Listen to Sounds from Cambodia

Here are sounds we recorded in Cambodia.

Amputee Band in the Temples of Angkor

Amputee Band in the Temples of Angkor

On the pathways through the temples of Angkor, there are musical ensembles of amputees, their prosthetics displayed beside them. Their signs say they are victims of land mines, which are a persistent legacy of the conflicts in Cambodia.  All the groups have CD’s for sale.  And all the groups seem to be playing the same song – with slight variation, […]

Sounds from a Bon Katen

Sounds from a Bon Katen

Here are sounds from a Bon Katen, which is a celebration that raises donations for a temple. A little after noon on the day of the celebrration, a procession of mostly older Khmers came toward the pagoda. The procession was led by a handful of folks playing percussion instruments, the most notable being a man who banged away at a […]

Monk Chants in Battambang, Cambodia

Monk Chants in Battambang, Cambodia

Somewhere between 4:00am and 5:00am every morning, the Buddhist temples came to life with the sounds of chanting monks, blared through palm-tree-mounted loudspeakers.  We awakened to the chants throughout our travels in Southeast Asia. Sometimes, we were able to hear the chants from two or more temples at the same time.  We called it “dueling monks.” Here’s a short clip […]