click here for an audio-visual look at the gig highlights

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

Greetings:

The last weekend before Christmas really does offer something for everyone.  In Phnom Penh in Friday night Adam Marsland offers up forgotten pop classics at Craft, The Phnompenhers go Golden Age at Let It Be Cafe, there’s contemporary pop from Ice at Botanico and afrohop from 4Mara &  Izame Siva at Can Can.  There’s the improvisations of Smack the Unicorn at Noisy Chili, Khmer hip hop with Elviz Flockson & the Khmer Underground at LOLA Music Lounge, dance-rock heavy on originals from The Lark at Hometown Hangout and at Oscar’s on the Corner Ramones covers from Blitzkrieg Boppers and English pub rock from The Lazy Drunks before the exhilarating house band Montra.  In Kampot Graham Cain does acoustic classic rock at Madi Bar and in Siem Reap visitors from Portugal Chakra Shakers are at Laundry (see our feature article below).

On Saturday The Originals Acoustic Showcase at The Deck features Kosal Khiev, Cove Aaronoff and Joe Wrigley, while Little Susie hosts a Cruisemas boat event with a Christmas jam featuring special guests Mike and Margie.   Geography of the Moon are at Seekers Spirits, Swing Time is back at Aquarius, Miss Sarawan is at Botanico and The Phnompenhers are at Vinoteca.  Singer-songwriter Maozi is at The Tin Hat, trad jazz outfit Jazz Sauce are at Au Marche and AlliG & TheQuilas are at Treellion Park.   Meta House hosts a partially livestreamed concert featuring “exotika to punk to rockjazz” with Kopi Kaputa.  Going later, The Lark are at Oscar’s on the Corner.  On the coast, Wooden Bridge are at Kep Natural and

Frankie Teardrop Dead are at The Bay.  In Siem Reap you can find the Harmony Festival featuring Jam Cha, Gareth Bawden, Christabel, Miserable Man and Lyta, while Chakra Shakers are at Atlantis.

Kampot Radio Top 100 Songs of All Time Poll – 2024 version

 

“Pick the songs you want to vote for and the amount you would like to donate. There is no limit on donations, the number of songs you can vote for, or the number of votes you assign to any song or artist. You could, for example, donate $10 and allocate 6 votes for one song and 2 votes for two others, or donate $20 for one song. Or $200 for that matter. You do not have to make multiple payments to vote for different songs. And you can come back again and again to donate more before we close the ballot at the end of the year.”

Read the whole list and instructions here

The LengPleng Interview

Peace, love and rock’n’roll – Chakra Shakers on tour

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: 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.

Read the full article here

A brief overview of 2024 as seen from LengPleng.com

The tours, the events, the rises and falls – an attempt to summarise the year with those facts that are to hand.

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.

Please send your responses to gigs@lengpleng.com

Read the full article here

Passing Chords – a few things you may not know about

 

Bandi Jan van Kooij.  Saxophone player with Smack the Unicorn and Checkered Past.  “When I first started travelling, about nine years ago, I took my alto, playing as frequently as I could.  It’s a great way to connect with people, and I try to keep it an active part of my life.  I played in a band in China for a little while, The Scraps.  The horn fell into disrepair while I was in Ukraine, then couldn’t get it fixed during COVID when I was in Vietnam, finally got it repaired in Mexico, and moved to Cambodia a few months later.  Once I realised there was an active music scene here I pretty much jumped right in, and bought a tenor and a soprano.  Smack the Unicorn is improv, Checkered Past is a bit more structured, with charts.  I’ve definitely spent more time on stages in Phnom Penh than anywhere else, and I’m interested in finding other bands that need a sax!”

Do you have a pet musical hate/pet peeve?
As much as I try to be supportive of all music and musicians, one of the things I can’t stand is singers that feel the need to arpegiate and warble on every single long note and turn it into a solo.

A private musical indulgence:
Despite being a sax player I don’t listen to a lot of sax music.  What I actually listen to in my free time is electronic dance music, dub step, drum’n’bass – no words, all rhythm.  I find something calming about it.  I have a soft spot for heavy metal, or I used to, not as much anymore – I saw Slipknot and Marilyn Manson – I guess the piercings give that away.

The year you first came to Cambodia:
January 2023, almost two years ago.  It seems like longer.

An early music memory:
I found out quite early that I like upbeat music.  My parents were into much slower music – Andrea Bocelli was played a lot.  But there was one album by Michel Fugain et la Big Bazar – really zany French album, and I don’t speak French or anything, but the music is so lively and orchestral, a lot of interesting instrument choices, and I was all of five years old listening to this.  This is cool, I thought, there’s so many things happening with this music.

The last thing you had to eat:
Some Thai food, a red curry with beef, nice and spicy, and fish soup.  That was last night – I’m not terribly healthy in terms of eating regular meals.

A country you want to visit:
I’d like to visit every country really.  One that comes to mind is India.  I’d really love a chance to explore.  I want to make sure I have the time and funds to do it properly – I don’t think it’s a country you can go to for a week or two and say I’ve been to India, you really need a few months to see more than one part and really absorb it.   I’ve been to Nepal, which was amazing.  I’ve heard nothing but good things about India, but unfortunately there’s not much market for English teachers there.

A book or movie you keep going back to:
A movie that I always go back to, and I always recommend to people, is a kids movie from 1994, The Pagemaster, with Macaulay Culkin.  One of the first movies I remember being a mix between live action and animation.  A boy that’s terrified of the world and everything around him goes to a library to shelter from a storm and gets sucked into the world of books and starts to overcome his fears.  I was always a bookish kid, and seeing books represented as cool on the big screen was a big thing.  I love that movie, I show it to my students all the time.

What languages do you have?
I’m a native speaker of Dutch and English.  My Spanish is fluent, good enough for me to carry on a conversation.  Some basic survival Chinese, out of necessity.  Bits and pieces of a few others – French, German, Russian, things I’ve picked up in my travels.

Your primary instrument, and when you started playing it:
Saxophone.  I started on alto, and was classically trained for eight years, starting when I was 10 or 11.  I now own an alto, a soprano and a tenor.  I’d love to get a baritone, but they’re huge and expensive.

Something people might be surprised to know about you:
I seem like a grumpy guy with a resting bitch face, but I’m actually a pretty big softie.  Anything that’s supposed to jerk tears will jerk a tear.

You have a time machine and a magic ticket to one gig or festival in the past. What do you choose?
I’d love to be able to go back to the beginning of EDM, when it was very much an underground thing, warehouse raves, where there were no tickets.  Just magically knowing the person in the loop who would know where to go.  Computers taking over from analogue instruments.  I think that would be really interesting to see in its inception.

A question from the last participant :  The Rolling Stones or The Beatles?
I’ve always been a bigger fan of The Beatles, largely due to my upbringing.  My parents were more mellow people, and more likely to listen to The Beatles than The Rolling Stones.  So there’s the early exposure.  Based on what I’ve read about both bands I do think The Beatles are more influential, and they’ve probably changed more about music than the Stones did.  Listening side-by-side by my own taste I’d probably prefer the Stones, but there’s more of an emotional connection to The Beatles.

Department of Mutual Support:  Friends of LengPleng

Being a Friend of LengPleng is open to venues, acts, and even private individuals; if you value the service we provide please consider assisting us financially.   For a modest contribution ($25 for three months, $40 for six months, $75 for 12 months), you get the logo of your choice into the weekly email and onto the weekly wrap page, and an automatically click through to a page on our website for further information, photos, videos and so on – we like to think of it as an alternative to Facebook.

We also pay special attention when you have a good story for us – an upcoming event or an artist you wish to highlight.  Email gigs@lengpleng.com for further details or bail up Scoddy wherever you see him.

      

Steve Porte Photo of the Week

Marianna Hensley and Greg Beshers with Electric Muxu Orchestra, Sunday 15 December, Oscar’s on the Corner

 

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Musicians, venues, punters:  if there are things 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 December 2024

** 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:

 

By Weekly Wrap