Death Is Not The End is a profoundly interesting record label (and radio program on NTS) operating out of London, and how they find such oddball gems like this I’ll never understand.
What is clear, though, is that the Khmer music scene really got into music from France (from colonial connections, the United States and the United Kingdom, but also imported genres like bolero from Latin America. The Khmer language seems to be perfectly adaptable to the quirks of Western Music, and these covers hold their own rather well.
A final note – the cover shows a Khmer beauty with the most glorious bouffant I’ve seen in some time. This was a time when hair was a commitment! It’s also good to see where the incredible Cambodian psychedelic scene developed its roots.
