Cambodia’s Long-Lost Rock and Roll Culture and Cosmopolitanism
Date
2023-03-17, 2023-03-17
Authors
Choi, Jay
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Abstract
There is a saying in Cambodia: "Music is the soul of a nation, and Music is deeply rooted in Cambodian life." This project takes a broader look at Cambodia's music culture before the encroachment of the Vietnam War and subsequent genocide under Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge. During the Khmer Rouge era, an estimated 90% of Cambodia's musicians, teachers, and instrument makers were killed, interrupting the transmission of cultural knowledge to following generations. Cambodia has been rebuilding ever since, with those remaining trying to perform, teach, and document.
This project explores the years when western Music and culture had a significant influence in the nexus of Cambodia, Phnom Penh, called the "Pearl of Southeast Asia," before the Vietnam war and the Khmer Rouge genocide in the late 1950s to early 1970s. Furthermore, this project analyzes how Music is cosmopolitan in Cambodia, what role music played in shaping Cambodian cosmopolitanism, and how Music was used to deliver politics during the era of the Khmer Rouge. Finally, through examining Cambodia's history accompanied by perspectives of survived Khmer musicians, this project highlights that Cambodia is more than the story of the Khmer Rouge and explores Cambodia's unheard history of Rock and Roll music culture.
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Keywords
Cosmopolitism, Cambodia, Music, Pacific and Asian Studies, Vietnam War, Khmer Rouge