Ros Serey Sothea: The golden-voiced Cambodian surf rocker slain by the Khmer Rouge
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Cambodia had one of the most prominent and burgeoning rock scenes in the entire world. As the first wave of American rock and roll came to an end in the late 1950s, the country received its first import records of prominent figures like Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, and Little Richard. It wouldn’t be until the escalation of the Vietnam War that pop and rock records began to be picked up on US Armed Forces radio. It was in that explosion that Ros Serey Sothea emerged as perhaps the most unique and singular talent of the genre.
Born in the Battambang Province of Cambodia, Sothea held all the same qualities that traditional Cambodian singers had. But it was her willingness to experiment that helped make her name. Teaming up with fellow forward-thinker Sinn Sisamouth, the pair recorded a number of popular ballads that secured them popularity in wider Cambodia.
The influence of American culture in Cambodia reached a peak in the late 1960s, with music being a dominant force for change. Western instruments like electric guitars, drum kits, and Farfisa organs began to filter into the country. Musicians responded by taking a harder-edged approach to the more traditional Cambodian sound. Sothea was a rare example of an artist who had a foot in each camp – her traditional ballads and film appearances made her a famous star, but her more progressive material made her an underground hero with the upstart genre of Cambodian rock.
Across her relatively short career, Sothea recorded a number of songs that verge on psychedelic rock, garage rock, and even proto-punk. At the start of the 1970s, the Khmer Republic came into political power, establishing strong relations with the West and causing the burgeoning Cambodian rock scene to flourish. However, the continuing Vietnam War limited live performances and put a strain on the country’s unity. As a civil war began to brew, the emerging Khmer Rouge sought to eliminate all Western influence, particularly with musicians.
As Pol Pot came to power in 1975, the Khmer Rouge went about transforming Cambodia from a sprawling urban constitutional republic (in name, despite characteristics that were more common of a far-right military dictatorship) to an agrarian socialist society. With support from the Chinese Communist Party, the Khmer Rouge murdered dissidents and any figures that were deemed a threat to the regime. That included many popular singers and musicians.
It is uncertain what happened to Sothea after the rise of the Khmer Rouge. As a resident of Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital and most populous city, it is likely that Sothea was evacuated from her home, relocated to the countryside, and forced to work as a labourer. As a prominent entertainer, there is also a strong chance that Sothea was specifically sought out and murdered by the Khmer Rouge. Different stories have Sothea dying from overwork or starvation, while others have her identity being revealed as she was forced to perform for the party’s leadership before being killed. In any case, Sothea died during the Khmer Rouge regime, with her remains and ultimate fate never being officially identified.
Although most of her master tapes were destroyed by the Khmer Rouge, vinyl records containing Sothea’s work managed to survive the Cambodian genocide. After her death, Sothea’s sister, Ros Saboeut, helped re-establish her legacy by reuniting former musicians who also survived. As the Khmer Rouge fell in 1979, the remnants of the Cambodian rock scene of the 1960s and 1970s slowly began to get pieced back together.
Eventually, some of Sothea’s heavier rock material found its way onto the 1996 compilation album Cambodian Rocks. Songs like ‘Chnam oun Dop-Pram Muy (I’m 16)’ and ‘Jam 5 Kai Thiet (Wait Five More Months)’ showed a pronounced surf rock and garage rock influence. When the bootleg album was originally released, all 22 tracks were untitled, with no information regarding the artists’ identities. Over time, however, Sothea’s name has added to her tracks thanks to the ongoing archival efforts of Cambodian researchers.
Today, Sothea remains a recognisable name in Cambodia, largely thanks to the more traditional songs that bear her name. However, it’s her work in the rock genre that continues to resonate as the country’s history continues to be rediscovered. As films like the 2015 documentary Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten attempt to reclaim the lost rock scene of the era, Ros Serey Sothea remains a vital and central pillar of the genre’s history.
Check out ‘Jam 5 Kai Thiet’ down below.
