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Chicago Tribune, IL
Feb 15 2008
Survival guide for Armenia, Cambodia
By Aaron Cohen | Special to the Tribune
February 15, 2008
At the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains, a classically trained
vocalist intones a lullaby that connects contemporary Armenia to a
sound from 16 centuries ago. Meanwhile, in California, a
Cambodian-born singer revives Khmer-language rock from a more recent
past. They're worlds apart to be sure, but both show how much music
can survive, even transcend, difficult times.
Shoghaken Ensemble, which will perform at the Old Town School of Folk
Music on Feb. 22, has exuberantly presented Armenia's traditional
songs and dances since the country's independence from the Soviet
Union in 1991. Dengue Fever -- appearing at the Empty Bottle five
days later -- is helping to revive interest in 1960s Cambodian rock
'n' roll. Though vocalist Hasmik Harutyunyan of Shoghaken and singer
Chhom Nimol of Dengue Fever have never met, part of their motives are
similar.
"Everybody should understand where they came from," Harutyunyan said.
"These traditions are the way to do that."
On the Shoghaken Ensemble's recent self-titled disc (on Traditional
Crossroads), duduk player Grigor Takushian's incredible technique is
revealed through subtle movements on his indigenous double-reed
instrument. Harutyunyan, a trained mathematician, makes complex
Armenian time signatures seem simple. She adds that there's a sense
of purity conveyed through the lyrics because "the Armenian women who
sang them were close to nature."
The ancient pastoral sounds of Armenian folk music take an epic turn
in the hands of this group. The musicians' expert dance moves are
just as captivating.
Harutyunyan said that current economic struggles in Armenia have
split families apart with many wage-earners living abroad, and this
particularly hurts how culture is passed.
"We need to have a dialogue from generation to generation and that's
a reason why I sing lullabies," Harutyunyan said. "It's a bridge from
adults to children."
At the same time, a thriving Armenian immigrant community has
enriched Los Angeles. So have nearby Cambodian neighborhoods where
Nimol, now 28, resettled after she became a famous pop singer in
Cambodia. Her career took a different turn when she encountered
Californian guitarist Zac Holtzman and his keyboardist brother,
Ethan, seven years ago.
The Holtzman brothers had collected cassettes of 1960s Cambodian
singers who mixed their country's language and melodies with the
upbeat surf and garage rock they heard on U.S. armed forces radio
broadcasts from Vietnam. The Holtzmans formed Dengue Fever to
reinterpret this sound, then met Nimol at a Cambodian-American
nightclub in Long Beach, Calif.
Nimol shows how garage rock could have used a Khmer lilt on top of
its more familiar organ lines and electric guitar stomps.
Memories of Cambodian rock's glory years -- which came to a terrible
end during the Khmer Rouge regime of the 1970s -- remain, even if
young people in Phnom Penh generally prefer karaoke-bar pop today.
When Dengue Fever performed in Cambodia a couple of years ago, Nimol
and Holtzman said their host audiences appreciated the visit.
"The Cambodians were worried that Nimol was gone for so long, she may
have forgotten her Cambodian roots," Zac Holtzman said. "But when she
went back they saw she Cambodianized a bunch of Americans."
Shoghaken Ensemble
So much more than lullabies
Where: Old Town School of Folk Music, 4544 N. Lincoln Ave.
When: Feb. 22, 7:30 p.m.
Price: $25; 773-728-6000
Dengue Fever
Rock 'n' roll Cambodian-style
Where: Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western Ave.
When: Feb. 27, 9 p.m.
Price: $12. (21+); 773-276-3600
Feb 15 2008
Survival guide for Armenia, Cambodia
By Aaron Cohen | Special to the Tribune
February 15, 2008
At the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains, a classically trained
vocalist intones a lullaby that connects contemporary Armenia to a
sound from 16 centuries ago. Meanwhile, in California, a
Cambodian-born singer revives Khmer-language rock from a more recent
past. They're worlds apart to be sure, but both show how much music
can survive, even transcend, difficult times.
Shoghaken Ensemble, which will perform at the Old Town School of Folk
Music on Feb. 22, has exuberantly presented Armenia's traditional
songs and dances since the country's independence from the Soviet
Union in 1991. Dengue Fever -- appearing at the Empty Bottle five
days later -- is helping to revive interest in 1960s Cambodian rock
'n' roll. Though vocalist Hasmik Harutyunyan of Shoghaken and singer
Chhom Nimol of Dengue Fever have never met, part of their motives are
similar.
"Everybody should understand where they came from," Harutyunyan said.
"These traditions are the way to do that."
On the Shoghaken Ensemble's recent self-titled disc (on Traditional
Crossroads), duduk player Grigor Takushian's incredible technique is
revealed through subtle movements on his indigenous double-reed
instrument. Harutyunyan, a trained mathematician, makes complex
Armenian time signatures seem simple. She adds that there's a sense
of purity conveyed through the lyrics because "the Armenian women who
sang them were close to nature."
The ancient pastoral sounds of Armenian folk music take an epic turn
in the hands of this group. The musicians' expert dance moves are
just as captivating.
Harutyunyan said that current economic struggles in Armenia have
split families apart with many wage-earners living abroad, and this
particularly hurts how culture is passed.
"We need to have a dialogue from generation to generation and that's
a reason why I sing lullabies," Harutyunyan said. "It's a bridge from
adults to children."
At the same time, a thriving Armenian immigrant community has
enriched Los Angeles. So have nearby Cambodian neighborhoods where
Nimol, now 28, resettled after she became a famous pop singer in
Cambodia. Her career took a different turn when she encountered
Californian guitarist Zac Holtzman and his keyboardist brother,
Ethan, seven years ago.
The Holtzman brothers had collected cassettes of 1960s Cambodian
singers who mixed their country's language and melodies with the
upbeat surf and garage rock they heard on U.S. armed forces radio
broadcasts from Vietnam. The Holtzmans formed Dengue Fever to
reinterpret this sound, then met Nimol at a Cambodian-American
nightclub in Long Beach, Calif.
Nimol shows how garage rock could have used a Khmer lilt on top of
its more familiar organ lines and electric guitar stomps.
Memories of Cambodian rock's glory years -- which came to a terrible
end during the Khmer Rouge regime of the 1970s -- remain, even if
young people in Phnom Penh generally prefer karaoke-bar pop today.
When Dengue Fever performed in Cambodia a couple of years ago, Nimol
and Holtzman said their host audiences appreciated the visit.
"The Cambodians were worried that Nimol was gone for so long, she may
have forgotten her Cambodian roots," Zac Holtzman said. "But when she
went back they saw she Cambodianized a bunch of Americans."
Shoghaken Ensemble
So much more than lullabies
Where: Old Town School of Folk Music, 4544 N. Lincoln Ave.
When: Feb. 22, 7:30 p.m.
Price: $25; 773-728-6000
Dengue Fever
Rock 'n' roll Cambodian-style
Where: Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western Ave.
When: Feb. 27, 9 p.m.
Price: $12. (21+); 773-276-3600