Mary Snow
take5 correspondent
Published April 17, 2009
Get your passports ready because Los Angeles-based Dengue Fever is going to take you to the jungles of Cambodia and back with its psychedelic pop rock performance.
The band is revising Cambodian rock ‘n' roll, which was nearly destroyed in the 1970s by the brutal Pol Pot regime.
“In Cambodia, we rented a studio and recorded with some artists who survived the Pol Pot regime. It's amazing that people survived. The artists we played with were all traditionally master musicians,” says Senon Williams, bass guitarist.
Dengue Fever's recent documentary, “Sleep Walking Through the Mekong,” chronicles the band's visit to Cambodia in 2005 and the influence the trip had on their music. The sound is the perfect backdrop for a 1960s spy movie with all the elements of a seductive thriller. Chhom Nimol sings each its song in the mystic Khmer language, which transforms listeners to a place lost in time.
Williams sits down with take5 to talk about the band's unique and pulsating sound.
Question: How was the band formed?
Answer: Ethan Holtzman (keyboards) and Zac Holtzman (guitarist) had this crazy idea of starting a band based off of 1960's and ‘70s psychedelic rock from Cambodia. Just outside of LA is a large group of Cambodian immigrants, so they went down to that area and looked for a singer. It was one thing to think of this idea and another to do it. We had auditions in Long Beach, and when Nimol started singing, we were all amazed at how beautiful her voice was.
Q: Did you know how famous Chhom Nimol was in Cambodia when she auditioned?
A: At the time we didn't know that she was famous in Cambodia. We had no idea about the Cambodian music scene. Her whole family is like a Jackson family. Her parents and her older sister and brother are both famous singers in Cambodia. When you are famous in Cambodia, you are famous wherever there is a Cambodian community.
Q: What was the idea behind creating the documentary/soundtrack “Sleep Walking Through the Mekong”?
A: Initially, it was trying to figure out a way to get all of us to Cambodia to experience and play music. We went into the capital, Phnom Penh, and hooked up with Cambodia Living Arts, an organization that preserves Cambodia's culture through dance and music. Through this group we set up a stage and performed, which was really amazing.
Q: What music is featured on the soundtrack to the documentary?
A: The soundtrack is music from some of the original '60s Cambodian rock that influenced us and the music we wrote for the film, once we returned home.
Q: What is it about Cambodia's music scene in the '60s and '70s that inspired you?
A: In 2002, when we started in LA, the music scene was described as shrug rock, and we wanted to do something different that was a little bit celebratory and vibrant. That was evident in the early ‘60s and ‘70s Cambodian rock scene.
take5 correspondent
Published April 17, 2009
Get your passports ready because Los Angeles-based Dengue Fever is going to take you to the jungles of Cambodia and back with its psychedelic pop rock performance.
The band is revising Cambodian rock ‘n' roll, which was nearly destroyed in the 1970s by the brutal Pol Pot regime.
“In Cambodia, we rented a studio and recorded with some artists who survived the Pol Pot regime. It's amazing that people survived. The artists we played with were all traditionally master musicians,” says Senon Williams, bass guitarist.
Dengue Fever's recent documentary, “Sleep Walking Through the Mekong,” chronicles the band's visit to Cambodia in 2005 and the influence the trip had on their music. The sound is the perfect backdrop for a 1960s spy movie with all the elements of a seductive thriller. Chhom Nimol sings each its song in the mystic Khmer language, which transforms listeners to a place lost in time.
Williams sits down with take5 to talk about the band's unique and pulsating sound.
Question: How was the band formed?
Answer: Ethan Holtzman (keyboards) and Zac Holtzman (guitarist) had this crazy idea of starting a band based off of 1960's and ‘70s psychedelic rock from Cambodia. Just outside of LA is a large group of Cambodian immigrants, so they went down to that area and looked for a singer. It was one thing to think of this idea and another to do it. We had auditions in Long Beach, and when Nimol started singing, we were all amazed at how beautiful her voice was.
Q: Did you know how famous Chhom Nimol was in Cambodia when she auditioned?
A: At the time we didn't know that she was famous in Cambodia. We had no idea about the Cambodian music scene. Her whole family is like a Jackson family. Her parents and her older sister and brother are both famous singers in Cambodia. When you are famous in Cambodia, you are famous wherever there is a Cambodian community.
Q: What was the idea behind creating the documentary/soundtrack “Sleep Walking Through the Mekong”?
A: Initially, it was trying to figure out a way to get all of us to Cambodia to experience and play music. We went into the capital, Phnom Penh, and hooked up with Cambodia Living Arts, an organization that preserves Cambodia's culture through dance and music. Through this group we set up a stage and performed, which was really amazing.
Q: What music is featured on the soundtrack to the documentary?
A: The soundtrack is music from some of the original '60s Cambodian rock that influenced us and the music we wrote for the film, once we returned home.
Q: What is it about Cambodia's music scene in the '60s and '70s that inspired you?
A: In 2002, when we started in LA, the music scene was described as shrug rock, and we wanted to do something different that was a little bit celebratory and vibrant. That was evident in the early ‘60s and ‘70s Cambodian rock scene.
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