Most of us have had a lifetime's enjoyment of Sin Si Samouth's music. But as we know, none of his surviving family have received any royalties from his tremendous body of work. As a small gesture of appreciation, some members of KhmerWitica have set up a collection of donations to be given to his family.
If you would like your donations to be anonymous, please send email to saronk4@gmail.com to specify your wish, otherwise your donation will be made public here.
*Note: You can download all other songs and music (non Sin Si Samouth) for free from the above site, graciously provided by mirage.
Brief Biography
He was a famous and highly prolific Cambodian singer-songwriter of the 1960s and 70s. Widely considered the “King of Khmer music,” Samouth, along with Ros Sereysothea, Pan Ron and other artists, was part of a thriving pop music scene in Phnom Penh that blended elements of Khmer
traditional music with the sounds of rhythm and blues and rock and roll to make a Westernized sound akin to psychedelic or garage rock. Samouth is believed to have been killed under the Khmer Rouge regime.
Music Career:
After completing medical school, Samouth became a male nurse and married his cousin, Keo Thorng Gnut in an arranged marriage. The couple had four children. But he was also a very famous singing star in Cambodia, and his life as a celebrity eclipsed his family life. He possessed a clear crooning voice, which combined with his own compositions of the pleasures and pains of romance, made him an irrestible idol. He sang many ballads, as well uptempo rock numbers that featured prominent, distortion-laden guitar, pumping organ and loud, driving drums. Other arrangements were more Latin jazz-sounding, featuring woodwinds, brass and auxiliary percussion.
In the early 1950s he became a protege of Queen Kossomak Nearyrath. He was selected into the Vong Phleng Preah Reach Troap (classical ensemble of the Royal Treasury) where together with Sos Matt, he performed at royal receptions and state functions. A number of songs he wrote subsequently bore the unmistakable melancholic melodies of traditional Khmer music he performed in those formative years. In the mid-1950s a romantic ballad “Violon Sneha”, composed by violinist Hass Salan, catapulted Samouth into stardom. In recent years the song has been re-issued by a large number of modern performers, including Song Seng Horn (Sayonara CD 23) who hails from Rhode Island, Mol Kamach (a singer and guitarist of the 1960s who escaped the Khmer Rouge rule and is now living in France), Nay Sieng (a Khmer based in France) and Him Sivonn (a female vocalist from Phnom Penh). Most of Samouth’s tape recordings from this period did not survive the years of social upheaval however, although now and then some of Samouth’s ’50s and early ’60s hits come back to life with the help of his thousands of Khmer fans from across the globe. One such hit, “Srey Sros Khmeng”, re-emerged from oblivion with Suong Chantha’s 2002 faithful rendition. Samouth’s other hits of the same period include “Anussavry Phnom Kravanh”, “(Chett Srey doch) Chong Srol”, “Thngay Dob Pee Thnou”, “Thngay Muoy Kakkda”, “Teuk Keb”, “Stung Pursat” and “Prek Eng Oss Sangkhim”.
What captured Samouth’s audience was the use of a four-piece, rock and roll band instrumentation with guitars and percussion, a departure from a backing band of wind instruments. He also experimented with Latin music, an infatuation that may have started with Prince Norodom Sihanouk’s compositions such as “Reatry Del Ban Chuop Pheak” and “Phnom Penh”.
Samouth’s popularity nevertheless did not eclipse the work of other recording artists, notably those who sang at the National Radio such as Eum Song Seurm and Huoy Meas. Meas Hok Seng, a voice artist at the Phnom Penh University of Arts (”Sala Rachna”) also achieved celebrity status in 1966 with “Lolok Nhi Chmaul”. Hits by these artists often came from the pen of lyricist Ma Lao Pi, a talented poet and broadcaster now living in California, whose masterpieces include “Day Samot Trapaing Roung” and “Lolok Nhi Chmaul”. Despite occasional hits such as “Akassyean”, Sos Matt on the other hand appeared to have been unfairly sidelined in the commercialisation of music that took place with the arrival of recording productions such as Vat Phnom and Chan Chaya.
In the late 1960s and early ’70s, Samouth sang the soundtrack songs to a number of movies catering to mass taste, such as Orn Euy Srey Orn, Tep Sodachan, and Thavory Meas Bong. In “Peou Chhouk Sar”, a 1967 success directed by talented Tea Lim Kaing, Samouth captured the poignant breakup of lead actors Dy Saveth and Chea Yuthan with his “Neavea Chivit”. Over his long career, Samuth recorded many duets with female singing partners including in the early 60’s, Mao Sareth, Keo Settha, Chhunn Vanna, Huoy Meas, Ros Sereysothea and Penn Ron. Penn Ron began recording with Samouth in 1966. Ros Sereysothea started her career in around 1967 with the hit “Stung Khieu”. Her high, crisp voice nicely balanced the deeper-toned voice of Sisamouth. Nevertheless the quality of Samouth’s songs deteriorated rapidly in the ’70s, saved a few notable gems written by lyricist Voy Ho who has been a long standing colleague. Over that same period Samuth adapted a number of Thai songs into his repertoire.
From 1972 to 1973 music publisher Kruorch Bunlyhe issued “A Collection of Sentimental Songs”, which contained 500 of Sinn Sisamouth’s songs. That was just one publisher. It’s estimated that he wrote thousands of songs, possibly at least one for each day he was famous, his son Sinn Chaya has said.
Along with his original works, Samouth also introduced many Western pop tunes to Cambodia, simply writing new verses in Khmer language. Examples include “The House of the Rising Sun” as “I’m Still Waiting for You” (a particularly good showcase of his sustained phrasing and baritone voice), “Black Magic Woman” (drawing influence from the Santana version) as “I Love Petite Women”, and “Quando My Love”, a crooner’s classic in any language.
(source: wikipedia)
