Khmer Rock lives

BBC R4 on Khmer Rock - lost to the Khmer Rouge but still alive today

BBC Radio 4 in the UK are spending half an hour on 'Khmer Rock & and the Killing Fields' on Tuesday 28th, when host Robin Denselow will tell the story of Cambodia's rock and roll stars who emerged during the late 1960s with their new sound. Despite losing most of those stars of Khmer Rock during the Khmer Rouge regime, the music is still revered today. Hopefully they'll post a link so we can hear it after its finished at BBC R4. Thanks to Simon for the heads-up.

The performance of the Yeak Lom traditional group from Ratanakiri at Gasolina tonight was cancelled as they didn't actually make the trip down south. Shame. The dvd for the Aki Ra's Boys documentary arrived in the post today from Singapore, he says, breathing a sigh of relief. It's certainly a film about triumph over adversity. This weekend there's another bout of four football matches in the Cambodian Premier League. The second game on Sunday promises to be of particular interest, when top team Preah Khan Reach take on their nearest rivals, Phnom Penh Crown, who are just a point behind them. My money is on Crown though PKR have quietly gone about their business this season, winning matches and have yet to put in a really electrifying performance. Saturday's games should see wins for Naga and Khemara Keila. I'll be covering all 4 matches for the Phnom Penh Post. Finally, the new Cambodian national carrier, Cambodia Angkor Air, will kick-off its maiden flights on Tuesday between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap (4 each way) as well as Saigon. There are really cheap fares to be had too. The original idea was to christen the new Sihanoukville airport but that has been put on hold until they can get a 'name' to open it later this year. Oh I nearly forgot, the PM here has talked disparagingly about wedding cakes being a non-Khmer tradition and of foreign influences affecting Khmer arts, which will be a headache for the cake-making business over here as well as people like Belle, the country's leading contemporary dancer, who gets her influences from all over the globe. I can understand a desire to keep a rich vein of tradition to the fore, but there has to be room for innovation and progress too, the country cannot live in a time-warp.