Khmer/American psychedelic rock n roll group Dengue Fever last week announced that they’ll be touring to Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam in November of this year.
Dengue Fever are a unique ensemble formed of 5 musicians: Khmer singer Chhom Nimol, who left Cambodia to live in the USA, brothers Ethan and Zac Holtzman, Senon Williams, Paul Smith and David Ralicke. Their style is a groovy and upbeat combination of haunting lyrics in Khmer language with upbeat psychedelic rock and jazz sounds.
Vann Nath stands at the entrance to his gallery, 2008
Renowned Khmer artist Vann Nath, one of only seven survivors of the notorious Tuol Sleng S-21 prison fell into a coma on Friday from which doctors say he may not recover.
Vann Nath survived the Khmer Rouge torture prison where he was taken in 1977, but escaped execution as his skill as an artist meant that
in 1978 he was commissioned to paint the portraits of the guards there. Since the fall of the Democratic Kampuchea regime, Vann Nath painted his memories of his time at Tuol Sleng which have since served as a powerful visual account of the brutality suffered by those imprisoned there. (more…)
Perhaps we are becoming accustomed to these manic cities of South East Asia, but we did not struggle with the hecticness of Phnom Penh that so many had told us about.’ Although the streets continue in the theme of Bangkok, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City with huge amounts of traffic, we were pleased to find that generally the traffic stopped when the light was red – a phenomenon that had been less evident in Vietnam! (more…)
