Cambodian Rocks on the BBC

Hey, remember all that great Cambodian Rocks stuff? Well it was brought to my attention today that last week the ever-reliable Radio 4 broadcast a quick documentary on the '60s Cambodian rock scene that produced those amazing sounds, and the predictably terrible fate that befell its participants after the Khmer Rouge seized power in 1975.

Obviously that's a LOT of context and history and explanation to try to fit into thirty minutes, so it's not the in-depth account that the subject probably merits, but it's great that the BBC took the time to make a program about such a marginal area of culture in the first place. God bless public service broadcasting.

It's particularly nice to get a bit of background on Ros Sereysothea, the absolutely extraordinary vocalist who fronts most of my favourite Cambodian Rocks tunes, and the ubiquitous Sinn Sisamouth, a guy who is described at one point as "Cambodia's Dylan", presumably because the appeal of his music makes more sense if you can follow the lyrics. A guy who played some of the kick-ass lead guitar on the songs, and managed to survive, is also briefly interviewed. No word though sadly on the identity of the still anonymous howling, cookie monster-voiced James Brown dude who turns up on some of the wilder cuts on the original compilation.

Although the documentary doesn't dwell on it, it is inevitably chilling and very upsetting to hear rumours about what happened to some of these musicians in the "work camps" post-'75. Whatever instances of ignorance and obscenity we may have to address in our lives on a daily basis, let's at least be thankful that the idea of people being tortured to death for the crime of making cool pop music is rarely one of them.

On the BBC iPlayer until next Tuesday.

STILL one of the best songs ever recorded:

Ros Sereysothea - I'm Sixteen

And here's a little something from the aforementioned anonymous howling dude:

Cambodian Rocks Track 8

Labels: 1960s, BBC, Cambodian Rocks, radio, Ros Sereysothea