Im Srey Peouv

One of the guest singers on the forthcoming praCh album, Dalama...memoirs of the invisible war, will be the gorgeous Im Srey Peouv, already a singing sensation in the Khmer-American community and who just happens to be praCh's cousin. She's written many of the tunes on her three albums to-date, MTV Volumes 1, 2 and 3 and is currently working on her fourth release as a feature artist for Kolab Angkor Productions. Originally born in Battambang, she now lives in Washington State and has a large following amongst the Khmer community in the US. She hails from a musical family, her father is a teacher of classical Khmer music, her brother is a musician and her sister, Im Sitha, is a singer and lyricist. The youngest of five children, she arrived in the States at the age of six, some twenty-two years ago and recently made her first return visit to her homeland. Listen to Im Srey Peouv here.

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The hour-long look at Khmer rap by Geoff Ryman - aired on London radio station Resonance FM earlier this evening - was an interesting meander through Khmer hip-hop and rap courtesy of the main exponents of this musical genre, such as praCh, who started and ended the program with three of his tracks, kicking off with Power, Territory & Rice, and ending with Clear & Present Danger, and Peace. Ryman's interviews with leading rappers like DJ Cream, A Ping, Tony Real and Silong, were all recorded in April 2006. Silong, as part of the Mujestic collective, provides the beats for praCh's lyrics though he's an artist in his own right, and along with his group 2nd Language, posted the best track of the whole program in A New Day Tomorrow. My thanks to Geoff for highlighting this musical explosion both inside and outside of Cambodia and one which confirms an Angelina Jolie interview comment sampled in a Silong track that declares; "the most inspiring people I've ever met."