Lost Generation: The Story of Cambodian Rock and Roll

‘Rhythm and blues, psychedelia, surf rock, Latin grooves and a sprinkling of saccharine pop….

'All found their way into the mix, not infrequently within the same song. A riot of distorted guitars, Farfisa organ, drums and brass, frequently overlaid with ethereally high-pitched female vocals, that combined to evoke the raw energy of 60s American garage bands coupled with early Tamla Motown.’

Lost Generation tells the story of an iconic music, born in the city known as the Pearl of Asia in the late 1950s and snuffed out little more than a decade later in Pol Pot’s brutal Khmer Rouge labour camps, along with 90% of the artists who made it. Sin Sisamouth, Ros Sereysothea, Pan Ron and Yol Auralong are among the lost but far from forgotten stars of the country’s Golden Age. Their legacy is not only very much alive in Cambodia today but is stealthily acquiring a cult following around the world.a