Cambodian 60’s Music Preservation

Rotanak Oum is organizing this fundraiser.

Donation protected

This is a funding campaign for "Cambodian 60s Music Preservation"

It is to help cover my personal trip to co-organize a special cultural event in Lognes , France. The event is one of programs of Cambodian Cultural Month in Paris. The event offers free-entrance.

The event will be a one day program on preserving Camdodia's lost music. There will be a screening of a film documenting my archiving and digitizing of 1960's Cambodian music which was produced by Raw Music International. After the film there will be a roundtable discussion with invited singers of the 1960's, producers, and artists, as well as composers. For the closing, I will DJ (Instagram: dj.oro) music by Sinn Sisamouth.

Due to limits of funding availability, I don’t have a sufficient budget to cover the expenses.

How Can You Help?

1- Click on Reward Level or Donation Bottom
2- Help sharing and spreading the word on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Email, or Text Messages if you could not help with the money.

Presentation, Q&A. Cambodian Town Film Festival, Long Beach, CA in 2016.

Where the Money Will Go

- Research trip to meet the surviving musicians and collectors.
- Audio recorder device during the roundtable discussion.
- Translation for the transcribed audio of the discussion.
- Travel, visa and accommodation costs.

Reprinted record covers for the exhibition.

Cultural Month on May in Paris & Lognes

Cambodian Living Arts , along with about 20 partners, are organizing "Cambodge, d'hier à aujourd'hui" a whole month of cultural events in Paris in May 2018. This festival is part of the "Season of Cambodia" program. To access the detail program please click here (program is subject to change).

1960s record re-issued by Akuphone Record in 2016.

Why we will do this cultural event in Lognes?

Lognes is one of the world's cities with a large Cambodian community. With this cultural preservation program and film, we hope to connect the Cambodian and the French community together to take part in the preservation of these works, and to protect, as well as promote Cambodian history. Another fact is that the cost of living in Longes is less expensive compared to Paris. This makes the cost of attending the program less costly for all who want to participate.

Vinyl Display at the event It's Time to Give Back , Phnom Penh 2015 (photo by Ministry of Commerce).

History of Cambodian Vintage Music Archive (CVMA)

I was born and raised in a poor family in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. My mother introduced me to the music in the 60's-70's. Unfortunately, she passed away along with my youngest sister from birth complication when I was 14 years old.

As a young child growing up in post Khmer Rouge Cambodia, I was very interested in the music of Sinn Sisamouth. I had been recording and searching for Cambodian 60's music since I was 7 years old. I was hoping to find the lost music of the greatest singers in Cambodian history. I had not even thought about the (original) master recordings or the quality of the music at that time. All I wanted was to discover more and more beautiful lyrics and music.

In 2010, Cambodian Vintage Music Archive (CVMA) was formed by Maya Jade, Nate Hun and Rotanak Oudom Oum (ORO - myself). We three work together, hand in hand, by pooling our resources and money to search for and purchase the original vinyl records and other music recording formats that are scattered across Cambodia and abroad. We dedicate our time to research for each song's information, interview with the surviving artists/singer/actors/actress and their families such as Sinn Sisamouth and Ros Sereysothea.

Exhibition: Cambodia Lost Rock & Roll, Asia Cultural Center, Gwangju, South Korea 2016.

This project has led to significant success. We have been able to digitize and archive over 500 original vinyl records from collectors and expand our collection. We have helped Sinn Sisamouth's family raise funds to help the funeral of Mr. Sinn Chan Chhaya, a son of Sinn Sisamouth , who passed away 3 years ago. Most essential, we helped gather the evidence to support Sinn Sisamouth's family to request the copyright from the Royal Government of Cambodia. So far, there are over 100 songs that have been granted a legal copyright.

The Catalog of Exhibition in South Korea printed and produced by Asia Cultural Center.

CVMA is a long-term project and we will do the best that we can to collect, digitize, share, and promote our pop culture from the 60's and 70's. CVMA organized three Vinyl Display Exhibitions in Cambodia an South Korea.

Vinyl Displayed at Meta House - German Cambodian Cultural Center , Phnom Penh 2015

The article extracted from Memory! International Film Heritage Festival June 1-9 2013, Phnom Penh

Download the full Memory! Catalog Book is here

Who is CVMA

CVMA is non-profit and self-funded. We formed this community in pursuit of sharing and protecting Cambodian music of Sinn Sisamouth, Ros Sereysothea, Pen Ran and others pre-Khmer Rouge artists.

CVMA archives Cambodian music from the years of the 1950's-70's. The proceeds go to the families of the Sinn Sisamouth, Ros Sereysothea and more.

Online archive is free and available on Sound Cloud and Youtube

Sinn Sisamouth
khmer60smusic
Cambodianvintagemusic

Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten: Cambodia’s Lost Rock And Roll 60s Pop*Folk Music Compilation.

Additional tracks in this compilation have been digitized by Rotanak Oudom Oum (ORO) which later being reamstered by Dust to Digital. The digital files/tracks that were being contributed to the soundtrack compilations are:

#2 –Sinn Sisamouth Under The Sound Of The Rain
#3 –Chhoun Malay The Story Of My Love
#11 –Sinn Sisamouth Navy A Go Go
#12 –Sieng Vannthy Console Me

Purchase this CD is available here

Available booklet (liner note) can be downloaded here

Short documentary film about Cambodian Vintage Music Archive Project

Vinyl Revival - Cambodian Music Preservation

Presentation about Cambodian 60s Preservation, Long Beach 2016 - Khmer TV

Meta House Closing Exhibition Dj closing Exhibition Fans of Cambodian Oldies Trying To Preserve Songs Before Khmer Rouge's Time

Official Facebook - Cambodian Vintage Music Archive

Interview and Press:

Interview with Oum Rotanak Oudom - CVMA Founder
http://aseam.info/?p=3283">https://web.archive.org/web/20150327003917/http://aseam.info/?p=3283

Concert Highlights Legacy Sinn Sisamouth

Oum Rotanak Oudom - Indigenous Music of Cambodia

Youth of the Week - Phnom Penh Post

Golden Slumbers

Memorial Fundraiser, Sinn Chan Chhaya

Artists Rain Live Painting Spectacular