THURSDAY 22 – SUNDAY 25 | Some 50 of the capital’s finest musicians have assembled for Vibe, a ten-day music festival ending this week that features upwards of 17 bands. It’s carved up into three ‘vibes’: Dancing & Bouncing (August 16, 17, 18 & 23), Cooling & Chilling (18, 19, 20, 21, 22 & 25) and Quiet Listening (24), the only night for which there’s a cover charge ($3, available in advance at Doors on Street 84 & 47 and The Piano Shop on Street 13 & 178). Here’s what not to miss:
7pm THU 22: Khemera, Akhia & Amanda Bloom
Doubling as frontwoman for post-hardcore band No Forever, 22-year-old Sam tonight goes unplugged, along with her guitarist Tim, in acoustic act Khemera. Watch out also for Akhia, a self-taught guitarist from the Philippines who will be channelling Chrissy Constanza, Alex Goot and Boyce Avenue. Amanda Bloom, meanwhile, arrives fresh from recording her second album, Atlas, which features Australian saxophonist Euan Gray and Malaysian Asia Beat drummer Lewis Pragasam. “The album draws its inspiration from my experiences living in Cambodia for the last two years and is a melting pot of world, classical and piano-driven melodic pop music,” says Amanda.
9pm FRI 23: Jahzad & Lady Bluesabelle
Mixing their danceable rhythms with popular jazz tonight are some of Phnom Penh’s most talented musicians, among them Sebastien Adnot (bass), Sam Day Harmet (mandolin), Greg Lavender (drums), Euan Gray (saxophone) and Alexandre Scarpati (trombone). Known collectively as Jahzad, they promise an evening of “infectious beats and tasty horn lines”. Afterwards, expect from the lovely Lady Bluesabelle everything from Caribbean and funk to electro swing and Afro beat.
7:30pm SAT 24: Master Kong Nay & Krom & VJ Roberto
Silence is indeed the only way to greet the work of Krom. The tune She’s Seven Years Old (Her Body Sold), from the band’s forthcoming second album, Krom – Neon Dark, is perhaps the single most disturbing item on the Vibe menu. It recounts the true story of a young Cambodian child sold into sexual slavery and was described by BBC broadcaster Mark Coles as “Harrowing; a very disturbing, powerful song.” On an ever-so-slightly lighter note, Krom will also perform material from their first album, Songs From The Noir, and the ethereal vocals of Sopheak Chamroeun and her sister, Sophea Chamroeun, for which the band is famed. Even more famous is master musician Kong Nay, one of the few to survive the Khmer Rouge regime: a man known in certain circles as ‘the Ray Charles of Cambodia’, who will be joining Krom for several songs tonight.
8pm SUN 25: Charlie Corrie, Euan Gray & Friends
Drawing on the sounds of Smokey Robinson and Sam Cook, with a dash of James Morrison and Gavin Degraw, is self-taught pianist/guitarist Charlie Corrie. And Euan Gray, frontman of Brisbane-based band The Rooftops, has promised his first all-original solo: “It will be some Rooftops stuff, some non-Rooftops stuff and possibly some new stuff.” You heard it here first.