The Golden Voice of Phnom Penh, 1962-1974, by So Savoeun

The Golden Voice of Phnom Penh, 1962-1974 by So Savoeun, released 26 September 2025 1. So Savoeun & Meas Saman - ហៅបងរែកទឹក (Calling For You To Fetch Water) 2. គេលេងភ្លេងហើយ (The Music Has Started) 3. So Savoeun & Meas Saman - ខ្លាចប្រុសចិត្តព្រាន (Afraid of Heartbreaking Men) 4. លលកវាយំ (Crying Doves) 5. So Savoeun & Meas Saman - ក្រសាហូតដាវ (Sword Weaving Heron) 6. So Savoeun & Meas Saman - ឃុនពីម៉ូច (Bad From The Start) 7. So Savoeun & Meas Saman - អាឈ្មោលខ្នាយវែង (Long Clawed Rooster) 8. លលកហើរទំចុងក្រស់ (Dove Perched On The End Vine) 9. រូចទឹកចោលទៅ (Wash It Away With Water) 10. So Savoeun & Sinn Sisamouth - ប៉ាឡេឡៃ (Pa Le Lai) 11. So Savoeun & Lek Savath - ដេកថ្ងៃសំចៃតុកយប់ (Sleep During The Day Preparing For Night) 12. ឱ!ពពេជចៀប (Oh! Little Peep Bird) 13. ម្លប់ដូង (Coconut Shade) 14. ខំផ្គាប់ប៉ុណ្ណឹងហើយ (Tired of Pleasing You) Akuphone and The Cambodian Vintage Music Archive proudly present the first-ever retrospective dedicated to So Savoeun—one of the radiant voices that defined Phnom Penh’s golden age of sound in the 1960s and 1970s. In those vibrant years, the city pulsed with music: rock bands, crooners, and traditional ensembles blended East and West, shaping a uniquely Cambodian pop that shimmered with hope and modernity. Amid this flourishing scene, So Savoeun’s voice stood out—silken yet powerful, intimate yet expansive, carrying with it the promise of a new era. This collection brings together rare and long-unheard recordings, including luminous duets with legendary contemporaries Meas Saman, Lek Savath, and Sinn Sisamouth. Each track is more than just a song—it is a fragment of memory, a preserved echo of nights when Phnom Penh’s dance halls and radios overflowed with rhythm and possibility. In her own words, hearing these songs resurface is like opening a long-buried chest of jewels, hidden beneath the dust of history and now gleaming again after half a century. Her voice, once thought lost to time, reemerges like the cicada whose chant reverberates endlessly through the forest—an eternal call that bridges silence and remembrance. Her music is more than nostalgia; it is testament and rebirth. It continues to resonate, not only with those who lived through that golden era, but with new generations discovering its beauty for the first time. Through this release, the past breathes again—tender, luminous, and unforgettably alive.