FRIDAY 18 | The Underdogs all met at Music Arts School, a non-profit grassroots institution on Street 370.
“We started about a year ago, trying a mix of different styles: some Khmer songs, some English songs,” explains leader and singer Sammie. “Then we decided we should specialise in bringing back the old songs from the 1960s. Everyone knows Chnam Aun Dop Pram Moi (‘I’m 16’) and Svar Rom (‘Monkey Dance’), but there are many more songs that we play that are less well known. We want to introduce the young people to more obscure songs that are just as good… We search in YouTube, listen to old cassettes and we talk to the old people who remember the times.” The band members describe their mission as reconnecting their peers with the music of their heritage. “The new songs copy too much; they sound just like K-Pop. We want to make a real Cambodian sound.” The Underdogs have a more traditional wedding-band form with rotation singers: two girls and a boy. “This way we can give the singers a rest, each time they can come on fresh,” says Sammie. Also, it means a wider range of songs. The songs of Ros Sereysothea and Pen Ron are now widely known, but the band can also play tunes by the Elvis/Dylan/Sinatra of Cambodia, Sinn Sisamouth, as well as the wilder singers such as Yol Auralong, famous for Jih Cyclo and also responsible for the drunken raving blues of Syrah Syrah, and the funky soul of Voa Saroun. Long may the dogs run free!
WHO: The Underdogs
WHAT: Energetic Golden Era rock ‘n’ roll
WHERE: Equinox, Street 278 (Oct 18) and Slur, Street 172 (Oct 19)
WHEN: 9pm October 18 (Equinox) & 19 (Slur)
WHY: Look to the youth to drive the future
(Photo: Jeremie Montessuis)