SATURDAY 7 | Male and female. Fire and water. Dark and light. Life and death. Many natural forces that might at first seem contrary are in fact complementary, a concept embodied in the yin yang of Chinese philosophy. Together, such forces interact to create a sum far greater than their parts. Such is the case with Krom (Khmer for ‘the group’), quite possibly the most reclusive band in Cambodia. Public performances are rare; interviews even more so. In Krom, East meets West. Mournful delta blues guitar mingles with celestial Cambodian vocals. Tales of human atrocities are tinged with the slightest suggestion of hope. Angelic opera singers Sophea and Sopheak Chamroeun are backed by Australian guitarist Christopher Minko, a man onto whose features more than a thousand lifetimes have been etched (the three were introduced by Cambodian Living Arts). Nearing 60, Minko is not without his demons. A professional musician with Australian cult band The Bachelors in Prague in the late 1980s, he is today a recovering alcoholic who smokes more than three packs a day, wears any colour so long as it’s black and has been in a near-permanent state of mourning since the death of his wife, the mother of his only daughter. When he speaks of her, cross-legged and barefoot on the floor of Krom’s studio in a tiny Phnom Penh alleyway, a single tear slowly meanders down one of the many ravines that years of hard living have carved deep into his flesh. She’s Seven Years Old (Her Body Sold), from the group’s recently released second album, Neon Dark, is perhaps Krom’s most disturbing track. It recounts the true story of a young Cambodian child sold into sexual slavery and was described by BBC Radio broadcaster Mark Coles as “Harrowing; a very disturbing, powerful song.” Minko was motivated to write the lyrics after reading a story in the local press that described the rescue of a seven-year-old girl from sex traders on the Thai-Cambodia border. The photo accompanying the article showed her chained to a bed: “a horrendous mix of fear and utter bewilderment shown within the eyes of the enslaved young girl”, says Minko, noting that the song “is meant to make the listener feel uncomfortable, very uncomfortable”.
WHO: Krom
WHAT: A rare public performance, featuring Gabi Faja on piano
WHERE: Doors, #18 Street 84 & 47
WHEN: 9:30pm December 7
WHY: They’re elusive, reclusive and exclusive