Each track below is a Cambodian-language cover or adaptation of a Western song.
The artists didn't just translate — they rewrote, reinterpreted, and made these songs entirely their own.
Sinn Sisamouth
01
Srolanh Srey Touch
ស្រឡាញ់ស្រីតូច — "I Love a Petite Girl"
Sinn Sisamouth
Cover of "Black Magic Woman" — Santana (orig. Fleetwood Mac, 1968)
Fuzzed-out with chaotic percussion and altered melody. Sisamouth takes Santana's Latin rock and
makes it unmistakably Khmer.
02
Always Will Hope
រស្មីក្តីសង្ឃឹម — "Ray of Hope"
Sinn Sisamouth
Cover of "Hey Jude" — The Beatles (1968)
Credited to Lennon, McCartney & Sisamouth. Entirely new Khmer verses — not a translation,
a reinvention. From the compilation Cambodian Soul Sounds Vol. II.
03
I'm Still Waiting
បងនៅចាំស្នេហ៍ — "Bang Nov Cham Sneh"
Sinn Sisamouth
Cover of "House of the Rising Sun" — The Animals (1964)
Completely different Khmer lyrics layered over the iconic chord progression.
Available on Cambodian Rocks Volumes 1–4 (Remastered).
04
Neakna Kmean Snae
អ្នកណាគ្មានស្នេហ៍ — "Who Doesn't Have Love"
Sinn Sisamouth
Cover of "Sugar, Sugar" — The Archies (1969)
Released c. 1970 — remarkably fast turnaround from the American bubblegum pop original
to a Phnom Penh studio.
05
Apart from Love
"Apart from Beloved Lover"
Sinn Sisamouth
Cover of "A Whiter Shade of Pale" — Procol Harum (1967)
From Cambodian Rocks Vol. 2. That organ riff translated seamlessly across cultures.
06
Other Than You
Sinn Sisamouth
Cover of "Love Potion No. 9" — The Clovers (1959)
From the Cambodian Rocks compilation. Sisamouth's take on this American R&B classic.
Pan Ron (Pen Ran)
07
Snaeha
ស្នេហា — "Love"
Pan Ron (Pen Ran)
Cover of "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" — Cher / Nancy Sinatra (1966)
Described as "appropriately melodramatic." Featured in Mr. Robot Season 3, Episode 10,
which blew viewers' minds. From Dengue Fever Presents: Electric Cambodia.
08
Rom Jongvak Twist
"Dance Twist"
Pan Ron (Pen Ran)
Adaptation of "The Twist" — Chubby Checker (1960)
Part of the broader twist craze that swept Cambodia after Chum Kem brought "The Twist" back from Italy.
Ros Sereysothea
09
Youm Srolaunh Kyoum
យូម ស្រឡាញ់ គយឹម — "Cry Loving Me"
Ros Sereysothea
Cover of "Proud Mary" — Creedence Clearwater Revival (1969)
The "Golden Voice of the Royal Capital" takes Fogerty's riverboat anthem and makes it burn.
From Cambodian Rocks Vol. 1.
10
Komlos Sey Chaom
"Love God"
Ros Sereysothea
Cover of "Venus" — Shocking Blue (1969)
From Rough Guide to Psychedelic Cambodia (2014). That iconic riff, now with Khmer lyrics.
11
Bae Bong Sralanh Khn'om
បើបងស្រឡាញ់ខ្ញុំ — "If You Love Me"
Ros Sereysothea
Cover of "恋の季節" (Koi no Kisetsu / Season of Love) — Pinky and Killers (1968, Japan)
Not Western per se, but Japanese pop that was itself influenced by Western rock.
Shows how musical influence flowed in multiple directions across Asia.
Yol Aularong
12
Yuvajon Kouge Jet
"Broken Heart Man"
Yol Aularong
Based on "Gloria" — Them / Van Morrison (1964)
Fuzzed-out, reverb-soaked, with go-go organ and fuzz-guitar. Released May 1974, just months
before everything ended. From Cambodian Rocks.
Chum Kem
13
Kampuchea Twist
Chum Kem
Adaptation of "The Twist" — Chubby Checker (1960)
The first Cambodian adaptation of an American song to air on National Radio.
Chum Kem heard Chubby Checker while in Italy and immediately wrote a Khmer version upon returning home.
This single song ignited Cambodia's entire rock revolution.
Poev Vannary (Pou Vannary)
14
You've Got a Friend (Khmer version)
Poev Vannary
Cover of "You've Got a Friend" — Carole King / James Taylor (1971)
Vannary was the first female guitarist on the Cambodian stage. She studied in the US and fell in love
with American folk music, adapting countless songs — Carpenters, John Lennon, Carole King — with Khmer lyrics.
Dengue Fever is an LA-based band formed in 2001, fronted by Cambodian singer Chhom Nimol.
They perform covers of 1960s–70s Cambodian rock — some of which were themselves covers of Western songs.
For Western listeners unfamiliar with the originals, Dengue Fever can serve as a bridge into this music.
I'm Sixteen / Chnam Oun Dop Pram Mouy
Dengue Fever (orig. Ros Sereysothea)
From their self-titled debut album (2003).
Shave Your Beard
Dengue Fever (orig. Ros Sereysothea)
Also from the debut. The original appears on Electric Cambodia.
Dengue Fever Presents: Electric Cambodia
Compilation — curated by Dengue Fever
14-track compilation of original 1960s–70s recordings featuring Pan Ron, Ros Sereysothea,
Sinn Sisamouth, and Dara Chom Chan. Proceeds go to Cambodian Living Arts.
This is the essential starting point.