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

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

Greetings:

Venturing out tonight Thursday in Phnom Penh you could choose from A journey into Khmer rap episode 2 at Hometown Hangout, pop covers with Aisha & Serdar at Little Susie, blues with The Blue Souls at Trattoria Bello, and Adam Marsland opening early for The Extraordinary Chambers at Oscar’s on the Corner.

On Friday in Phnom Penh find Vince Solomons at The Tin Hat, Graham Cain at Botanico, Chhay Meng at Cloud and Phil Javelle at new venue Jet9.  Meanwhile Mary & Takeshi are at Little Susie and Shake79 do their largely British pub pop-rock thing at Oscar’s on the Corner.  In Siem Reap, Scapegoat Candy finish their mini tour of the country at Laundry, and in Kampot Fishtix are at KAPAL.

Saturday night in Phnom Penh Adam Marsland is acoustic at The Deck, Muxu are at Botanico and Karona Chan (of Temple) is at Jet9.  Little Susie revives the glory days of Memphis Bar with Memphis Blues Band, while Mosaic are at Back Street Bar and Graham Cain is at Tropico.  Clay George & the Country Band go late at Oscar’s on the Corner.  In Siem Reap, Rod & Chema are at Ubuntu.

Sunday in Phnom Penh the Sunday Sundowners open mic is hosted by Scott Bywater at Tacos Kokopelli, Brooke Palmer is at Noisy Chili and Stu Cottom is at Bar Oz.  Later on Electric Muxu Orchestra are at Oscar’s on the Corner.  In Siem Reap, Euan Grey Trio are at New Leaf.

Department of New Releases and Tours

News from afar – former Phnom Penh singer-songwriter RJ Marshall (Phnom Skor, Psychesonic, Simmer, Phnom Devils and former co-owner of the late lamented Show Box) has released his debut album, 1042 Express, recorded in our fair city back in January – March 2020 – a collection of songs ranging from folky ballads to bluesy Americana featuring quite a few well-known Phnom Penh names.  You can find it now on Spotify, on Bandcamp and on his website.

Closer to home, Kampot act Summer Lee Carlson & Mute Speaker are starting a new album release this month – the first song, Respectable People, will be available in a couple of weeks (28 June).  “Each show this month is premiering the new music live, and we’ll be doing a waterfall drop – one new song every six weeks,” says Summer.  Find it when it arrives at Spotify, Apple, Youtube, Amazon or your other favourite streaming platform.

Soselo Summer are back in the public eye, with the release of their long-awaited album, The Submerged Generation, on Bandcamp and Spotify.  They also have dates in Ireland in June, and are planning a return to Phnom Penh stages in July for a proper album launch.  Watch the spaces you watch.

Geography of the Moon have finally recorded and will shortly release their crowd favourite Pick It Up (And Put It Down) – coming to Bandcamp on June 14.

Japan Guitar Shop have announced tour dates for Vietnam in July – tell your friends in the east.

And finally, Metta Legita has released a delightful new video , shot by Björn Leonhard, of a solo performance of Chick Corea’s Children’s Song #20.

Passing Chords – a few things you may not know about

[Photo credit: David Flack]

Vince Solomons.  Phnom Penh-based singer-songwriter, originally from South Africa.  After a COVID-enforced break from playing he has been appearing recently at Cloud and Back Street Bar both solo and with his band Skeptical Chemistry.  He will be solo this Friday at The Tin Hat.

A musical pet hate
Singers reading song lyrics from a smartphone.

A private musical indulgence:
Tool, Deftones, the old 90s nu-metal.  It doesn’t appeal to a lot of people but I just love it.  That was the music that got me taking the path that I did.

The year you first came to Cambodia:
March 2017, just as the rains kicked in.  I’d never travelled to Asia before.  It was so hot – I was wondering if I could stomach this.  In the tuk-tuk from the airport I thought I was going to die – it smelled like barbecued meats and clutch burn-out.  My first day I really wanted to go to the market, so I went alone – coming back I spent two hours walking around trying to find the right house in the borey.

An early music memory:
My dad always played guitar, he would play really chilled songs for me, like Free Falling by Tom Petty, but also Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix, Locomotive Breath by Jethro Tull – so I grew up listening to that stuff.  I remember jamming out to Led Zeppelin IV with my dad’s squash racquet, not yet six years old.

The last thing you had to eat:
Mee chas, fried noodles with chicken.

A country you want to visit:
New Zealand.  Mostly because it’s beautiful – and Lord of the Rings.

A book or movie you keep going back to:
A high fantasy ten-book series that I’m still trying to unravel.  Malesan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson.  Lord of the Rings meets Game of Thrones…

What languages do you have?
English, very poor Afrikaans, and a little bit of Khmer.

Your primary instrument, and when you started playing it:
Vocal.  Singing has always been natural to me.  Then guitar is my second instrument, when I was maybe seven or eight  – the reason I play the guitar is so that I can write songs.  When I was ten my mum died, and I needed an outlet – my dad showed me all the basic chords and I gradually found a way to let loose.  And that’s when I started writing music.

Something people might be surprised to know about you:
I was born in a water-birth.

You have a time machine and a magic ticket to one gig or festival in the past. What do you choose?
Led Zeppelin in their heyday.  Or to be in the crowd when Joe Cocker was singing With A Little Help From My Friends at Woodstock.

A question from the last participant – I’ve eaten barbecued rat in Battambang and tarantula in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap.  What’s the strangest local food you’ve eaten?
I’ve eaten all the bugs, but not tarantula.  Barbecued cow udder on a skewer – it was creamy and milky and meaty.

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Steve Porte Photo of the Week

Steve Porte is summering in New York City

 

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See you around the traps.
your correspondent,

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

Weekly Gig Guide – week commencing Thursday 6 June 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