Sinn Sisamouth, he is the "King" of Cambodian Pop Music.

 

Sinn Sisamouth, he is the "King" of Cambodian Pop Music.

Sinn Sisamouth 

He and his singing partner, Ros Serey Sothea, drew on a wide range of Western and local influences. They vanished after the Khmer Rouge seized power in 1975.

Sinn Sisamouth in disappearing during the Khmer Rouge reign of terror in the 1970s. Before the khmer rouge reign the was dubbed the "Elvis of Cambodia"
Sinn Sisamouth a Cambodian singer-songwriter, had become a fixture on radio shows and in evocative lyrics about love and the Cambodia landscape for more than two decades, from the 1950s to the mid-1970s.

He and his bandmates, most notably singer Ros Srerey Sothea, were known for their diverse repertoire, which included jazz, rock&rool and popular Khmer ballads, among other things. They would occasionally use a Western song's melody, such as the Beatles. "Hey Jude" while adding orchestration and writing original Khmer lyrics.

They were instrumental in shaping the sound of Cambodia's popular music industry, with Sinn Sisamouth emerging as one of the country's most revered stars.
However, many of Sinn Sisamouth's recordings have survived and continue to have a significant impact on Cambodian culture.

Sinn Sisamouth was born on August 23, 1933, in the northeastern province of Strung Treng(According to some sources, he was born in 1932 or 1935).

According to a 1995 article in The Phnom Penh Post, his father, Sinn Leang was a prison warden and his mother Sib Bunloeu.

Sinn Sisamouth moved to the western province of Battambang when he was 7 or 8 years old, where his uncle encouraged him to learn to play traditional Khmer music on stringed instruments such as the tro khmer, a type of fiddle and the chapei, a lute.

Sinn Sisamouth moved to Phnom Penh, the capital, when he as 17 years old and enrolled in a medical school with the goal of becoming a hospital nurse, but he never lost his love of music. 

His granddaughter said he played his mandolin under a tree during his breaks and performed for sick patients to help them relax.

Later, he began performing live at the headquarters of Cambodia's newly established national radio station and his profile grew.

When it came to singing technique, Sinn Sisamouth was king, "said Prince Panara Sirivudh, a member of Cambodia's royal family in the documentary". His voice was so beautiful and he wrote such sweet songs.

According to a study by LinDa Saphan, the documentary's associate producer and professor of sociology at the College of Mount Saint Vincent in New York City, popular Western music was imported to Cambodia as early as the 1940s by the royal palace and Cambodians who could afford to travel to Europe and the country's rock&roll scene began in earnest in the 1950s.

The sound combined high-pitched, operatic singing with distorted electric guitar solos which were popular in American music at the time.

Sinn Sisamouth became a representative of this new style because of his ability to write both ballads and upbeat rock song, according to Saphan but he voices of Ros Serey Sothea and other female vocalist on his recordings were the "final touch that made this Cambodian mix so enticing."

 Sinn Sisamouth was invited to perform with Cambodia's royal ballet early in his career, he wore dapper suits and bow ties, his hair combed back. He also traveled abroad with a traditional bandformed by the queen's son Norodom Sihannouk, a composer and saxophonist (and longtime monarch) who was instrumental in developing Cambodia's cultural industries in the postcolonial era.

It as a hopeful period in Cambodian history: the country has gained independence from France in 1953 and was developing its identity and culture.

Sinn Sisamouth's former neighbors in the countryside marveled at hearing his songs on the radio as his fame grew. Some referred to him as the "Golden Voice of Cambodia" or the "Elvis of Cambodia."

A medical student, how can he sing! the villagers exclaimed at the time, according to his sister in the documentary.

He met Ros Serey Sothea at a national radio station when she was 17 and worked with her for over a decade.

"Their musical conversations were love stories filled with a sense of yearning and despair of palpable loss, yet holding out the possiblity of reconciliation" by Sophan wrote.

By the early 1970s, the duo had produced several hi songs, including a few for Cambodian films, amid a scene of go-go hands, big hairdos and youthful exuberance. Sinn Sisamouth also wrote and directed the 1974 film "Unexpected Song" which featured original music by Sinn Sisamouth and a performance by Ros Serey Sothea.

The music of the duo has rekindled interest. Sinn Sisamouth will be the subject of a documentary film titled "The Golden Voice" which will be published next year.

According to The Post, Sinn Sisamouth married one of his cousins, Khao Thang Nhoth and they had three sons and a daughter's name Sin Chanchhaya, one of his sons, also became a musician.

Sinn Sisamouth was an introvert who spent the majority of his time alone, according to his granddaughter. After dinner with his family, he would frequently retire to his studio to compose.

"All of the emotions-spirit, connection, interior feelings--were expressed through his music" he said.