How to evaluate the Cambodian psychedelic rock band Dengue fever in the United States?

This is a Los Angeles band composed of a Cambodian-born lead singer and five American musicians from alternative rock, who often embarrass the female lead singer on the stage. On the cover of the band's new album Venus on Earth (produced by M80 Company), the guitarist Chuck with a long beard and goggles? Hozman rode a scooter, and the lead singer Qiu Nimo sat in the back seat demurely. This is a Cambodian girl riding a motorcycle through the streets of Phnom Penh. Dengue fever is good at combining Cambodian pop music, rock music and other music of1960s in unexpected ways, which fits this image very well. Clever, clever and ironic indie rock has changed rapidly, and the boundaries between them have become blurred.

This is a game human orchestra that constantly puts forward profound themes. In a recent performance in the Echo Park community in Los Angeles, all the male members looked like complete idiots, but Qiu Nimo sang mainly in Khmer and looked like an old-school aristocrat in a shiny Cambodian silk dress designed by herself. After performing a suite, when she lit candles on the stage to commemorate those killed by the Khmer Rouge, her voice suddenly choked and tears ran down her cheeks.

Hozman said in a recent interview: "I think we have checks and balances. She calmed the whole place down, and if it was just like this, it would be a long night. Next, we smashed the whole site into pieces. 」

"Dengue fever" Fafe Sa electronic organ player Ethan? Hozman (Chak's brother) traveled to Cambodia in 1997 and discovered Cambodian pop music in 1960. When he returned home, he brought back a bunch of tapes, and the orchestra became an army. Cambodian pop music is not the kind of folk music influenced by ancestors that minority musicians long for; Instead, local music works, with a little clumsy flowers, are full of melodies of surf guitar and soul music arrangement, which were often played by US military radio stations in this area during the Vietnam War. It was not until1970s that the Khmer Rouge came to power and overthrew Cambodian culture that Cambodian pop music ceased to be popular.

Dengue music is a tribute to Cambodia's lost pop music. However, six members of dengue fever form a typical Los Angeles Orchestra, which combines members with different backgrounds and interests. It seems to be very suitable for one of the most populous areas in Cambodia (located in Long Beach, south of downtown Los Angeles) and an increasingly popular place for indie rock (located in the hilly area east of Hollywood). This band provides cultural integration; Besides obscure Cambodian pop music, you can also hear psychedelic Italian-American guitar playing, Ethiopian soul music and Bollywood movie soundtrack.

Dengue fever is now prevalent in places far from home. The band recently returned to China after attending the Womex Music Fair of Seville International Music Festival. British media listed the band in the comprehensive report of Star of Tomorrow, and the songs of dengue fever have become the soundtrack of TV and movies, including the film Love, Don't Look for It directed by Jim Jia Mouche. The new documentary "Sleepwalking on the Mekong River" tells the story of the band's first visit to Cambodia as a band, which seems to help the band get more attention.

Bass player Shannon? Williams said: "people in underground bands are catching up with the international music trend. It is popular in the international music world how cool it is not to wear pigtails and Guatemalan pants." When Williams was sitting in his backyard, Qiu Nimo and Chuck Hozman were there.

Demitri, a public relations and marketing operator who has handled many international music activities? Weize believes that this band is "part of a larger development model" of global music. He pointed out that American artists, such as paul simon, often introduce world music to the American market.

He said that he now saw a movement whose music was produced and influenced by immigrants: "We are seeing more and more bands like dengue fever.