SINN SISAMOUTH
“Groove Club Vol. 4:
Sinn Sisamouth Vol. 1”

Cambodian garage psych music from the late ’60s and early 70’s, is some of the strangest music you will ever hear: amazing garage psych excursions with brilliant farfisa keyboards and wah wah fuzz guitar topped off with fascinating Cambodian vocals — influenced by American and British music of the era, but transformed into something unique and incredible. Primal versions of rock ‘n’ roll, surf, and R’n’B — sometimes all in one song!

“Discovering the wealth of Cambodian recordings was like falling into a parallel universe, complete with its own Elvises, Patsys and Jimis. You can recognize some of the anonymous outstanding instrumentalists as they appear on record after record and marvel at their uncanny blend of Western and Far East, a pure synergy Western musicians have never accomplished.

Of course, looming over every recording is the tragic end of the music and the musicians themselves under the axe of the Khmer Rouge, a cloak of darkness hovering over some of the most joyous, festive music ever made. In a world of instant global communication and mass pop culture, Cambodian rock remains one of the few undiscovered secrets of music. Not content with killing the musicians, the government further ordered the destruction of their records, implicitly understanding the power of pop music to create community. It is a testament to the power of Sinn Sisamouth’s music that it has survived all that has been done to vanquish it.” — Joel Selvin, author/journalist

“Sinn Sisamouth’s artistic accomplishments are staggeringly vast. As a songwriter, crooner, and later a rock and roller, he always had his finger on the pulse of the latest new grooves from around the world. Perhaps his greatest feat was melding so many varied influences into something that became uniquely and purely Cambodian. He’ll forever be revered as the untouchable, golden King of Cambodian popular music.” —John Pirozzi, director of Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten: Cambodia’s Lost Rock and Roll

There were no deluxe studios for the musicians who recorded the devastating tracks contained herein. Nothing so grand. Most of these tracks were recorded live, with traditional instruments finding a place alongside any keyboards or guitars that could be found. And yet, it was the experiments of Khmer rock musicians which transformed the nightlife of the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh—and which many years later continue to seduce listeners around the world with their groovy sound. The music is wild and anarchic, rhythmic and undulating, or sweet and lyrical, but always moving and with that deep soulfulness, regardless of actual musical genre or style, that is the hallmark of the best and most important music. The lyrics often tell stories of angst, death, betrayal and sorrow. But there is a very real, deep, inescapable tragedy in these grooves as well.

Alas, in 1975 came an entirely different type of transformation: the rise to power in Cambodia of the fanatical, anti-Western, Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot. Within roughly four years, implementing their “concept of Year Zero,” Pot and his regime were responsible for the deaths of an estimated two million Cambodians (roughly 21% of the nation’s population), many in the notorious “killing fields.” Even the most famous and beloved Khmer musicians could not escape. Sinn Sisamouth, the “King of Khmer music”; Ros Sereysothea, the “Golden Voice of the Royal Capital”; and Pan Ron — all featured on this collection of songs written by the majestic Sinn Sisamouth — met their deaths at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. Jon Swain, who was the Sunday Times war correspondent in South Vietnam and Cambodia at the time, said: “Educated people, musicians, people with glasses… a lot were taken to the killing fields… so the great singers disappeared.”

To us, the richness and deep soulfulness of Cambodian music is akin perhaps to what was excavated from Ethiopia and embraced worldwide over the years thanks to the “Ethiopiques” series — this despite the geographical and cultural distance between the two very different nations. It really is one world, not three.

It has long been a dearest wish to be able to present on the Lion Productions label individual artist-specific volumes of some of the most important Cambodian music, with the blessing of the families of the artists. Thanks to the family of Sinn Sisamouth, what seemed a dream is now real! Enjoy this first volume of the many to come!

•The first official reissue — or in most cases, re-release of any kind — of these recordings since their initial release as singles.

•Comes with an 8-page full color booklet with info and photos supplied by Sinn Sisamouth’s surviving family.

Track list:
Side A
1. Rom A Go-Go (A Go Go Dance) 2:55 Sinn Sisamouth
2. Hala Hala 2:54 Sinn Sisamouth
3. Chis Touk Leng Ning Borng (Ride a Boat with Me) 2:46 Sinn Sisamouth
4. Vong Veng Leu Khneuy (Lost on the Pillow) 3:26 sung by Pen Ron
5. Nov Teh Prathna (Still Wishing) 3:37 Sinn Sisamouth
6. Kom Dach Chet Choal Brong (Please Don’t Leave Me) 3:26 Sinn Sisamouth
7. Neuk Oun Chea Nich (Missing You Always) 2:35 Sinn Sisamouth

Side B
1. Hean Slab Prous Borng (Dare to Die for Love) 2:42 sung by Ros Sereysothea
2. Thngay Nis Mdeach Oun Theu Pro Ngeuy (Today You Act So Cold) 3:05 Sinn Sisamouth
3. Pka Krohom (Red Flower) 3:26 Sinn Sisamouth & Ros Sereysothea
4. Oun Euy Sdab Pkor (Listen to the Thunder) 3:00 Sinn Sisamouth & Ros Hem Sovan
5. K’out Chheam (Heartbreak) 4:01 Sinn Sisamouth
6. Jot My Maju Reach (The Letter of Death) 3:21 sung by Ros Sereysothea

a link to an mp3 sampler, which has a little taste of every track on the record:

https://spaces.hightail.com/receive/560WCwPzJL <https://spaces.hightail.com/receive/560WCwPzJL>

Catalogue number: LION LP-180
UPC: 778578318017
Format: LP (black vinyl)