Cambodia to Oakland

Unknown Artist – “Blue Basket (instrumental)”:

Unknown Artist – “Birds Are Singing But My Lover Won’t Return”:

Cambodian Cassette Archives, another fantastic release from Sublime Frequencies, came out in ’07 and is a collection of folk, lo-fi pop, funk, garage, ballads, and strange psych from Cambodia. They were culled from old tapes found at the Asian branch of Oakland’s Public Library. Apparently, some of these recordings precede the Cambodian Holocaust so info is obviously scarce; only a few songs and artists are even named. Others are said to be from the US (presumaby the Bay Area) by Cambodian immigrants who fled the Khmer Rouge. Rich with analog warmth, these 20 tracks are totally raw and filled with colorful inflections and timbres. Don’t sleep on this like I did.

**Sublime Frequencies constantly release amazing comps (Group Doueh, Shadow Music Of Thailand, and Group Bombino to name a few). Visit their site and take a look around.