Cambodian Art music is highly influenced by ancient forms as well as Hindu forms. Religious dancing, many of which depict stories and ancient myths, are common in Cambodian culture. Some dances are accompanied by a pinpeat orchestra, which includes a ching (cymbal), roneat (bamboo xylophone), pai au (flute), sralai (oboe), chapey (bass moon lute or banjo), gong (bronze gong), tro (fiddle), and various kinds of drums. Each movement the dancer makes refers to a specific idea, including abstract concepts like today (pointing a finger upwards). The 1950s saw a revival in classical dance, led by Queen Sisowath Kossamak Nearyrath.
During the early 1970s, the Khmer Rouge of Cambodia committed genocide among the country's citizens. During their reign, an estimated "90% of Cambodia's musicians, dancers, teachers, and instrument makers" were killed, interrupting the transmission of cultural knowledge to following generations. The country has been undergoing revival ever since, with those remaining trying to perform, teach, research, and document what they can.
The traditional music has had to compete with foreign music that has different tonal systems of scales and pitch frequency. Lack of a formal written-system of music theory for Cambodian music lent to a perception among modern Cambodians that the music was "incorrect", "out of tune" or "uncouth" when compared to western music or to Chinese music. Traditional music still exists today, but its survival is the result of formal efforts governments (both the UNESCO and Cambodian) as well as academics.[3] These have worked to organize knowledge of the Cambodian music system and its distinct traditions.
Sam-Ang Sam, a Cambodian ethnomusicologist, wrote a brief introduction to Cambodian music on his website, part of his work to preserve knowledge Cambodian music and educating. He spoke of music in three different areas of Cambodia: villages, the court and temples. In each setting, music had a formal function or was entertainment. Village music included kar music for weddings, araak music for communication with spirits, and "ayai repartee singing, chrieng chapey narrative, and yike and basakk theaters." Court music had orchestras composed of a specific set of instruments. The pinpeat orchestra (consisting of gong chimes, xylophones, a metallophone, oboe and drums) accompanied the formal dance, masked play, shadow play and religious ceremonies. Less formal entertainment was played by a mohori orchestra. Temples had a "korng skor" ensemble (gongs and drums), as well as a pinpeat orchestra.
Additionally, Sam-Ang Sam differentiates between music made by the mainstream Cambodians (Cambodian music) and the distinct music of ethnic minorities (part of the music of Cambodia). The latter includes music made by people living in Rattanakiri and Mundulkiri provinces, the Koulen and Cardamom ranges, and the vicinity "around the great lake (Tonle Sap)." Differences of language and religion help to create the separation between the different cultures. Ethnic groups include upland Mon-Khmer language groups (Pnorng, Kuoy (Kui), Por, Samre) whose music consists of "gong ensembles, drum ensembles, and free-reed mouth organs with gourd windchests." Other ethnic groups include Cham, Chinese, Vietnamese who all potentially could have music from their home cultures, but which is "unknown."
One of the traditional music forms is Pinpeat (Khmer: ពិណពាទ្យ), in which an orchestra or musical ensemble performs the ceremonial music of the royal courts and temples of Cambodia. The royal orchestra would accompany the classical ballets, both male (Lokhon Khol) and female (Apsara), as well as the Grand Theater of Shadows, the Sbek Thom. The orchestra consists of approximately nine or ten instruments, mainly wind and percussion (including several varieties of xylophone and drums). It accompanies court dances, masked plays, shadow plays, and religious ceremonies. The pinpeat is analogous to the piphat ensemble of Thailand.
In recent years the instrument that gave the pinpeat its name, the pin, has been revived. The instrument was lost or abandoned around the 13 century A.D.
Another form of traditional music was mohori music, which was the entertainment music of the courts of Cambodia, Siam and Laos. While the pinpeat music was religious and "for deities", the mohori music was made for noblemen, focusing on themes and moods to "delight their souls." This music "favors soft instruments", including khloy flute, krapeu, tro chhé, tro sor and Tro Ou stringed instruments, and roneat ek xylophone, roneat thong metallophone, skor romonea drums and chhing finger cymbals.
Arak music was music for religious and healing purposes, dating to "animist spiritual beliefs" of ancient Cambodia. Traditionally it was used to "drive out illness," and used flute, drum, tro and chapei.
Starting in the late 1950s, Head of State Norodom Sihanouk, a musician himself, encouraged the development of popular music in Cambodia. Initially, pop records from France and Latin America were imported into the country and became popular, inspiring a flourishing music scene based in Phnom Penh and led by singers like Sinn Sisamouth, Ros Serey Sothea, and Pen Ran. By the late 1960s and early 1970s, the scene was further influenced by Western rock and roll and soul music via U.S. armed forces radio that had been broadcast into nearby South Vietnam. This resulted in a unique sound in which Western pop and rock were combined with Khmer vocal techniques.
Many of the most important singers of this era perished during the Khmer Rouge genocide. Western interest in the popular Cambodian music of the 1960s-70s was sparked by the bootleg album Cambodian Rocks in 1996, which in turn inspired the 2015 documentary film Don't Think I've Forgotten.
Classic Cambodian pop music, or modern music, includes slow, crooner-type music exemplified by songs such as Sinn Sisamouth's ឯណាទៅឋានសួគ៌? (Ae Na Tiw Than Suor?), as well as dance music. Dance music is classified according to the type of dance signified by the rhythm. The two most common types of Cambodian dance music are ramvong and ramkbach. Ramvong is slow dance music, while ramkbach is closely related to Thai folk music. Recently, a form of music called kantrum has become popular. Originating among the Khmer Surin in Thailand, kantrum is performed by both Thai and Cambodian stars.
Modern Cambodian music is usually presented in Cambodian karaoke VCDs, which typically feature actors and actresses mimicking song lyrics.[citation needed] Noy Vanneth and Lour Sarith are two examples of modern singers who sing songs on the karaoke VCDs, and the VCDs feature songs composed by other musicians, in addition to songs sung and composed by notable musician Sinn Sisamouth.
Tiger Phone Card
Dengue Fever Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You live in New York City
But I think about you so so so
So much I forget to eat
It's 4 am I check my email
I'm too geared up to fall asleep
So I write you back and count the days
Until we'll be together
The first thing that I do
Is throw my arms around you
And never let go
And never let go
I call you from my hotel room
I'm sitting on the hallway floor
I know that we are so so so
So tired my phone card just expired
You only call me when you're drunk
I can tell it by your voice
It's the only time that you
Open up to me and tell me that you love me
The first thing that I do
Is throw my arms around you
And never let go
And never let go
I'm thirty-thousand feet high
Flying through the dead of night
I took an Ambien and you came to visit me
In my dreams
You were bathed in blue light
Floating right in front of me
Your face was so so so
So bright I had to close my eyes to see
The first thing that I do
Is throw my arms around you
And never let go
And never let go
Never let go, oh
Never let go, oh
Never let go, oh, oh
Never let go, oh, oh
Never let go, oh, oh
The song "Tiger Phone Card" by Dengue Fever is a love song that tells the story of two people separated by distance, one living in Phnom Penh and the other in New York City. Despite the distance, the singer thinks about their loved one so much that they forget to eat. The lyrics vividly capture the feeling of longing and the effort it takes to maintain a long-distance relationship, with the singer checking their email at 4 am and counting the days until they can be together again. The chorus "The first thing that I do is throw my arms around you and never let go" emphasizes the intensity of the singer's love and desire to be reunited with their partner.
The song also touches on the struggles of communication in a long-distance relationship. The line "You only call me when you're drunk, I can tell it by your voice" suggests that the two have trouble connecting over the phone and that alcohol may be a way for the partner living in Phnom Penh to open up and express their love. The mention of a phone card expiring also highlights the challenges of staying in touch when physical distance is a barrier.
The third verse is dream-like and surreal, with the singer imagining being visited by their loved one while on a plane, bathed in blue light. The dream sequence emphasizes the powerful emotions and the longing that the singer feels, making it clear that their feelings are not limited to the waking world.
Overall, "Tiger Phone Card" is a touching and heartfelt song that captures the joys and struggles of loving someone from afar.
Line by Line Meaning
You live in Phnom Penh
You reside in Phnom Penh.
You live in New York City
You dwell in New York.
But I think about you so so so
So much I forget to eat
I often reflect on you and it consumes my thoughts so much that I overlook my meals.
It's 4 am I check my email
I'm too geared up to fall asleep
So I write you back and count the days
Until we'll be together
Even though it's very early, I check my email as I am too anxious to rest. Then, I respond to your email and wait for the day when we'll be reunited.
The first thing that I do
Is throw my arms around you
And never let go
And never let go
When we meet, I immediately embrace you and hold you close.
I call you from my hotel room
I'm sitting on the hallway floor
I know that we are so so so
So tired my phone card just expired
I contact you from my hotel while seated in the corridor. We are overly exhausted to the point where my phone card has run out.
You only call me when you're drunk
I can tell it by your voice
It's the only time that you
Open up to me and tell me that you love me
You only ring me when you're intoxicated, and I know this from the sound of your voice. It's the only moment when you speak to me frankly and confess your love for me.
I'm thirty-thousand feet high
Flying through the dead of night
I took an Ambien and you came to visit me
In my dreams
I'm in the dead of night, thirty-thousand feet up in the sky, and after taking an Ambien, you appeared to me in a dream.
You were bathed in blue light
Floating right in front of me
Your face was so so so
So bright I had to close my eyes to see
You looked so beautiful, illuminated in blue light, drifting right in front of my eyes. Your face was so bright that I had to shut my eyes to avoid being blinded.
Never let go, oh
Never let go, oh
Never let go, oh, oh
Never let go, oh, oh
Never let go, oh, oh
Never release your grip, never let go.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: DAVID RALICKE, ETHAN HOLTZMAN, NIMOL HOLTZMAN, PAUL SMITH, SENON WILLIAMS, SENON G WILLIAMS, ZACHARY HOLTZMAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@platedlizard
This is a great song, both this cover and the original. (Bet you guys didn't know it was a cover... it's true! the original was sung by Ros Sereysothea, who died tragically during the Khymer Rogue era). It's really great to see these classics being sung in the US.
@vivanloslunes7493
:0 gonna search for him
@MaharlikaAWA
Where is the original on youtube? I could not find anything about tiger phone card by ros sereysothea .
@vivanloslunes7493
@MaharlikaAWA https://youtu.be/vkBUyIarFUs
@danmccarthy2481
@MaharlikaAWA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1upwX5OGSg
@kedbreak136
@@MaharlikaAWA https://youtu.be/Vd5npWs8Eoo here’s the original
@AvelUnderWill
I love this song. It's a great contemporary reworking of Sinn Sisamouth & Ros Sereysothea's (rest in power) Yuvachon Yuvatey Samai Tmai
@ToddKaufmann
Wow! I thought Dengue Fever wrote it. It is great--brings me to tears every time I hear it--I know how bad it is to be away from your lover. Now listening to the original has the same effect.
@peter-radiantpipes2800
Seen them live in a tiny venue many times back around 2009-2010. Always great show. Not my typical music choice but broadened what I enjoy.
@soundfxboy
This song and "Seeing Hands" have been running through my head since I first heard them several days ago. I was already a big fan of Ros Serey Sothea and some other Cambodian artists. Now I'm down this band.