- THE THREE SOUND OF REVOLUTION / RING SOUND / MIDDLE SOUND / INDEX SOUND
Neo Geodesia
(Cambodia)
Bio:
Neo Geodesia is Saphy Vong, a Cambodian audio visual artist born in a Thai refugee camp after his parents fled the Khmer Rouge, and grew up in the suburbs of Nancy, northeastern France. His unique musical outlook fuses the experimental and DIY ethos that can be found in both the local Nancy Hardcore and Grindcore scene that embraced him as a teenager, and the sounds broadcasted from Cambodia into his home through his parents pirated tapes and videos of Khmer pop, karaoke, monk chants and movies.
His recent project has been dedicated to fusing experimental electronic processes with traditional Khmer music and exploring the far edge of sonic expression to include noise, Bek Sloy, Funeral Smot and Roam Vong.
Over the years, however, he has focused his approach less upon heaviness than slipperiness, granular textures and head-spinning polyrhythms.
Active for more than a decade under the alias Lafidki, he has produced, composed and released electronic music for Orange Milk Records. His music has been featured in Resident Advisor, NPR, BBC, Mixmag, The Quietus and Bandcamp Daily.
NEO GEODESIA has performed with the likes of Foodman, Evicshen, Sunik Kim, Ecko Bazz, Still and his music was played by Drew McDowall, Hiro Kone, Zuli.
He currently lives in London and runs the multidisciplinary Asian platform and record label Chinabot, on which he released his latest album 2562 Neon Flames.
CONCEPT
First of all, I was hesitant to do a project about revolution in Cambodia. The Khmer Rouge revolution of 1975 still casts a long and painful shadow over the country and caused a lot of suffering. Up to 2 million people died as a result of what was supposed to be a utopian liberation of the working classes. My grandfather was a soldier working for the government and was killed a few days into the revolution. My family were rural working class people that the revolution was supposed to be supporting. Our history as Cambodians tells us that revolution is complex and can be extremely dangerous.
Most Cambodian revolutionary songs are from this period. Lots of Westerners also wrote revolutionary songs supporting the Khmer Rouge, using propaganda footage of people who were working, essentially as slaves, in the rice field. This history is often used by the current authoritarian government to scare Cambodians into maintaining the status quo. It’s hard for us to imagine, what does significant social and governmental change look like? That’s why I became interested in the project, to find a way forward that breaks away from the current narrative of Cambodian revolution.
When I went back to Cambodia in early 2022, it was during the longest workers strike in Cambodian history. Crowds of employees at NagaWorld, a mega casino in the heart of Phnom Penh, were holding peaceful protests after hundreds of workers and union members were sacked. I was very moved by the gatherings of peaceful protesters, who, like most grassroots organisers in Cambodia, were mostly women, who had gathered near the casino to sing festive songs together, smiling and graceful despite the government oppression they were already facing. The Cambodian government decided these outdoor protests were violating Covid-19 laws, and quickly cracked down on the protests. Police began beating and imprisoning the protesters. Union leader Chhim Sithar was later sentenced to two years in prison.
Sometimes the protesters would sing patriotic military songs. One such song, called ដែនដីខ្មែរ Khmer Land, goes: “Shedding blood over the earth / The altar high around the river / Kampuchea freed from suffering / Every Khmer lives in peace / Please, may the gods bless us”. In the context of the protest, this trite patriotism took on a new meaning. The protesters were using a song which is often sung by the military, to sing back at the military and the police who were beating them. The protests are still going on. For me, the women’s perseverance and strength is more powerful than a revolution that comes from violence and insurgency.
Lyric
KHMER
សឹកសង្គ្រាមឈាមស្រក់លើប្រថពី
ព្រះភូមីរិទ្ធិវង្សគង្គា។
កម្ពុជាឯករាជ្យបានឃ្លាតពីទុក្ខ
ខ្មែរទាំងអស់បានសុខគ្រប់អាត្មា
សូមទេវតាឱ្យពរសព្វសាធុកា
ENGLISH
Shedding blood over the earth
The altar high around the river
Kampuchea freed from suffering
Every Khmer lives in peace
Please, may the gods bless us
Texts from protesters
KHMER
ពួកយើងត្រូវការសហជីព
ពួកយើងត្រូវកាដំណោះស្រាយ
ENGLISH
We need a union!
We need a solution!
“We are all upset and just striving for our rights, for our rice pots and our stomachs”
“When it comes to violence, it happens everyday.
Whenever we go out for protest, we are beaten as it is a sport.
Where is the law?
Why do law enforcement officers use violence? And their superiors turn a blind eye”
