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Artist:

Dengue Fever

Formed:
2001 in Los Angeles

  • Genre: Rock
  • Active: 2000s
  • Major Members: Ethan Holtzman, Chhom Nimol, Zachary Holtzman, Paul Smith, Senon Williams, David Ralicke

Biography

Even when you consider the cultural cross-pollination that goes on in large metropolitan areas, L.A.'s Dengue Fever had perhaps the strangest genesis of any band in recent memory. It's left-field enough for a group of white musicians to cover psychedelic rock oldies from Cambodia, but finding a bona fide Cambodian pop star to front the band -- and sing in Khmer, no less -- is the kind of providence that could only touch a select few places on earth. Formed in L.A.'s hipster-friendly Silver Lake area in 2001, Dengue Fever traced its roots to organist Ethan Holtzman's 1997 trip to Cambodia with a friend. That friend contracted the tropical disease (transmitted via mosquito) that later gave the band its name, and it also introduced Holtzman to the sound of '60s-era Cambodian rock, which still dominated radios and jukeboxes around the country. The standard sound bore a strong resemblance to Nuggets-style garage rock and psychedelia, heavy on the organ and fuzztone guitar, and with the danceable beat of classic rock & roll. It also bore the unmistakable stamp of Bollywood film musicals, and often employed the heavily reverbed guitar lines of surf and spy-soundtrack music. Yet the eerie Khmer-language vocals and Eastern melodies easily distinguished it from its overseas counterpart. When Holtzman returned to the States, he introduced his brother Zac -- a core member of alt-country eccentrics Dieselhed -- to the cheap cassettes he'd brought back. They started hunting for as much Cambodian rock as they could find, and eventually decided to form a band to spotlight their favorite material -- much of which was included on a compilation from Parallel World, Cambodian Rocks. In addition to Ethan Holtzman on Farfisa and Optigan, and Zac on vocals and guitar, the charter membership of Dengue Fever included bassist Senon Williams (also of slowcore outfit the Radar Brothers), drummer Paul Smith, and saxophonist David Ralicke (Beck, Ozomatli, Brazzaville). Ralicke shared Zac Holtzman's interest in Ethiopian jazz, further broadening the group's global mindset. Thus constituted, the band went combing the clubs in the Little Phnom Penh area of Long Beach, searching for a female singer who could replicate the style and language of the recordings they had. After striking out a few times, the Holtzmans discovered Chhom Nimol, a onetime pop star in Cambodia who came from a highly successful musical family (analogous to the Jacksons). According to the band, Nimol had performed several times for the Cambodian royal family before emigrating to Los Angeles. Initially not understanding the band's motives, she was suspicious at first, but after several rehearsals, everything clicked. Dengue Fever made their live debut in 2002, with the charismatic Nimol in full traditional Cambodian garb, and soon won a following among Hollywood hipsters -- not to mention the L.A. Weekly's Best New Band award that year. Purely a cover band at first, they started working on original material after putting out a four-song EP locally. The Holtzmans wrote English lyrics and music, then sent the lyrics to a Khmer translator in Washington state, after which Nimol would adjust the melody and words to her liking. Dengue Fever counted among its fans actor Matt Dillon, who included their Khmer-language cover of Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now" on the soundtrack of his 2003 directorial debut, City of Ghosts. However, disaster nearly struck when Nimol was arrested in San Diego in accordance with the stringent, post-9/11 INS policy -- she'd arrived in the U.S. on a two-week visitor's visa and simply stayed on. She was thrown in jail for three weeks, and it took nearly a year for the band's lawyer to secure her a two-year visa (his fees were paid through benefit concerts). In the meantime, Dengue Fever released their self-titled debut album on Web of Mimicry, a label run by Mr. Bungle guitarist Trey Spruance. Most of the repertoire consisted of Cambodian covers, many originally done by pre-Pol Pot star Ros Sereysothea, but there were several originals and an Ethiopian jazz tune as well. With Nimol's limited English improving, the band considered putting some English-language material on their follow-up, but intended to stick with Khmer on the majority, in keeping with the music that inspired them. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide

Representative Albums:

Escape from Dragon House, Dengue Fever, Escape from Dragon House

Similar Artists:

Neung Phak, Sun City Girls

Influences:

Mulatu Astatke
 
 
WordNet: dengue fever
Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: an infectious disease of the tropics transmitted by mosquitoes and characterized by rash and aching head and joints
  Synonyms: dengue, dandy fever, breakbone fever


 
Wikipedia: Dengue Fever (band)
This article is about a rock band. For information about the disease, see Dengue fever.
Dengue Fever
Origin Los Angeles, California
Genre(s) Cambodian rock, Rock, psychedelic, surf, indie
Years active 2001-present
Label(s) M80 Music, Birdman
Website www.denguefevermusic.com
Members
Chhom Nimol
Zac Holtzman

Ethan Holtzman
Senon Williams
David Ralicke
Paul Smith

Dengue Fever is a six-member band from Los Angeles who combine Cambodian pop music and lyrics with psychedelic rock. They were formed in 2001 by Ethan Holtzman and his brother Zac after Ethan was inspired by a trip to Cambodia. Lead singer Chhom Nimol was discovered performing at a night club in the Little Phnom Penh area of Long Beach as Ethan and Zac were searching for a vocalist to sing in Khmer. Zac performs vocals and guitar, while Ethan plays the Farfisa organ. Rounding out the band are bassist Senon Williams, drummer Paul Smith, and David Ralicke on brass.

Their self-titled debut album was released in 2003. All lyrics are sung in Khmer. Many of the songs are covers of 1960s Cambodian rock tunes by such artists as Sinn Sisamouth and Ros Sereysothea, but some are originals, first written in English by the Holtzmans before being translated. Their second album, Escape from Dragon House, was released in 2005, and contained more original songs.

Escape from Dragon House was one of Amazon.com's Top 100 Editor's Picks of 2005.

"Ethanopium", a cover of a song by Ethiopian jazz musician Mulatu Astatke, was included in the soundtrack of Jim Jarmusch's 2005 film, Broken Flowers.

"One Thousand Tears of a Tarantula" was included on the soundtrack for the second season of the Showtime series "Weeds"

"Both Sides Now", a Joni Mitchell cover, was included on the soundtrack of Matt Dillon's 2002 film, City of Ghosts.

The band is the subject of the documentary film, Sleepwalking Through the Mekong, chronicling its visit to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, during the Bon Om Thook water festival in 2005.

Discography

  • Dengue Fever (2003)
  • Dengue Fever EP (EP, 2005)
  • Escape from Dragon House (2005)
  • Sip Off the Mekong (EP, 2006)

Sources

External links


 
 

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Copyrights:

Artist. Copyright © 2008 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ® , a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Dengue Fever (band)" Read more

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