A Night Into the 60s

History  was made in the Chaktomuk Theatre on Saturday, January the 11th, 2014.

The night started young with the premiere of the John Pirozzi’s film, co-produced with the Documentation Center of Cambodia, Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten: Cambodia’s Lost Rock and Roll, followed by a Q&A session, a refreshment and an absolutely awesome concert by Mr. Huor Lunh from Apsara band, Mr. Hong Samley from Bayon band, and Mr. Touch Seang Tana from Drakkar band, which these three were the famous bands from back in the 1960s, featuring Miss Chom Nimol, the lead singer of the Dengue Fever Band.

Somehow, the film had simply showed me a brief history of Cambodia starting from when King Norodom Sihanouk claimed our country’s independence from the French Colony.  The film makers made it so easy to understand the flow of the history, which to be honest, I cannot really understand by studying History back in high school.

I like the film sooo much. In my very own perspective, it was a history documentary with a twist of music sensation. Well, talking about lost music surely is history, but not only the history of Khmer Rock and Roll did the interviewees in the film (and who were also there during the Q&A session),  talked about, they talked about the characters, about their backgrounds, how they got into the music industry, and about their tragic lives in the Khmer Rouge Regime.

Who were the interviewees?  Some were the characters featured in the film themselves, some were the characters’ relatives, and two of them were, and still are, fans. An American academic historian, Mr. David Chandler was also one of the interviewees, and I was glad to finally, know how he looks like in real life (we use his book as our main book for our Cambodia History class). It was such a thrilling sensation with a mix of past and present hearing from Baksei Cham Krong band’s members, the Drakkar’s members, Ros Sereysothea’s sisters, Miss Di Savet, Mr. Sin Chanchaya, the son of Mr. Sin Sisamuth who had been crowned the king of voice and still is, about the wonderful golden Khmer era of both music and society.

There were actual footages from back then, of how Cambodian people’s life styles, of how the cyclo (a ride consists of a bicycle and a carriage) riders used to parked altogether and listened to the broadcast of the National Radio Station during their break and rest. What really surprised me was how Khmers liked to party and dance, and how they even closed the curtains of their homes during the war period and continued listening to music and dancing, calling the place a day time bar. A lot of artists who back then had such a great influence on the people included my all time favorite, Mr. Yol Aularong, who was such a respective free spirit and whose music (genre: rock) had left such a big impression on Cambodians, since the 1970s till this nowadays generation. Sad that he got murdered in the Pol Pot regime.

BUT. Due to the fact that Cambodia was indeed under the French colonization, later on the American colonization, Cambodia artists were influenced by those countries’ music and the American soldiers had brought the Cuban music with them. Khmer had simply welcome the western culture, and made it their own with many guitar bands, catchy songs, styles, and even trendy clothes.

Before I left the event, I  got a chance to talk to Mr. Samley from the Bayon band, and told him how much this new generation of Kon Khmer (Khmer Kids) love our music from back in the golden age. He then gave me a big hug and kissed both my cheeks and thanked me, and – wow, what a moment. An overwhelmed wave of emotion so strong which I have not felt quite a long while washed over me, and I almost cried right there in the sea of people.

This phenomenal event might or might not happen again, I don’t know, but man, I have learnt so so much tonight all thanks to the amazing people who made this – A Night Into the 60s – possible, and I hope to someday witness something this big, or even better, get to work with them and, well, come up with something which would mean a lot to Cambodian people, and give them the feeling like I have felt  that night.

Source: https://fishywhispers.wordpress.com/2014/01/14/a-night-back-in-the-60s-2/