Customer Reviews

Dengue Fever Presents: Electric Cambodia

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

We compiled this music from cassette tapes collected over the years. A couple of the songs do sound as if they were altered in a later decade, that was not by Dengue Fever. We were aware of this, and apologize if anyone felt mislead, but we weren't able to track down the original, but still felt the song was worthy of being on the compilation.

The story behind the status of the original recordings is still a big mystery that remains to be solved. It's a miracle that so much of the music survived considering so many of the singers and musicians did not. There is very little visual documentation out there, only a few films/videos/stills can be found. Someone, probably a Cambodian company post-Khmer Rouge, took original recordings and for whatever reasons added instrumentation. I have spoken to Cambodians who like the new versions but of course any music purist will be disappointed not to be able to hear the music in its original form. That said I am more than glad that so much of the music survived, even the songs with the occasional overdub, given how much of modern Cambodia was destroyed. Somewhere, someone has the original material that the overdubbed music was generated from. My guess is they were adding instrumentation and then selling the music, mostly to Cambodians who never forgot their music, way before Western ears stumbled across this stuff. Perhaps, due to unclear copyright laws, the people initally selling this music choose to remain hidden, as do the original tracks. Hopefully one day they will archive the music properly so everyone can enjoy the originals the way they were intended to be. Until that day we have to be happy with what we can get. There is a very good chance that a few tracks on Electric Cambodia have some overdubs but I am sure Dengue Fever felt that including them was far better then not, otherwise some of these gems might vanish like the people who originally created them.

I live in Cambodia and have many cds of this kind of material. It is very hard to get it without overdubs. While annoying to my Western music purist ears, to hear this music you need to put up with the later tampering. I do look continually look for the unmodified sounds and have some. The overdubs are there to make the music danceable, Khmers love to dance and need to hear the strong beat that isn't present on the original recordings. They are not purists about it, and laugh when I tell them that I want it without the overdubs. In a Third World country, fan boy hand wringing is pretty laughable. It's their music not ours.

As to the music, it is a good compilation of great music that was almost lost to us. It was music made for dancing in nightclubs and so is groovy more than heavy.

Any of you jokers and especially you whiners ever heard of the Cambodian Rocks series? do a little homework before you get your diapers soiled.
just support Dengue Fever and their desire to get this wonderful music heard.
Stop whining,all you b_otches and enjoy something special. Really, some of these reviews are embarrassing. you want great production? buy a effin' Lady Gaga CD, moronis.
and yes , this review is very helpful, ha ha.

"Electric Cambodia" is a fascinating compilation lovingly pieced together by LA-based Cambodian psychedelic rock band Dengue Fever. The groups and singers flourished during the brief Belle Epoque between independence from France and the brutal rise of the Khmer Rouge. The songs blend traditional Cambodian sensibilities with the current psychedelic rock in vogue. There's surf guitar in "Jasmine Girl",and "I want to shout" sounds like one of Phil Spector's girl groups. The songs are haunting,ghostly;the original recordings came from cassettes. There's something raw and authentic about them.

"Give Me One Kiss","Don't Speak","I will marry you" and "I want to be your lover" are haunting love songs. They are ethereal. It hearkens back to Cambodia's halcyon days. "Jombang Jet","Shave your beard",and "I want to shout" are more joyful. There are tracks with enigmatic names like "Unknown title" and "Unknown artist"--a sad reminder of how the Khmer Rouge ruthlessly eliminated its victims and their identities. "Hope to meet you",by an unknown artist,is a lovely instrumental. The older sister of Dengue Fever's lead singer, Chhom Nimol, went to the painstaking work of matching the songs with titles and artists. The closing tracks, "I will starve myself to death","Unknown Title",and "Cold Sky" are bleakly foreboding. While the opening songs are happy,these final three foreshadow the end to Cambodia's brief Golden Age.

"Electric Cambodia" is a powerful,haunting, beautiful compilation of psychedelic rock. If one likes vintage Cambodian rock,one can listen to:
Cambodian Rocks Volume 1 (3rd Edition)
Cambodian Rocks Volume 2
Cambodian Rocks Volume 4
Radio Phnom Penh

Dengue Fever has covered the "Shave Your Beard" song,and their "Ten Thousand Tears of the Tarantula" was named #2 in the past decade's most influential songs by Rolling Stone--by a member of Metallica no less. Their albums are amazing:
Escape from Dragon House
Venus on Earth

"Electric Cambodia",is,so far,one of the best releases of 2010.

Fourteen tracks of the biggest names in pop and rock music of pre-Khmer Rouge Cambodia. Many of these musicians did not survive Pol Pot's murderous regime, but had they continued to make music, it would've been interesting to see how Cambodian music would've evolved. You can hear the genesis of Dengue Fever's sound in these songs -- great psych jams that take you back to a lost era. You're unlikely to find this music anywhere else, given Cambodian music is no longer what it was. These tracks are particular to the sixties, of which there aren't that many records left.

In regards to complaints about overdubs and tampering: this is not the fault of the band (keyboardist Ethan Holtzman has confirmed this). The band compiled what little music is available (in good condition) in an otherwise coherent and quality package. For critics who are dissatisfied, why not fly out to Cambodia and go crate-digging yourself? See if you fare better.

I love Sonny Bono's song "Bang Bang". The artists on this album nail it! If you grew up in the sixities and want to hear the beat without understanding a word- you will love this album. The energy is great and the side story makes you think. I play this album whenever I need a lift. You will love it.

I don't know what it is about this. Perhaps some latent orientalism in me. or perhaps it's just awesome.

This stuff sounds like what aliens would sing if the only inspiration they had was a few 70's and 80's American cassettes that somehow made their way to that galaxy.

it's got a great groove and some of the epic wonderment of bollywood, etc...i listen to it over and over!

I learned about this CD on NPR and I bought it off a whim, I could not be happier. It's different. I have no idea what they are saying, but it is still great.

I heard bits of this album on LA's KCRW and was immediately intrigued. I missed the airing, but found the CD on Amazon. Two days later, I'm listening to the first song and I'm totally seeing how my parents would have been listening and enjoying this type of music in their days of youth. You certainly don't have to speak Khmer (neither my parents nor I do) to bring a big smile to your face. The music is almost exactly how I remember some of the Korean LPs my parents had when I was growing up. A lot of memories small and big, from the little pops you hear as the needle finds its way to the music tracks, to wondering how they can sing so high (before I learned about overdubbing). Maybe it's my imagination, but I think I can hear the little pops, and the impossibly high vocals still brings a big smile.

As the note on the CD indicates, most of the artists probably have died during the Khmer Rouge days. I see the CD as a small tribute to those artists. I thank Dengue Fever for opening up new avenues for people like me to discover music like this. And may these artists rest in peace.