Artists represented on Cassette Archives and Dengue Fever:
| Musician | Pic |
|---|---|
| Chhun Vanna |  |
| Dara Chom Chan |  |
| Darkie, Kantrum (Khmer folk/dance music) artist from the late 1980s | |
| Eueng Nary | |
| Golden Dragon Band | |
| Kieng Yuthhan |  |
| Klan Han | |
| Meas Samon, singer and comedian (that pic says it all) Wikipedia |  |
| Pen Ran Wikipedia |  |
| Prum Manh, Ayai singer (“a type of traditional singing duet”), see Prum Manh: A rare Ayai gem |  |
| Ros Serey Sothea, “Queen with the Golden Voice”, married Sinn Sisamouth Wikipedia |  |
| Sinn Sisamouth, “King of Khmer music” Wikipedia |  |
| Son Thoeung |  |
| Wat (“temple grounds”) Phnom (“hill”) Orchestra |
In this tweet from @_Porest_ on 5 Nov 2017, Mark Gergis (who wrote the liner notes for Cassette Archives) posted a picture of himself, the album, and the current-day Kieng Yuthhan (who sings Blue Basket on the opening track).
Who Killed the Golden Voice? Part I. Proud Mary from Papier House (the blog of E.L. Biron) about Ros Serey Sothea and her early rise as the “Queen with the Golden Voice”. The article was to be in four parts, but sadly no further articles were published. Especially sad because part II was to be called Cambodia à Go-Go, 1965 – 1975. She came from a poor farming family and moved to Phenom Penh to sing in night clubs and eventually record with such singers as Pan Ron, Houy Meas, and Sos Math, whom she married. And then, after abuse, divorced. Back home to Krong (“city/municipality”) Battambang until she and Sinn Sisamouth paired up to become “the power couple of Cambodian rock and roll”.
There’s a graphic novel about Ros Serey Sothea coming out–that better get published if there is any justice–called The Golden Voice. Here’s an absolutely beautiful panel from the website:
Son Thoeung has few references I could find except his obituary. He died 15 Sep 2017 at age 72. In the dozens of photos on that page, there’s an endearing one of him and (his wife?).
Chhun Vanna, like Son Thoeung, mostly has an internet presence in her obituary after she died on 17 Jan 2019. And, a thread that goes through remembrances of those from that era, there’s the anger: “[W]hat could have been if people like Chhun Vanna not been chased out of the country or killed along with so many others who were of value to society.” We didn’t live it and don’t often read about it, but we shouldn’t underestimate the weight of that history.
In a story from an op-ed from 7 Dec 2008, the author retells his Cambodian-American co-worker’s memories of the singer:
This man was the most famous singer of their old country, my co-workers said. Was he still around, I asked. No, he had actually been exterminated by the Khmer Rouge back in the 1970s.
I asked one of my younger colleagues what artist in the United States had a comparable status. Elvis Presley, he said.
“So if our government had executed Elvis, that would have had the same kind of impact here as when this guy was killed in Cambodia?” I asked.
“That’s right.”
from Sinn Sisamouth: Cambodian song-hero
This story helps me to understand, cruelly, what this music actually represents.