| Ros Sereysothea | |
|---|---|
"Golden Voice of the Royal Capital" |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Ros Sothea |
| Born | 1948 |
| Origin | Battambang, Cambodia |
| Died | 1977 (aged 29) |
| Genres | Psychedelic rock Garage rock Kbach Romvong Saravan Blues Bossanova Film Music Classical Khmer Music |
| Occupations | Singer |
| Years active | 1967–1975 |
| Associated acts | Sinn Sisamouth Eng Nary Im Song Seum In Yeng Chea Savoeun Pan Ron Dara Choumchan |
Ros Sereysothea (Khmer: រស់ សេរីសុទ្ធា) (1948[1] – 1977 [2]) was a famous Cambodian singer during the nation's thriving cultural renaissance. She sang from a variety of genres but romantic ballads emerged as her most popular works. Despite a rather short career she is credited with producing hundreds of songs and even starring in a few movies. Details of her life and fate during the Khmer Rouge is relatively unknown but it is generally accepted she did not survive.
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Ros Sothea was born in 1948[2] to Ros Sabun and Nath Samean in Battambang Province. Growing up relatively poor, Ros Sothea was the second youngest of five children and displayed vocal talent around the age of three or four. Her talent would remain relatively hidden until she was persuaded by friends to join a regional singing contest in 1963. After winning the contest she gained the attention and praise of the province and was invited to join Lomhea Yothea (a musical troupe) which regularly performed at Stung Khiev Restaurant in Battambang. It is believed that Im Song Seurm, a singer from the National Radio heard of Sothear's talents and invited her to the capital, Phnom Penh in 1967.
In Phnom Penh, she adopted the alias Ros Sereysothea and became a singer for National Radio performing duets with Im Song Seurm. Her first hit, Stung Khieu (Blue River) debuted the same year and she quickly attracted fans with her clear and high pitch voice. Eventually she became a regular partner with Sinn Sisamouth another famous singer of the era and they were a smashing success. She also performed with other prominent singers of the era such as Pan Ron, Houy Meas, and Sos Mat.
The style of her early career is characterized by traditional Cambodian ballads and duets. She would eventually shift to a more contemporary style by combining romantic ballads drenched in loss, betrayal, and death with Western instruments. This change of style is most likely be attributed to her traumatic marriage with fellow singer, Sos Mat.
By the 1970s, American influence from neighboring South Vietnam had reached Cambodia and Sothea along with her contemporaries began experimenting in Western genres. Her high, clear voice, coupled with the rock backing bands featuring prominent, distortion-laden lead guitars, pumping organ and loud, driving drums, made for an intense, sometimes haunting sound that is best described today as psychedelic or garage rock. Like the leader of the music scene, Sinn Sisamouth, Sothea would often take popular Western rock tunes, such as John Fogerty's "Proud Mary" and refashion them with Khmer lyrics.
Yet romantic ballads would remain her most endearing work amongst the more conservative local populace. She was often sought out by film directors to perform the duet and/or solo in their movies. Sothea's collaboration with the Cambodian film industry is invaulable in identifying over 250 films lost during the nation's communist regime.
Sothea never really sang under any one record label and made a modest living as a musician. She was recognized as a national treasure and was honored by King Norodom Sihanouk with the royal title of "Preah Reich Theany Somlang Meas", the "Golden Voice of the Royal Capital". Her career would continue until the Khmer Rouge captured the beleaguered capital, Phnom Penh in April 1975. As a musician, she was a prime candidate for extermination during Pol Pot’s regime.
Sothea's personality is invariably described as modest and reserved. She is known to have been involved in a few relationships throughout her life. When she arrived in Phnom Penh, she eventually caught the eye of fellow singer Sos Mat who was already legally married to two other wives but wanted her hand in marriage. This eventually came to be but their marriage lasted only a short six months. Sos Mat became insanely jealous of her success and of the men who came to watch her perform (she was very pretty as well as talented). Traumatized by the emotional and physical abuse since she was a constant envy of both of his wives, as well as domestic violence from Sos Mat, she then fled to back to her native Battambang. It wasn't until Sinn Sisamouth vowed to protect her did she return to Phnom Penh to resume her career.
Her next relationship was with the son of the famous Van Chan theatre owner. Their marriage resulted in a son but for undocumented reasons they separated. It is believed a general of Lon Nol's government who was insanely in love with her, kidnapped and held her against her will. She is also noted to have had a relationship with a parachutist of the Khmer Republic.
Like everyone else when the Khmer Rouge took over, she was forced to leave Phnom Penh. There are many speculations regarding her fate from a variety of witnesses.
It is believed Sothea had traveled to Pailin Province for the Buddhist New Year. Many are skeptical of this claim as it had been increasing dangerous to travel outside Phnom Penh in April 1975. When Phnom Penh finally did fall there were apparently attempts to evacuate Sothea out of the country.
Others say Sothea was forced by Pol Pot to marry one of his assistants in 1977 who was said to have argued with her and beaten her often. She then disappeared under typically mysterious circumstances and is almost certainly dead. Other accounts believe that she died from being overworked in a Khmer Rouge agricultural camp. Another account said that she was still alive when the Vietnamese invading forces arrived in Phnom Penh and died of malnutrition shortly after in a hospital.
Finally, her sisters insist that Sothea along with their mother and children were taken to Kampong Som province and executed immediately following the Fall of Phnom Penh.
With the cultural upheaval by the Khmer Rouge, scant evidence of Ros Serey Sothea's life remains. Her master recordings were either destroyed by the regime or deteriorated rapidly to the tropical environment due to lack of preservation. However, many vinyl recordings have survived and have gained reissues initially on tape cassettes and later on compact discs. Unfortunately many of these reissues are also remixed with extra beats usually overriding the original score. The vinyls from the master sources are thereby highly sought out by preservationist and collectors.
Nonetheless Sothea remained extremely popular even after her death in Cambodian communities scattered throughout the United States, France, Australia and Canada. Western interest in Sothea would not dawn until songs by Sothea, Sinn Sisamouth and other Cambodian singers of the era such as Meas Samoun, Choun Malai and Pan Ron, were featured on the soundtrack to Matt Dillon's film City of Ghosts. Tracks by Sothea are "Have You Seen My Love", "I'm Sixteen" and "Wait Ten Months".
The Los Angeles band Dengue Fever, which features Cambodian lead singer Chhom Nimol, covers a number of songs by Sothea and other singers from the short-lived but rich Cambodian rock and roll scene. The advent of the internet, undoubtly saved what was left of her discography while spreaing and garnering interest in her music even after almost half a century later.