How Cambodian music survived the horrors of the Khmers Rouges
Many of the country’s musicians did not, as Dee Peyok recounts in her new book
In 1974, in a town in central Cambodia, Keo Sinan hid his collection of records. Wrapping them in plastic bags, the musician stashed them in an outhouse. Through the years of war, famine and genocide, he checked on them once a week. The 45s were a fragile link to his previous life. But as the Khmers Rouges took over the country, they were a fatal liability.
This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “Going underground”
Culture January 14th 2023
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