Dengue Fever (band)
Dengue Fever is a band from Los Angeles with six members who combines Cambodian pop music and lyrics with psychedelic rock.
History
Dengue Fever was founded in 2001 by Ethan Holtzman and his brother Zac, inspired by a trip to Cambodia Ethan. The singer Chhom mmoles was during an appearance at a nightclub in the " Little Phnom Penh " section of Long Beach discovered when Ethan and Zac were searching for a artist who sings in Khmer language.
Their debut album, Dengue Fever was released in 2003. All lyrics of their early releases are sung in Khmer, are found only on the third album, some texts in English. Many songs are cover version of Cambodian rock songs from the 1960s, for example sense of Sisamouth and Ros Sereysothea, but some songs are original compositions that were not written by the Holtzman's in English, and then translated.
The group's second album, Escape from Dragon House, was one of the " Top 100 Editor's Picks" at Amazon.com in 2005.
Ethan opium, the cover version of a song of Ethiopian jazz musician Mulatu Astatke, is included on the soundtrack of Jim Jarmusch's 2005 film Broken Flowers erschienenem, as well as the soundtrack of the film of the novel Vahr New South ( 2010) by Hermione Huntgeburth.
One Thousand Tears of a Tarantula is included on the soundtrack to the second season of the Showtime series Weeds.
Both Sides Now, a Joni Mitchell cover, can be found on the soundtrack of the Matt Dillon film City of Ghosts from the year 2002.
The documentary Sleepwalking Through the Mekong shows the band during a visit to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, during Bon Om Thook Water Festival 2005.
Discography
- 2003: Dengue Fever
- 2005: Dengue Fever EP ( EP)
- 2005: Escape from Dragon House
- 2006: Sip Off the Mekong (EP)
- 2008: Venus on Earth
- 2010: Electric Cambodia
- 2011: Cannibal Courtship
Swell
- Chuck Minden Hall: East of the Moon. In: LA Weekly. 19 June 2002.
- Steve Huey: Dengue Fever. In: All Music Guide.