KOREA FOUNDATION

Until 1975, Cambodia had a considerably developed pop culture industry. Back then, Cambodian songs combined Khmer music traditions with pop music influences from France, Latin America and the United States. They were somewhat comparable to Korean pop music of the 1960s and 70s, as the two countries share histories of colonization and rapid changes. During that time, Cambodian music and films were so popular in the ASEAN region that Cambodians call this period the “golden age” of Cambodian pop culture. But under the rule of the Khmer Rouge, that “golden age” quickly faded away from people’s memory.

The Cambodia Vintage Music Archive (CVMA) is a nonprofit art project that aims to revive Cambodia’s forgotten music and introduce it to the world.The project aims to continue the legacy of Cambodian pop culture by collecting long-forgotten viny lrecords. It also helps the families of musicians who died during the Khmer Rouge regime and restore their copyrights. In doing so, they help heal the wounds of modern history through music. For the ACH Newsletter, we talked about Cambodian music and the activities of the Cambodian Vintage Music Archive with its director, Oum Rotanak Oudom.

I had the opportunity to meet Nate Hun and Maya Jade Connelly at a workshop to talk about Cambodian pop culture. Through music, we were able to share our experiences and feelings. We wondered how we could preserve long-forgotten music and whether it was possible to find original music recordings. When Nate travelled to Battambang, he discovered Cambodian vinyl records, and so we began discussing ways to collect and digitize them.

The charm lies in its diversity. Music from Cambodia’s “golden era” was composed in various forms, from the rice fields to the forests, from the sea to the moon. It was almost impossible to find two songs that were alike. I think the most important and most powerful aspect of music from that period are the lyrics. Sometimes they were funny, other times sad. They dealt with people’s desires, hatred, jealousy, or compassion. Many of these songs were based on true stories.

We collect various materials related to Cambodian music, such as recordings and album covers, and convert old records into digital formats. We introduce vintage Cambodian music both to Cambodians and people around the world. In 2016, we introduced Cambodian pop music to the Korean public at the Asia Culture Center in Gwangju. We also support the bereaved families of musicians who were killed by the Khmer Rouge, and restore their loved ones’ copyrights to them. Ultimately, we would like to inspire contemporary musicians through vintage Cambodian music and continue the legacy of Cambodia’s forgotten musicians.

CVMA is a digital archive so it’s available on the internet.
You can listen to it through our YouTube channel (https://youtube.com/cambodianvintagemusic)
or on SoundCloud (https://www.soundcloud.com/cvma) or you can buy music from our archive on iTunes.
You can also follow us on Facebook (https://facebook.com/CambodianVintageMusicArchive).