Been framed

The wall behind the old parliament building is lined with makeshift al fresco eateries peddling deep fried meat on a stick and other goodness. Across the street, a burgeoning mid-market klatch is following suit. The Framed Art Cafe, an art and framing shop with half a dozen tables and a growing reputation for inexpensive fried meat and dollar draft, is the newest among them. The cafe’s walls are covered with ubiquitous watercolor landscapes and happy paintings, but also schwag-a-delic Cambodian Space Project posters and other pop-culture hangables. The menu is long and includes pastas and pages of local dishes. The deep fried seafood ($4.50) is everything you could ever want from a street-side cheap-eats place, and the fresh mango passion fruit freeze ($2) is yummy enough to be dessert. Framed Art Cafe, #14 Street 246.

Space trippin’

THU 12 | Ever wondered what crazy adventures the Cambodian Space Project crew must have experienced during their past five years touring Cambodia and the globe? Check out their trip in full kaleidoscopic, psychedelic glory at Space Four Zero Pop Art Gallery with the launch of The Cambodian Space Project: A Five-Year Retrospective Photographic Exhibition. There will be tasty things to sip and snack on while cuts will be played from the CSP forthcoming album Electric Blue Boogaloo.

WHO: The Cambodian Space Project
WHAT: Photographic exhibition
WHERE: Space Four Zero pop art gallery, #40 St. 118
WHEN: 5pm, March 12
WHY: You’ve heard their songs, now view their story

Hey Mikkie!

THU 12 | Berlin-based singer-songwriter Mikkie B. can hardly be described as conventional. An unlikely marriage of pop, acoustic folk and classical music translates into a warm, yet melancholic sound. Tune into her honest, relatable lyrics and classically-trained piano and you’ll find yourself transported to a world that’s far from your smoky surroundings. Oh yeah, and she’s only 21, so what the hell are you doing with your life?

WHO: Mikkie B
WHAT: Classical pop
WHERE: Meta House, #37 Sothearos Blvd.
WHEN: 8pm, March 12
WHY: A chilled way to (almost) welcome in the weekend

A touch of France

FRI 13 | Good France Cambodia is celebrating all things French this coming week and the crew at The Creem have the cocktail side of things covered. It’s round number two for team Creem at Bouchon Wine Bar, and this time they’ll be sprinkling it with all things French. DJ Jack Malipan will man the decks, spinning classic French electronica from Daft Punk and Justice among others, and, of course, with a bar as well-stocked as this one, you can expect a creative explosion of French-inspired cocktails: think champagne, French martinis and Rose Pamplemousse Piscine (the harder they are to say, the tastier they are to drink).

WHO: Francophiles and cocktail-drinkers
WHAT: French Touch Party
WHERE: Bouchon Wine Bar, #3 St. 246
WHEN: 8pm, March 13
WHY: It’s French Week. Sante!

The house that Jacques built

FRI 13 | Love house, but sick of gigs so deep they risk penetrating earth’s core itself? Look no further than 24-year-old analogue prodigy Jacques Greene, who spent his teen years navigating synthesisers and drum pads while the rest of us were out dancing to shitty billboard charts. The result is an eclectic mix of ambient house, indie-electronica and R&B favourites. This sound was evidently unique enough to perk up the ears of Radiohead, who hand-picked Greene to remix their tracks for album production. Alongside this, Greene has collaborated with likes of Tinashe and The xx and co-produced the Vase record label. This Friday, he’ll be bringing his finely honed silky, supernatural IDM to Phnom Penh for a gig you’re not likely to forget in a hurry.

WHO: Jacques Greene
WHAT: Dreamy IDM
WHERE: Pontoon Pulse, #80 St. 172
WHEN: 10pm, March 13
WHY: It’s deep, but not too deep

Art, music & a whole lot of paint

SAT 14 | Celebrating art and music, the folks at Simone Art present a festival with a line-up that will in itself be music to your ears. Having just released their new album, Dub Addiction will join Wat A Gwaan, providing smooth reggae beats, while the KlapYaHandz team will get you up and bouncing with skillful hip hop. If electronic music is your bag, DJ Moudy, DJ Mercy and DJ Sequence will spin their tunes long into the night. Oh, and it’s obviously so cool it’s reached South America – Columbian street artists Stinkfish will be painting the walls with their trippy murals throughout the evening.

WHO: Dub Addiction, Wat A Gwaan, KlapYaHandz & more
WHAT: Art festival
WHERE: Simone Art, St. 93 Boeung Kak Lake
WHEN: 2pm, March 14
WHY: Music, art, dance, drinks. What more could you want?

Prodigal son

SAT 14 | Known best as “that guy from The Prodigy,” Leeroy Thornhill has, in fact, developed a unique style of his own, having spent many years as a solo producer, as well as producing for artists such as David Gray, Moby and Dr. Doom. He’s also had his own music remixed by numerous artists in the field, including Maxim and Adamski. Thornhill will infuse his Miami Bass with electro-breaks, hip hop and old school samples that are bound to get you popping like it’s 1996.

WHO: Leeroy Thornhill (The Prodigy)
WHAT: Miami Bass/Hip hop
WHERE: D-Club, #3 St. 278
WHEN: 9pm, March 14
WHY: Awesome in The Prodigy. Even better on his own.

Inside out

WED 18 | Heng Ravuth presents his latest work in Innermost II. Continuing to explore self-portraiture and the human form as a medium for expressing the human condition, Ravuth displays a range of dynamic works that evoke mystery and curiosity about the bodies in which we all travel. Sound intense? That’s cuz it kind of is. Leave yourself a good amount of time to peruse a room full of portraits which are likely to leave you feeling positively meta.

WHO: Heng Ravuth
WHAT: Art exhibition
WHERE: Java Café & Gallery, #58 Sihanouk Blvd.
WHEN: 6:30pm, March 18
WHY: It’s a visual philosophy lesson