better that way, don’t look into it.  The french band called Kyo is also a complete waste of time. 

A private musical indulgence:

I guess I would say Wannabe by the Spice Girls. I have some good childhood memories associated with that song, I even sang it in a karaoke bar when I was in high school.

The year you first came to Cambodia:

I visited twice in 2012, but then I got a job as a house musician in Koh Chang (Thailand) for a couple or years in the Ting Tong Bar, playing rock’n’roll every day and reggae with a Thai band called Jah Jah Land. I moved to Cambodia in October 2014 and settled in Otres Village.

An early music memory:

I fell inexplicably in love with the voice of Bobby McFerrin when I was a teenager. I would listen and sing his songs everyday for a while and I couldn’t really explain why. Later in life, my dad told we went to see one of his concert in the south of France when I was about 4 years old. I remember now being seated on my dad’s shoulders and watching the show from above. I guess there is no coincidence.

The last thing you had to eat:

Seafood fried rice at the street food stall near my apartment.

A country you want to visit: 

Indonesia is such a wonderful place with fantastic people. I’ve been there already, but I would go back in a heartbeat if I had time and money.

A book or movie you keep going back to:

I always make sure I’ve got a book of Noam Chomsky with me as a kind reminder of how dysfunctional the world is.

What languages can you speak

French is my mother tongue, I read and write English and I’m slowly learning Khmer.

Your primary instrument, and when you started playing it:

I first dicovered the guitar in St Louis, Missouri.  The host family I was staying at found me a teacher and I started taking lessons there. I will forever be grateful to Mike and Lisa.

Something people might be surprised to know about you:

I love cooking Mexican food!

You have a time machine and a magic ticket to one gig or festival in the past.  What do you choose? 

I think I wouldn’t go back too far, just three years to catch the Psychobilly Meeting in Spain. It’s a week long festival on the beach with Rockabilly, Psychobilly, Surf music… Great bands are playing there. Do you know Mad Sin, Reverend Horton Heat or Nekromantix? Check them out!

A question from the last participant, Colin Hodgkins: from the Phnom Penh music scene, choose somebody to fornicate with, someone to marry and someone to kill.

That’s a tricky question! I guess I would say Intan, and probably Intan again. As for somone to kill, I would have to say Gaby because then somebody would have to replace him on the guitar and I could spend a lot more time with Intan!

Steve Porte Photo of the Week

Unidentified audience member documenting Geography of the Moon at Oscar’s on the Corner, Saturday, 14 May, 2022.

Our sister publication, kumnooh.com, aims to provide a lengpleng.com service for the wider arts – painting, sculpture, literature, dance, architecture and classical music – across Cambodia.  Every Tuesday – to subscribe send a subscribe email to fabianhipp@kumnooh.com.

If you wish to receive LengPleng in your inbox every Thursday please send a subscribe email to gigs@lengpleng.com.

Musicians, venues, punters:  if there are things that you know that LengPleng should know, please tell us and we’ll do our best to tell the world.

See you around the traps.

your correspondent,

 

Guillermo Wheremount
LengPleng.com
gigs@lengpleng.com (mailto:gigs@lengpleng.com)

 

Weekly Gig Guide – week commencing Thursday 19 May 2022

** residency/weekly

 For DJs and clubs, we recommend Phnom Penh Underground

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

*Note that Wednesday events are often not announced until early in the week – check back here for updates*

Coming soon:

Coming later:

By Weekly Wrap