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

Greetings:

Well and truly throwing their hat into the live music ring in the past week has been Bouchon Wine Bar, with a refreshed weekly line-up Monday – Saturday, including regulars, familiar faces, and new acts.

Tonight making the early start are Gareth Bawden and The Broken Cymbal at DIB Club, find Joe Wrigley & Friends (including Brin Wood, Christian Herve and Richard Pearl) at Craft, Scott Bywater at  Botanico and Big D Walker & Frank Scarfone at Trattoria Bello.

As noted, the recently commenced Thursday residency for Soul Nouveau continues at Bouchon Wine Bar, while long standing regular jam nights carry on at Bosporus and Cloud, and The Extraordinary Chambers late at  Oscar’s on the Corner.   Meanwhile in Siem Reap, Sokunthea Duk & Andrey Meshcheryakov are at Villa D and Graham Cain is at  The Plantation in Kampot.

It’s a rich choice of styles on Friday night with the options of hearing The Broken Cymbal at Craft, Intan Andriana reuniting with Metta Legita at Le Vin and/or Alisha & Damani getting together at Cloud.  Bosporus hosts a farewell to Gonzalo (see you soon, Gonzalo!) featuring Los Primos, followed by a jam session, while Kampot Playboys play Duplex and Temple go late at Oscar’s on the Corner.  In Kampot, the Jampot open mic at Karma Traders is hosted this week by Roberto Salgado, and in Siem Reap The 3 Troubadours are at The Harbour. 

Saturday sees Arome Khmer at Craft, an early gig by Kampot Playboys at  Mad Monkey , Christian Herve at  Botanico, Intan Andriana & Alexey Ilin at  Lantern.  Blue Wave are at  Central Café and duo Akouztika are at  CanCan, while Bouchon Wine Bar  hosts Bouchon Social Club with Nestor & Lily and Los Primos play Duplex.  At Oscar’s on the Corner there’s a rare outing for the Inbred Outlaws going late.

Ariane Parkes, currently summering in Germany, has this week released the first video, the woman is out, from her album talk to the girl, speak to the ghost.

Department of Looking Forward To Getting Loud: the upcoming tour by Vietnamese metal band CÚT LỘN with Cambodia’s own Nightmare AD has made the pages of Unite Asia.  After a show in Hanoi, they will play Oscar’s on the Corner in Phnom Penh (adding Doch Chkae) and Atlantis Metal Bar in Siem Reap.

Occasional visitors to Cambodia, Australian act PlanB are starting to plan their next tour through the region for early next year.  They just released a new video for their song The Bridge.

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

Julian Bras.  Co-founder and guitarist with Sangvar Day, a leading alternative/heavy Phnom Penh band that played extensively and recorded two albums of original material during their active period, 2013 – 2020.  Now relocated to Singapore, where he is actively attempting to get something started in the music scene there, he occasionally comes to Phnom Penh for a brief visit to remind himself of how good it is here.

Do you have a pet musical hate?
I can listen to any kind of music.  When it comes to playing, I have a salary, so I am free to do my own stuff – I’m not interested in playing covers.

A private musical indulgence:
I used to be stuck with my music from the 90s, always playing the same songs at home. Then I decided not to be like my father, saying the best music was in the 70s.  Now I’ve moved on, and I’m always trying to listen to new music, new bands.  I don’t like to say it, but thank you Spotify.  Before it was mostly metal, and now I’m getting older, so rock, and still hip hop.

The year you first came to Cambodia :
I visited in 2007 when I was travelling and dead broke.  Later I started applying for teaching jobs (I’m a qualified teacher) in South East Asia, and came here in 2012 for a position and stayed.

An early music memory:
When I was 13 years old I lived in a small town near Paris.  My neighbour was a guitar player – he was so different from the other people around.  After school I would pass by his home, and he told me about bands he had gone to see – Nirvana, Rage Against the Machine – and then when I was 14 he took me to a Suicidal Tendencies gig, which changed my life forever.  He also gave me my first guitar and told me to teach myself.

The last thing you had to eat:
Spaghetti with salmon at Romano’s.

A country you want to visit:
Actually I’ve already bought my tickets – South Africa.  I have been working with a South African teacher in my school, and we have become great friends, and I have met many other South Africans.  They are so fun.  So I will visit my friend in December.  My first travel was in Mexico, and I still have great memories of that, so I’d also like to go to South America, probably Colombia.

A book or movie you keep going back to:
I like to try new stuff all the time, so I don’t think I ever came back to a book or a movie.  Except when I was young.  Right now I’m into Ken Follett.

What languages do you have?
French.  I try my best to speak English. A little Khmer.

Your primary instrument, and when you started playing it:
I learned classical piano when I was young, about four or five, and it was horrible for me.  It was so strict, and I didn’t see the point.  But the music was in me, so once I got the guitar I was able to teach myself, when I was 14.  I had my first band when I was 16.

Something people might be surprised to know about you:
I was thinking about this question, but I have no answer.  When I was playing lots of gigs people from the audience were surprised to find that I was a qualified teacher.  And in Singapore my colleagues were surprised when I said I was a musician.

You have a time machine and a magic ticket to one gig or festival in the past.  What do you choose?
Living in Paris I had a chance to see a lot of bands.  I wanted to see Nirvana, I think they played just once in Paris but I was too young.  Another band I missed was Smashing Pumpkins.

Photo of Steve Porte of the Week

If you see this gentleman and his attached equipment lurking around a stage in the next coming weeks, do not be alarmed, yes, it’s him, he’s back, and he remains dangerous. Keep calm and practice your resting bitch face.  Alternatively, if you want get his attention merely light a cigarette.   Photo provided by David Flack.

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 28 July 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