Khmer Rouge documentary with radio angle

Khmer Rock and the Killing Fields

Khmer Rock and the Killing Fields
(Duration: 30 minutes)
Availability:

4 days left to listen

Last broadcast on Tuesday, 13:30 on BBC Radio 4.

Synopsis

Robin Denselow tells the story of Cambodia's rock and roll stars who emerged during the late 1960s with a new sound known as Khmer Rock. Under Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, almost all these singers and musicians were killed, but they are still revered by Cambodians today.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00lrv50

Khmer rock revival seeks new audience

By Sarah Cuddon

Decades after Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge silenced the sound of Westernised music in Cambodia, the little-known 60s genre "Khmer rock" is finding new fans.

Khmer rock is the sound of the West meeting the East in the 1960s - a mixture of US surf guitar music, early rock and doo-wop mixed with Cambodian traditional instruments.

At the time, the music was virtually unknown outside Asia but its followers in the West are now burgeoning.

Music writer Nik Cohn is a new fan who stumbled across the sound by chance.

He said: "One night I was watching (the film) City of Ghosts, and there's an amazing moment when Matt Dillon jumps on a motorbike and rides through Phnom Penh and this incredible music comes on. An unbelievable voice.

(snip)

Despite presiding over an often corrupt and repressive regime, he was passionate and liberal about the arts, and encouraged the traditional court musicians to experiment with Western styles.

But influences also came directly from the US - as the American military presence in Vietnam increased, the American Forces Radio Network also became more well-known.

Flying studios operated by the US Navy spread the sound of rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and country music to Cambodia.

Much more at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8167436.stm

The program features clips of the music, and AFVN broadcasts. Fascinating stuff