Category: Night & Day

FRIDAY 15  | It sounds a bit like an old blues song: I went from Harrisburg to Pittsburgh to Vientiane/I went from Phnom Penh to New Hope, PA. Keith Kenny is taking a break from his Big Red Suitcase tour, which crosses the US from his home base in Asbury Park, NJ to California, for a very special event: headlining a UXO (unexploded ordinance) benefit concert in Laos. He then swoops into Phnom Penh briefly to bring his high-energy acoustic sound to Equinox. If we’re really lucky, we might get to hear his rendition of Led Zeppelin’s Bron-Y-Aur Stomp, of which he says: “That tune just seemed to have all the elements for a perfect one-man-band performance and I have loved their whole catalogue since I heard it back in high school. My influences have been all over the map, from heavy metal to finger-style acoustic guitarists to singer/songwriters and old blues artists. That might be one of the reasons I’ve had a hard time finding that defining category for the sound that I’m after.” Sharing the limelight with Kenny tonight are urban cowboy Joe Wrigley and his lovely Cambodian songstress, Mealea Lay.

WHO: Keith Kenny, with Joe Wrigley & Mealea Lay
WHAT: Singer/songwriter and acoustic guitar hero
WHERE: Equinox, #3a Street 278
WHEN: 9pm November 15
WHY: Witness a road-dusted, multi-influenced talent tweaking and searching for a category

 

FRIDAY 15  | The thought of endorsing roots reggae groups founded by Frenchmen can trigger apprehension in reggae snobs, especially when such groups have never set foot on Jamaican soil, but what Vibratone lack in geographical legitimacy they more than make up for with enthusiasm. Between them, Ben and Leonard (guitar), Julien (bass), Vibol (keys), Luis (drums) and Maia (vocals) boast an eclectic background, with musical roots from Brazil to France to the Philippines, yet their all-original reggae genuinely rocks. Keep your ears peeled for Dreams, of which Maia says: “Dreams talks about just that: dreams. The wants, needs and desires that we all have. When I wrote it, it began on a really materialistic note – be it money, a house, a car – then Julien and I spoke and I realised it needed more substance, so there is this transition between the first and second verses. It talks about being at peace with oneself and gaining happiness through fulfilment. We have another song called Who Are You Fooling? and it’s very political; it criticises the status quo and speaks about injustices.”

WHO: Vibratone
WHAT: All-original reggae that rocks
WHERE: Slur Bar, Street 172
WHEN: 9:30pm November 15
WHY: See ‘What’

 

THURSDAY 14  |  A rare look at the second most isolated country in the world, novelist and filmmaker Robert Lieberman’s They Call It Myanmar: Lifting The Curtain raises the veil on life in Burma, held in the iron grip of a brutal military regime for almost 50 years. Scoring 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, the film – which includes interviews with Aung San Suu Kyi – was described by the Chicago Sun Times as one of the best documentaries of 2012. Writes the paper’s Roger Ebert: “They Call It Myanmar is a thing of beauty… a documentary with all the virtues of a great feature film; its cinematography, music and contemplative words make it… a hymn to a land that has grown out of the oldest cultures in Asia.”

WHO: The culturally and politically inquisitive
WHAT: They Call It Myanmar: Lifting The Curtain screening
WHERE: Meta House, #37 Sothearos Blvd.
WHEN: 7:30pm November 14
WHY: A tale of hope in the face of adversity

 

TUESDAY 12 | When more than a dozen khaki-clad dancers air-stepped, jitterbugged and boogie woogied their way through a 30-second commercial for global thread-peddlers Gap in 1998, they unintentionally turned a new generation of rug cutters not onto affordable casual-fit pants but a certain something called ‘swing’. Called upon to define this Harlem sound by Bing Crosby on national radio, Louis Armstrong replied thus: “Ah, swing. Well, we used to call it syncopation then they called it ragtime then blues then jazz. Now it’s swing. White folks, y’all sho’ is a mess.” Today, swing having been immortalised for the 21st century masses first by JXL in the video to Little Less Conversation then by Robbie Williams’ Swing When You’re Winning and later by Marilyn Manson in Mobscene, it’s even on the rise in the steaming urban jungles of Asia. “It’s massive in Korea and China, especially Beijing,” says Richard, a psychologist and long-dancing member of local dance club Swing Penh. “I got called as a reluctant stand-in and felt a bit awkward, but then it became like a problem to solve: how do you do this? We don’t do too much of the ‘throwing around’ stuff. We’re middle aged, you know…” Janice Wilson, Swing Penh’s resident instructor, has performed, choreographed and taught dance in 11 countries, touring with Michael Buble and Wynton Marsalis and once opening for Bill Cosby at Disney World. “Swing allows for full immersion. You’re not just listening to the music, you’re living it; breathing it,” she says.

WHO: Hep cats and hipsters
WHAT: Swing dancing
WHERE: Doors, Street 84 & 47
WHEN: 7pm November 12
WHY: “Swing allows for full immersion. You’re not just listening to the music, you’re living it; breathing it” – Janice Wilson

 

SUNDAY 10 | Self-taught American artist Karen Hartmann explores Cambodia’s ubiquitous krama and how it bestows character and dignity upon its wearer. “Her work is expressive of the aesthetic quality of the sublime and is characterised by a style of pleasure, spontaneity and whimsy,” says Java curator Dana Langlois.” The artist will be on hand throughout for informal chats, plus there’s a live classical guitar performance and a ‘child-appropriate’ film screening in the play room. Tickets ($15 adults, $7.50 for children aged 9–12, available at Java or via daen@nulljavaarts.org) include a high tea buffet and a pot of tea, glass of juice or bubbly.

WHO: Artist Karen Hartmann
WHAT: The krama explored over high tea
WHERE: Java Cafe & Gallery, #56 Sihanouk Blvd.
WHEN: 4pm November 10
WHY: Unravel the secrets of Cambodia’s national scarf

 

SATURDAY 9 | On October 27, the world lost one of its most iconic performers. Lou Reed, 71, leaves behind him an incredible legacy, having worked with icons such as Andy Warhol, John Cale, German top model Nico, David Bowie, Antony Hegarty, David Byrne, Patti Smith and Metallica. Reed challenged boundaries not only with his music, but also as a poet who held up a mirror to New York’s underbelly, not shying away from lyrics about a world where drug abuse, alcoholism, domestic violence and sexual fetishism abounded. Tonight, Meta House honours this most nonconformist of artists, one of the co-founders of the legendary Velvet Underground. Rock ‘n’ Roll Heart, screening at 7pm, traces his life and career. At 8:30pm, forget any idea you had about poetry being boring and written in dark attics thanks to broken hearts: Reed’s poems, which will be read live, stand between interviews and lyrics and will inject you with wonder, gusto and humbleness. From 9pm, Andy Warhol visuals will accompany Reed’s fourth album, Sally Can’t Dance, spun by DJs Pieter (Belgium) and Nico (Germany) while rare footage and music clips from the Velvet Underground are projected outside.

WHO: Lou Reed
WHAT: A tribute to the co-founder of The Velvet Underground
WHERE: Meta House, #56 Sothearos Blvd.
WHEN: 7pm November 9
WHY: Take a walk on the wild side

 

SATURDAY 9 | Established jazz hands Sebastien Adnot, Gabi Faja, Toma Willen and Euan Gray have joined forces to form Kin, whose forays include pop, rhythm, soul and funky stuff such as Stevie Wonder. Faja, the group’s lone Italian, notes: “We are all from very different backgrounds: classical, gypsy, jazz, reggae. In fact our music is a hybrid of all.” Original music scores are in the pipeline, professional photo and video shoots are underway and the four are working with a professional graphic designer to polish the quartet’s branding. “Having a new band is like having a baptism,” Adnot says. “It’s a rebirth.” Tonight it’s all about the bop, so brace yourself for an evening of free jazz improv.

WHO: Kin
WHAT: Bop
WHERE: Doors, Streets 84 & 47
WHEN: 9:30pm November 9
WHY: It’s all about the bop

 

SATURDAY 9 |  Euan Gray, front man of Brisbane-based band The Rooftops, delivers his second all-original solo in Phnom Penh tonight: “It will be some Rooftops stuff, some non-rooftops stuff and possibly some new stuff,” he said of his first solo. “This could be my long-awaited push to finish some new songs I’ve been dreaming up. I have half a chorus for a new song, called Paper Lexus. Last Chinese New Year, I saw people burning paper, factory made Lexuses along with fake money. All things will pass. Amazing symbolism: ironic and hopeful at the same time. I have another one that no one has heard yet called We Live Amongst The Tigers, about how ex-Khmer Rouge are everyday folk, driving our tuk tuks, planting rice, doing business; all trying to move on. ‘Working hard at moving on, working just as hard as anyone…’”

WHO: Euan Gray
WHAT: All-original solo performance
WHERE: Doors, Street 84 & 47
WHEN: 9:30pm November 9
WHY: He’s been dreaming up some new songs

 

SATURDAY 9 |  Artist Kim Hak has chosen Cambodian Independence Day, a historical moment that was orchestrated by the late King Father Norodom Sihanouk, to launch his photographic tribute to a country in mourning, entitled Unity. Says Java curator Dana Langlois: “It is, first and foremost, the coming together of an entire country whose people were united by deep sorrow. It is the sorrow of a nation whose citizens gathered effortlessly and suddenly dressed in a uniform of white and black to mourn the death of King Father Norodom Sihanouk. Of this unity, photographer Kim Hak bears witness while being immersed in the intertwining of a country succumbing to death and grief. The mourning is his mourning – ßhe is only one among the millions who gathered in front of the Royal Palace and at the site of the late King’s cremation ceremony.” During the event, Hak will discuss the making of Unity, present a selection of images and sign copies of the book, which will be discounted on the night.

WHO: Kim Hak
WHAT: Unity book launch and signing
WHERE: Java Cafe & Gallery, #56 Sihanouk Blvd.
WHEN: 6pm November 9
WHY: A moving photographic tribute to a country in mourning

 

THURSDAY 7 & 12 | Have sax, will travel. Will play jazz and conduct saxophone clinics and workshops across France, Italy, Portugal, China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia… Vietnam and Cambodia. And that’s just this year. Danish-born, Paris-based saxophonist Martin Jacobsen collects passport stamps and luggage stickers in the way the rest of us collect coffee shop loyalty card points. To Phnom Penh, Ho Chi Minh City and Danang this November he brings with him two Parisians of Vietnamese heritage, Duylinh Nguyen on bass and Vinh Lê on piano. “Mongolia has been independent for only 20 years and jazz is still very new,” he says of his travels. “I’ve in fact been the first ever jazz educator to come to Mongolia on a regular basis for now a year. Ulaanbaatar’s first jazz club opened a few months ago, the small yearly jazz festival is getter bigger and the Minister of Culture, a woman, loves jazz and helps the scene. Mongolians are an incredibly musical people and their own traditional music scene is very strong. They respond very well to jazz – rhythm, melodies, harmonies – and it’s really exciting to see how the scene is unfolding there. Because of big social differences in Mongolia, the jazz audience is often made up of either more well-off Mongolians or foreigners living there, but with the new jazz club (run by Mongolia’s only jazz pianist) it’s now possible for everyone to come and listen to jazz.”

WHO: Martin Jacobsen Trio
WHAT: Jazz, man
WHERE: Doors, Street 84 & 47 (Nov 7) and Sofitel, Sothearos Blvd (Nov 12)
WHEN: 8:45pm November 7 (Doors) & 12 (Sofitel)
WHY: There ain’t nothin’ like a Dane