The Cambodian music scene is one of history’s most underappreciated movements. Experiencing its golden age in the 60s and 70s, Cambodian music was an entirely unique blend of traditional music, rock, pop, and psychedelia – to name but a few of the genres from which it drew influence. Abruptly crushed by the murderous regime of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge communists in 1975, many of its musicians were executed or disappeared under mysterious circumstances. The country’s gradual recovery from this traumatic period saw a revival of interest in its musical heyday. Today, Cambodia’s modern-day artists carry on the spirit of their forebears. Influenced and inspired by the rhythm and sounds of decades past, they pay homage to the legends of old while adding something new to the mix. Here, Top 10 of Asia shares its list (presented in no particular order) of the ten most admirable musicians of Cambodia.
Nikki Nikki
Nikki Nikki is Cambodia’s modern-day pop princess and with the way things are going, it might only be a matter of time before the region – and the rest of the world – falls under her spell. Equally at home belting out powerful ballads as she is getting the crowd going with some upbeat dance tracks, Nikki Nikki counts a string of hits under her belt and is a live performance to behold. Her most popular song to date, Home for Dinner, has become something of an anthem for the Khmer youths. Mixing both Khmer and English verses into her lyrics, Nikki Nikki hopes to put Cambodian music on the world map.
Aok Sokunkanha
Aok Sokunkanha is a Cambodian singer, actress, as well as a popular brand ambassador. She is a familiar face to the audience of The Voice Cambodia, Cambodian Idol, The Voice Kid Cambodia, and X Factor Cambodia – having sat on the judging panel and audition committee for each of the shows. You could say that performing arts run in her blood, her father having been a musician himself and her mother a teacher and dance instructor at the Royal University of Fine Arts. Her talent was something of a surprise to her father, who never knew his daughter could sing till he’d heard her by chance – after which he had her accompany him every time he performed.
Kak Channthy
Kak Channty was on a mission to revive Cambodia’s dying rock’n’roll scene when she started Cambodian Space Project with her husband Julien Poulson in the early 2000s. Described as “the barefoot diva of the Cambodian rice fields”, Channthy grew up in poverty in a rural province. Her funky style and exuberant energy, coupled with a powerful voice, saw Cambodian Space Project become one of the few bands to rise to fame beyond the borders of the country. Inspired by the golden age of Cambodian music, Cambodian Space Project led a remarkable revival of the local arts and culture scene. Kak Channthy had achieved her mission. However, this proved to be a fleeting consolation upon her tragic death in 2018 – aged only 38 when the auto-rickshaw she was travelling in was hit by a car.
VannDa
VannDa had wanted to make music for as long as he could remember. His family – and this will resonate with a lot of his audience – wanted him to become a doctor or lawyer from the beginning. VannDa knew that wasn’t him though and decided to leave the comforts of his picturesque hometown of Sihanoukville to try to make it big in Phnom Penh. His song Time to Rise, a collaboration with one of Cambodia’s most venerated musicians in Master Kong Nay, was a smash hit – accumulating nearly 100 million views on YouTube to date. His music draws heavily from his own experiences, with many of them a struggle to revisit and some too painful to put into song entirely.
Chhom Nimol
Born in Cambodia, Chhom Nimol lived in a Thai refugee camp on the border before making her way to America in 2001. Singing in restaurants and bars in Long Beach, California, it was there that her vocal abilities began to attract attention. Noticed by the band Dengue Fever and eventually invited to become their lead singer, Nimol took her chance and never looked back. The band’s members had developed an interest in Cambodian psychedelic rock music prior to that and decided to recruit Nimol as she was fluent in the Khmer lyrics of the music they’d hoped to play. That meeting led to a beautiful union that persists into the present day.
Pich Sophea
Pich Sophea is a singer and songwriter and just by looking at her, you couldn’t tell she was from humble beginnings. But that she was, forced by crushing poverty to drop out of school in grade 11. She first sought a living by selling snails and sugarcane on the streets of Phnom Penh after she and her family had moved there from their home province of Prey Veng. She soon realised she couldn’t make enough to help feed her family and so she turned to singing. Finding some success as a nightclub crooner, she was soon spotted by domestic music production company, Rasmey Hang Meas. She has come a long way since then and is now a popular fixture in concerts and Cambodian television.
(Photo Courtesy: OneBeat)
MC Lisha
Jessica Srin, better known as MC Lisha, is Cambodia’s pioneering female hip hop artist. Rapping and recording since the early part of the century, she studied traditional Cambodian dance at university before becoming a singer and then finally found hip hop. It’s the love affair that’s made her into what she is today, with MC Lisha using hip hop as a medium of expression to tell her story and speak up on women’s empowerment. Her music blends the genre’s characteristic beats with traditional melodies from Khmer classics to create something totally original. Cambodia’s hip hop scene is thriving now, and you can trace it back to the woman who started it all.
Khemarak Sereymun
Khemarak Sereymun is a veteran of the Cambodian music scene. Starting his career young in the late 90s, his ascent to stardom was put into motion with the release of his song Heart of a Boxer in 2003. His follow-up efforts, Prom Tang ahlai and Prolit Bat Beong, then cemented his place in the hearts of Cambodian fans across the country. Sereymun has been able to showcase his talents abroad as well, being invited to perform in the United States as well as at the Cambodia-Thailand Friendship Concert in Bangkok. Sereymun also had the honour of picking up the Best Male Singer of Cambodia and Cambodia Top singer prizes at the Anachak Dara Awards in 2011 and 2013 respectively.
(Photo Courtesy: Southeast Asia Globe)
DJ Khla
DJ Khla is one of Cambodia’s most famous rappers and it’s not just for his music either. One of the few Cambodian artists to speak out against the rule of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government, his voice is especially impactful as he used to serve in Hun Sen’s personal bodyguard unit. His breakout hit Rambo, released in 2012, was a hit sensation and a regular feature of wedding and restaurant performances at the time. Combining the gentle inflections of traditional Khmer vocals with reggae funk and verses on the realities of Cambodian life, the song gave him a platform of popularity he now uses to make music that speaks out against the persecution of the Cambodian people.
Preap Sovath
Preap Sovath is the multitalented singer and actor known to Cambodians for his music and his public appearances as a judge on Cambodian Idol, Cambodia’s Got Talent, and The Voice Kid Cambodia. A man to whom genres are but trivialities, his works span a mesmeric body encompassing elements of slow rock, folk, country, and pop. He represented Cambodia at the 2014 World Music Awards and has performed internationally on multiple occasions. Sovath is a force for good too, lending his talent at the MTV EXIT Concert in Phnom Penh in 2008 which was part of a campaign to raise awareness of exploitation and human trafficking in Asia.