Scoop: The Cambodian Space Project…is Phnom Penh – the Berlin of SE Asia?

Text by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi

It’s been a long time I haven’t heard from my contributor Sean Hockings who still resides in Hong Kong, still running his label Metal Postcard Rec, and hopes to bring China and SE Asia’s underground music scene to a wider world. Today he mailed me a YouTube video and the press kit of a very interesting Cambodian alternative rock band called  The Cambodian Space Project. Enjoy!

Text by Sean Hockings

News From Metal Postcard Records

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POST-SANDY MARCH TO THE VILLAGE VANGUARD AND BLUE NOTE!

Text by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi

Last  Wednesday, November 14th, 8:30pm, I attended the Justice For Jazz Artists rally for the second time. A chilly night. I and my union brothers met at Two Boots Pizza at the corner of 11th street and 7th Avenue in New York for a march to the Village Vanguard and the Blue Note. When I arrived the band was already getting ready to march. Again the goal of this rally was to keep the pressure high on club owners and let these clubs and their owners know that they need to do the right thing and provide pension contributions, fair pay scales and protections of recording rights for musicians who play in their clubs!

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WFMU needs help!!! Storm Destroys Transmitters at WFMU and Leaves Station a Quarter Million in the Hole!!

Text by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi

WFMU is one of my favorite  community radio stations on earth.  I was there once: Sunday, April 12th, midnight – 3am: Kurt Dahlke aka Pyrolator, a German DJ, producer, label owner and electronics specialist, and me appearing as a guest  on tenor sax. The host was Daniel Blumin. During the three hours long interview we played in between live music. The music we performed was a mix of ambient, minimal, noise and a little touch of oriental sounds. I really enjoyed the performance and also the interview was very well done by Daniel. He knew almost everything about Kurt’s career. Before the show started Daniel guided us through the whole radio station. Especially the LP archive was very impressive (watch the video below).

WFMU is now hosting the Hell and High Water fundraising marathon and DooBeeDoo is supporting it.

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Introducing you to Mongolian ethno-jazz: Arga Bileg from Mongolia at the Asia Society in New York

Texy by Sohrab Saadat Larjevardi

Have you ever heard of Mongolian ethno-jazz? I didn’t. But I know that Mongolian wrestlers are very successful in the Japanese sumo world. In fact I don’t know much about this country and its culture, especially about Mongolian music. Of course I’ve heard about the overtone singing or throat singing, but that’s all. I also know that horse hair is used for making strings for Mongolian string instruments.

Anyway it’s good to know that my favorite music jazz expanded to Mongolia. Please check out the video below which shows the performance of the Mongolian ensemble Arga Bileg at the Asia Society in New York, October 19, 2012. Founded in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia in 2009 by percussionist Gantulga Ganbat, this seven-piece ensemble fuses traditional Mongolian folk music with Western and jazz music.

The musicians are: Gantulga Ganbat (percussion), Davaazorig Altangerel (fiddle), Batzaya Khadhuu (fiddle), Munkhtogtokh Ochirkhuyag (zither), Purevsukh Tyeliman (piano), Jigjiddorj Nanzaddorj (fiddle) and Bayasgalan Terbish (percussion).

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