Sinn Sisamouth
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Sinn Sisamouth | ||
|---|---|---|
 "King of Khmer music"
|
||
| Background information | ||
| Born | 1935 Stung Treng, Cambodia |
|
| Died | 1975 Cambodia |
|
| Occupation(s) | Singer, composer, bandleader, producer |
|
| Years active | 1950s–1975 | |
| Associated acts |
Ros Sereysothea, Pan Ron | |
Sinn Sisamouth (Khmer: ស៊ីន ស៊ីសាមុត, 1935–c.1975) was a famous and highly prolific Cambodian singer-songwriter in the 1950s to the 1970s.
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.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Sinn Sisamouth (alternative spellings: Sin Sisamouth, Sinn Sisamout/h, Sisamut/h or "Si" with spacing, e.g. Si Samouth) was born in 1935 in Stung Treng Province, the son of Sinn Leang and mother Seb Bunlei who was of Lao-Chinese descent.
He was the youngest of four siblings, with one brother and two sisters. His father was a prison warden in Battambang Province and was then a soldier during the Colonial Cambodia period. His father died of disease and his mother remarried, and the union resulted in two more children.
Samouth attended Central Province of Stung Treng Elementary School when he was five. At the age of six or seven, he started to show interest in the guitar, and he would be asked to perform at school functions. He was interested in Buddhist scripture, and he learned Pali from the Buddhist monks. He enjoyed reading books, playing soccer and flying kites.
In about 1951 he finished elementary school, and went to study medicine in Phnom Penh, where he lived with an uncle. Despite the rigorous demands of medical school, Sisamouth still managed to find time to learn how to sing and compose songs. Just as he had in elementary school, he became well known in his school for his musical skills and lyrical talent, and was asked to sing at school ceremonies.
By the time Cambodia was granted independence from France in 1953, Samouth's fine singing voice landed him a spot on national radio as a regular singer. He also continued his studies, working at Preah Ketomealea Hospital.
[edit] Music career
[edit] Early hits and musical talent
Samouth possessed a clear crooning voice which, combined with his own compositions about the pleasures and pains of romance, made him an 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.
Samouth composed melodies on a mandolin. His songs were usually of a sentimental nature, reflecting on the longings, pains, and pleasures of romance. His lyrical talent was a result of hard work as well as natural ability. He was known to have used up to three different dictionaries in searching for just the right word in the Khmer, Sanskrit, or Pali languages.
In the early 1950s he became a protege of Queen Kossomak Nearyrath. He was selected to join 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. Samouth's other hits of the same period include Srey Sros Khmeng","Anussavry Phnom Kravanh", "(Chett Srey doch) Chong Srol", "Thngay Dob Pee Thnou", "Thngay Muoy Kakkda", "Teuk Keb", "Stung Pursat", and "Prek Eng Oss Sangkhim".
[edit] 1960s Cambodian music scene
Beginning in around 1963, Samouth started recording on the Vat Phnom label. His "Champa Batdambang" won immediate acclaim across the country. On a 1971 Phnom Penh television show, Samouth's interviewer recalled that "Champa Batdambang" was the first song sung on the inauguration of the station in 1965.
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 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 1970s, Samouth sang the soundtrack songs to a number of popular Cambodian films, such as Orn Euy Srey Orn, Tep Sodachan, and Thavory Meas Bong. In "Peou Chhouk Sar", a 1967 success directed by 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 1960s, Mao Sareth, Keo Settha, Chhunn Vanna, Huoy Meas, Ros Sereysothea, and Pan Ron. Pan Ron began recording with Samouth in 1966. Ros Sereysothea started her career around 1967 with the hit "Stung Khieu". Her high, crisp voice nicely balanced the deeper-toned voice of Sisamouth.
[edit] Samouth in the 1970s
As his popularity increased, Samouth could no longer keep up the pace of writing his own material, so he started performing works by other songwriters. He initially picked songs written by Pov Sipho, Svay Som Eur, and Ma Laopi, but he would also occasionally sing songs composed by Mae Bunn, a close friend of his, and Has Salorn. Between 1970 and 1975, he almost exclusively sang songs written by Voy Ho, a long standing colleague. Regardless of who had written the songs, Samouth always managed to make them popular. Samouth also adapted a number of Thai songs into his repertoire.
From 1972 to 1973 music publisher Kruoch Polin issued A Collection of Sentimental Songs, which contained 500 of Sinn Sisamouth's songs. It is 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" (influenced by the Santana version) under the title "I Love Petite Women", and "Quando My Love".
[edit] Personal life
[edit] Marriage and family
After finishing medical school, he wedded his cousin, Keo Thorng Gnut, in an arranged marriage. They had four children. After the Khmer Rouge, only one daughter and one son survived. His family life deteriorated as a consequence of the pressures of his career and the temptations that his voice attracted. With regard to the relationship with his wife, one of his sons, Sinn Chaya, commented that no woman could pay that price. At the age of thirty, his wife become a nun.
[edit] Friends and interests
Sinn Sisamouth had a reputation for being very serious about his work. In business affairs, according to publisher Kruoch Polin, he would always deliver what he promised. At home, he was a quiet man, and would sometimes not speak more than ten words in an entire day. When he was not performing, Samouth would lock himself in his room and dedicate his time to writing more songs. His failure to socialize contributed to a reputation for being elitist.
His friends at the beginning of his career were songwriters such as Mao Saret, Seang Dee, and Sous Mat. His very close friends were Mae Bunn and Siv Sunn, who was was more or less Samouth's personal secretary.
Samouth was an avid fan of cock-fighting, and he raised fighting birds. In his spare time, he would bet with friends. He exercised regularly by lifting weights every morning. His other interests included reading books at the library and watching French films at the Luch or Prom Bayon cinemas. At night, after he finished performing, Samouth would meet with friends to eat rice porridge. He had contracts with three different restaurants in Phnom Penh in which he was paid 1,500 riels to sing two or three songs. A bowl of noodles cost 5 riel at the time. He usually sang at Kbal Thmor Bar, Neak Bagn Teak Bar, and a bar located next to the Interior Ministry.
He was not a picky eater. He generally preferred to eat Lao food. When he ate Khmer food, he liked to eat pror-huk and phork tpul trey. He never drink wine or soft drinks, ate chili peppers, or smoked cigarettes, all of which would harm his voice.
He always freely gave up-and-coming singers advice and reminded them to take care of their voices. His affable, caring attitude thus won him favor among his contemporaries.
[edit] The Killing Fields
In the aftermath of the coup d'état by the Lon Nol government on March 18, 1970, which saw the overthrow of the rule of Prince Norodom Sihanouk, Samouth started to sing propaganda songs in support of the fledgling Khmer Republic. One such song that became an enduring classic was "Mae Owy Ao Yoann", telling the story of a mother giving a mantra-covered magic vest to her soldier son on his way to battle. Referring to Viet Cong troop movements over Cambodian territory during the Vietnam War, a verse in the same song said that the deposed monarch had sold out Cambodian land to the Viet Cong. Such criticisms of the royal family were unprecedented, not least given that Samouth had been a protege of Queen Kossomak Nirirath, mother of Prince Sihanouk. The Khmer Rouge takeover of Phnom Penh on April 17, 1975 saw Samouth forced out of the city, along with millions of other residents.
By this time he had remarried, to a dancer in the royal ballet, who was pregnant at the time with the couple's second child.
The circumstances of his death in the Killing Fields are unknown, but he had connections with the old government, was highly educated, and was an artist — all trappings of a society that Pol Pot sought to eradicate. One apocryphal story is that before he was to be executed, Samouth asked he be allowed to sing a song for the cadre, but the cold-hearted soldiers were unmoved and after he finished singing, killed him anyhow.
[edit] Legacy
Because his influence on Cambodian music was so great, he is still a household name in Cambodia. One son, Sinn Chaya, became a singer for the Cambodian Radio, though he himself has admitted he cannot be compared to his father.
Although all the master tapes of his studio recordings are thought to have been destroyed by the Khmer Rouge, his work lives on in recordings created from cassettes and LPs that have subsequently been transferred to CD, and are often heard on Cambodian radio stations.
Now and then some of Samouth's 1950s and early 1960s hits are re-recorded successfully. One such hit, "Srey Sros Khmeng", re-emerged from oblivion with Suong Chantha's 2002 faithful rendition.
In recent years his 1950s hit song "Violon Sneha" has been re-issued by a large number of performers, including Song Seng Horn, a Cambodian-American 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).
Many 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 1950s and early 1960s hits are re-recorded successfully. One such hit, "Srey Sros Khmeng", re-emerged with Suong Chantha's 2002 faithful rendition.
Samouth, his frequent duet partner Ros Sereysothea. and other Cambodian singers of the era, including Meas Samoun, Chan Chaya, Choun Malai, and Pan Ron, are featured on the soundtrack to Matt Dillon's film City of Ghosts. Tracks by Samouth are "Mou Pei Na" and "Ne Te Fache Pas".
[edit] Partial discography
Some of the songs (from the hundreds and possibly thousands) that Sinn Sinsamouth composed and sang himself, or with Ros Sereysothea or Pan Ron, include:
[edit] Solo performances
[edit] A
- Ae Na Tiw Than Suor? (Where Is Heaven?)
- Annie...
- Anicha
- Anuksavary Phnom Sompov (Memories of Sompov mountain)
[edit] B
- Ba Oun Ban Bang (If, Honey, You Had Me)
- Baksa Slab Deik
- Battambang Bandol Jet
- Bong Som Pdum Srey Orn*
- Bopha Chiang Mai (Flower of Chiang Mai)
- Bopha dei krong (Flower of the city)
- Bopha Koah Kong (Flower from Koah Kong Island)
- Bopha tae mouy (Just One Flower (or Girl))
[edit] C
- Chang Trim Tae Khuñ (Just Want to See)
- Cheim Krohom Kmao
- Chmous Oun Diuc Doung Dara
- Chit niw tae prathna
- Chit Phit Kbat (Treacherous Lying Heart)
- Cut Saog Dai Aike*
[edit] D
- Devi*
- Dorng steung Porthisat
- Dorng steung Sangker
- Dourng netra
[edit] G
- Gaing Thov*
[edit] J
- Jevit Sach Loch
[edit] K
- Kandal dourng Chet
- Keng Youl Angrung (Sleeping, Rocking the Hammock)
- Kheung Pruos Sralanh (I Am Angry Because I Love)
- Kolap Batdambong (Rose of Battambong)
- Kolap Mouy Tong (The One Rose)
- Kolap Pailin (Pailin Rose)
[edit] L
- Lmorm heuy na srey (Enough Already)
[edit] M
- Mae Ouy Owe Youn*
- Maloub dorng steung por bak khaing
- Marina
- Meas Teuk Prambei (Impure Gold) a.k.a. Smaan Tae Niw Gramom (Thought (She) Was Still a Maiden)
- Meul Teuk Samotr (Looking at the Water of the Ocean)
- Msel Menh (Yesterday)
[edit] N
- Neary chnam 72 (Girl in 1972)
- Neuk Oun Jearnich (I Miss You All the Time)
- Nevei Jevit
[edit] O
- Oh oh yeh yeh — song by Sinn Sisamouth containing a chorus in English
- On srey On (On, the Woman, On)*
- Oun mok pee na? (Honey, Where Did You Come From?)
[edit] P
- Pailin Soben Snae (Pailin Dream of Love)
- Pél dèl trov yom
- Pkai Proeuk (Morning Star)
- Phap Samnarng
[edit] R
- Ream Kham Sror Mai
- Roomdourl dorng steung Sangker (Flower of the River Sangker)
- Roomdourl Pothisat (Flower of Pursat)
- Roomdourl Kok Kong
- Roomdourl Sorin
- Roseal Kong Phnom
[edit] S
- Samotr ream
- Sangkhim Cheanich (Hoping Forever)
- Snae ney yoeung (Our love)
- Sopheap boroh
- Soriya reap lich
- Stoeung Sangker Kom Praeh jet tmey (River Sangker, Don't Change Your Mind)
[edit] T
- Tep Thida Khnong Soben
- Tgnai Neas Min Jole Pteas (Won't Go Home Today)
- Thavory meas Bang (Thavory, my Love)*
- Touh yarg nar
- Troap Koap Chenda
- Tumnuñ Kita
[edit] V
- Vil Veñ Oun (Come Back, Dear)
- Voasa Dal Haouy (Winter Is Here Already)
[edit] Y
- Youp 12 koert (Unforgettable Night of the 12th Increasing Moon)
[edit] Duets with Ros Sereysothea
- Ae Na Prommajarey
- Atneja Kai Gnognit
- Akura Lohet*
- Bombai Tep Sodachan*
- Boh Choong
- Chhom Chet Pesey
- Chop Jeur Huey Bros
- Jang ban pka avey? (What Flower Do You Want?)
- Jomno Throjeak (A Cold Wind)
- Jun Kasey
- Koch Madum Na? (How Am I "bad"?)
- Kolarb snaeha (Love Poem)
- Komloss Phnom Penh Kromom Battambang
- Konoch veyo
- Kromom Khmer Ler
- Lea Huey Kolap Battambang
- Oh! snaeha euy! (Oh! Love!)
- Snaiha Phenovong*
[edit] Duets with Pan Ron
- Ah run rah
- Chearng Maik Por Svay*
[edit] Notes
Song titles were in Khmer but have been transliterated into the Latin alphabet. Translations of song title pronunciations to English may not be accurate, may have been modified to be understandable in English, and under other circumstances should not be considered error-free. An asterisk (*) beside a song title means the song is known to be a soundtrack to a Khmer film at the time.
- Khoeung Pruos Sralanh is also known as Bonaich jet snae
- 'Oun' is a Khmer pronoun used by a male to refer to a female lover or by the female to refer to herself when speaking to her lover. It can also be a female name or nickname.
- Chmous Oun Doch Dourng Dara is also known as Chom Chet Pisey
[edit] References
- A Brief Biography of Sinn Sisamouth (retrieved from archive.org on December 22, 2006).
[edit] Sources
[edit] External links
- Camweb: Sinn Sisamouth Songs — some songs by Sisamouth in Real Audio format
- Sinn Sisamouth song downloads — at Khmer Rocks
- Don't Think I've Forgotten — a documentary about the Khmer rock and roll scene.
- "Memories from the Khmer Rouge era: The murder of famous singer Sin Sisamouth". — a blog entry.
