No Music No Life

It's beyond dispute that music is something we all cannot live without. Whether it be songs on your iPod, background music at restaurants, sound effects in movies, or singing at karaoke, they're all part of everyday life. It's so ubiquitous we take it for granted. But imagine a life without any music. Zip. Nada. Silence.
 
Such was the life in Cambodia during the Pol Pot regime in the 70s. It's putatively said that about ninety percent of the musicians were killed. All the others have fled the country. Nevertheless the Cambodian music scene has been making a slow come back in the last twenty years. Cambodian modern pop music has been very popular. Local TVs broadcast music videos all day long (which by the way conjures cheesy Asian oldies that my parents listen to). And Cambodians are quite good singers; I often hear my staff singing along to their music on their phones.  

Despite that, it's inevitable that a whole generation of music has been lost and the redevelopment has been slow. Outside of modern Cambodian pop music, many are oblivious to the various other genres of music such as classical and jazz. Music classes are almost nonexistent in public schools simply because there are so few music teachers. And frankly, there is no luxury for families to pay for music instruments or music lessons. Many barely have enough money to send them to school.

But music is more than a concoction of sounds. It makes us feel happy, sad, inspired, empowered, moved, and energized. It soothes our minds and heals us at times in sorrow. It hits our adrenaline when we workout. Many studies have shown music having positive effects for cancer patients, PTSD recoveries, and babies. A recent New York Times article even claims that success is related to music. That certainly may not be the case for me but I firmly do believe it had a positive impact. I played the piano (of course, I'm Asian American) and the flute for over a decade and studied the Japanese harp and flute for some time as well. Music has been a big part of my life so it's almost disturbing that an entire nation has been deprived of music for so long.

Fortunately there have been recent movements among the NGOs and expat communities to bring music back into people's lives. Many of the expats are also talented musicians and have been performing for the Cambodian audience as well as teaching music to the younger generation. My coworker's friend, who is a musician, has been helping revive Cambodian oldies that have been exhumed from pre-Pol Pot era. They've formed a band and have been doing performances throughout Siem Reap. I finally got to see a glimpse of them at the Made In Cambodia Festival held last week. It's great to be able to see a wide generation of local people enjoying the music that was once popular before all the tragedy had occurred. I definitely saw some wistful smiles from the older crowd. 

 

  

 Made In Cambodia is a fair held at the Shinta Mani hotel with  different NGOs to set up booths and sell their products and give them a place to promote their organization at the same time. Our Sewing School sold a few of their products that the students have made so it's been a great success. I've sauntered around the different booths and it's really amazing to see what and how the different NGOs are helping out the local and surrounding communities.