Srey Channthy
Powerful vocals; heartbreaking stories…
A female chanteuse in long hair and short skirt is dwarfed by the stage until she opens her mouth. Her vocals wail across Asian half-notes – off the scale and back again – to a back-beat of pounding music ranging from Khmer pop, to psychedelic rock, and beyond. It was easy to imagine oneself in a dark, smoky bar in Phnom Penh, circa late 1960s. The room would be filled with mostly white, male patrons: world-weary foreign correspondents, hard-drinking army personnel on R&R from the war in neighbouring Vietnam, and expat French businessmen left over from the colonial days.
But, no, I wasn’t in Phnom Penh. I was at the Crossroads Stage at Bluesfest 2014 on a hot Sunday afternoon in Australia’s Byron Bay, and The Cambodian Space Project was filling the room with sound. Billed by the festival organisers as an “Asian Rock ‘n’ Roll space odyssey”, they were on my “not-to-be-missed” list.
Srey Thy (Channthy) and The Cambodian Space Project
Under the Pol Pot rule of Cambodia between 1975 and 1979, anyone deemed an “intellectual” was targeted. Over 17,000 Cambodian people were executed in the Killing Fields, and these included most of the country’s writers, artists and musicians. As a consequence, the country’s musical, artistic and literary traditions were as good as wiped out.
Srey Thy was born as part of the baby-boom that followed the Vietnamese liberation of Cambodia from Pol Pot’s horrendous rule. She grew up in a poor, rural region, working hard from a young age, and inheriting her mother’s love of singing.
According to the band’s bio, Julien Poulson, a musician from Tasmania with a grant to work on a project aimed at reviving Cambodia’s lost musical traditions, first heard Srey sing in a karaoke bar in Phnom Penh in 2009. He persuaded her to join him, and together they are the nucleus of The Cambodian Space Project.
Srey Thy is firmly grounded in her rural roots, and the band regularly plays in remote villages across Cambodia. Srey recalls their first visit to her home village in her song: Whiskey Cambodia. With a cheeky smile, broken English and sparkling eyes, she told the Byron Bay audience that the villagers were worried because they had “no red wine” for the foreigners, and the guests would have to make do with “whiskey Cambodia” – which, I can attest, is an extremely potent brew.
Srey Channthy
Julien Poulson
Srey Channthy
Singing the Songs of the Past
The band’s repertoire includes Khmer-pop songs made famous by singer-songwriter Pan Ron, who was at the height of popularity in the 1960s and early 1970s, before being killed in 1975 by the Khmer Rouge in one of their final mass-executions.
Romantic Ballads
The set also included songs popularised between 1967 and 1975 by Ros Serey Sothea. Known as “the golden voice of the royal capital,” she is also thought to have been killed by the Khmer Rouge.
The songs were all in Khmer (although one was at least partially sung in French – a remnant from the days of colonial rule), and the explanations of the titles were almost as much fun as the music: my favourite is “Cut your Beard (I love you)”.
The Cambodian Space Project (CSP)
Monday evening, against a backdrop of stars, the group took to the Delta Stage to once again woo and wow the audience.
The Chanteuse
I was as captivated by Srey’s songs and story-telling as I had been the day before.
Stars in our Eyes
Srey was born and raised in one of the poorest regions of Cambodia. She learned to sing from her mother, who survive the Khmer Rouge purges by disguising herself as a peasant boy.
Twist and Dance
One minute I was reminded of the go-go dancers who graced the clubs and television sets of the late sixties; the next minute Srey incorporated elegant traditional Khmer dance moves.
Power and Pain
Srey is at her most powerful on CSP original works, like the lament: “The Boat”, a hauntingly beautiful song about asylum seekers trying to make their way to Australia.
She had me in tears. More than once.
I’m sure part of that is my deep attachment to her homeland, and a small sense of the pain that is there. What an achievement it is to rise above it, and turn that pain into music! Music that commemorates those murdered Cambodian singers of the past and music that also tells stories of today: “positive and powerful stories”.
For Srey Thy is not just a stage presence with an enormous voice; she is a human rights advocate and a songwriter working for a better future.
For herself, and for her country.
Impressive.
Pictures: 20-21April2014
(On a tragic note: Srey Channthy was killed on 20 March 2018 when the tuk-tuk in which she was a passenger was hit by a car. She is greatly missed.)
Wow, Ursula, I had no idea!
I’ve been a fan of Cambodian Space Project, Dengue Fever and many of the pre Pol Pot rock and roll, and Khmer Pop of Cambodia for a long time. On any given weekend, I routinely have Ros Serey Sothea playing on my home stereo..Ursula, I never knew we shared this common appreciation for this kind of music. Reading this awesome blog post about the band and about Srey Thy while listening to Whisky Cambodia playing, raised the hair on the back of my neck! I have no doubt that Srey Thy’s haunting vocals and the pulsating beat brought tears to your eyes. You’re very fortunate to have seen her in live on stage…I’ve never seen the band in concert because I always seem to be out of the country when they’re here making the rounds. Thanks for this excellent reportage and for all the great photos to go along with it…absolutely FANTASTIC…Ursula, I think you might have a new gig as a concert photographer and reviewer. WOW, WOW, WOW, you always continue to impress me with your talents. Bravo!
Oh Karl – you made me blush again! Many thanks for the visit to my blog and your kind words. Srey and Justin signed my CD for me – Srey was thrilled to speak a little Thai with me. (I don’t speak any Khmer) 😀
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