Away From Beloved Lover: A Musical Journey Through Cambodia

by Dee Peyok

In the swinging 1960s, after nearly a century of colonisation, Cambodia had gained its independence and was ready to rock. Young musicians from the countryside flocked to the vibrant cosmopolitan capital city of Phnom Penh. Teenagers cycled along the Mekong River, guitars slung across their backs, on their way to rehearse Khmer covers of The Beatles or Pink Floyd. The city was a melting pot of old fashioned rock'n'roll, early heavy metal, crooners and swooners and love duets. The music stopped on 17th April 1975: the Khmer Rouge army captured Phnom Penh, ending the civil war and beginning the genocide. Around 90% of the musicians died in the killing fields. But a few fled, to the US or France, taking what remained of their music with them.

In Away From Beloved Lover, Dee Peyok travels across Cambodia, piecing together the story of the country and its golden era of music. She interviews surviving superstars and their relatives in places as disparate as a traditional house on stilts by a rice paddy, an artist's studio deep in the ancient forests, and a caf� in the new, divided Phnom Penh. Away From Beloved Lover is a musical travelogue that tells the story of Cambodia, past and present, in a thrilling new way. It is an immersive exploration of a country set to a soundtrack too long silenced, and finally able to play.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Asia

400 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 5, 2023

Reviews

[Owen Hatherley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't hugely enjoy the breathless travel-book side of this, but as a book about some fantastic music and the people who made it - and the hell they were suddenly thrown into - this is fine.

[Kamila Kunda · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Music is a way of healing and caring for Khmer society. Music is magical, and can bring both heritage and contemporary feelings to all - to heal. Music can also help restore what we have lost.”, said Youk Chhang, the head of the Documentation Center of Cambodia, to Dee Peyok, whose brilliant travelogue/reportage “Away from Beloved Lover. A Musical Journey through Cambodia” was my haven in the last two weeks. For the last 15 years I have been in love with Cambodian rock and rock’n’roll of the 1950s to the 1970s. Sinn Sisamouth - “King of Khmer Music” - is probably the one artist I have listened to most in my entire life. He and Ros Sereysothea - “Queen of Khmer Music” - are in my personal pantheon of greatest musicians ever. They both, together with about 90% of Cambodian musicians, died during the genocide, which led to the deaths of approximately 2 million people between 1975 and 1979.

Dee Peyok spent ten years living in Cambodia, travelling there, interviewing artists who survived and family members of those who didn’t. Her stories, both of meeting people she talked to, as well as those told to her by her interviewees, moved me to the core. They talk of such incredible passion for music, deeply rooted in Khmer culture (there is a saying in Cambodia: “Music is the soul of a nation”), mention so many anecdotes, that I felt immediately transported to Cambodia from over fifty years ago. Now and then I stopped and played a particular song, which enriched my reading experience.

Peyok’s relentless quest for knowledge, her interest in the lives of the artists and their families, as well as Cambodia in general, are palpable. Even though the careers of the musicians had developed before Pol Pot came to power, the mention of the tragic end for many is unavoidable. Peyok doesn’t stop there though. The epilogue, in which she writes about individuals and organisations who tirelessly revive Cambodian music and traditions nowadays, gives hope for the future of the nation.

I absolutely adored “Away from Beloved Lover”. Although I already knew many artists, thanks to Peyok I still discovered new for me names and was able to deepen my own interest in Khmer music.

[Thena V]

This book is a treasure and gift, especially for my fellow Khmer people. It’s sort of an emotional rollercoaster — one moment you’re captivated and in awe, and a few sentences later, your heart feels like it was ripped out. I fell in love with the documentary “Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten” and this book is similar to the film in its narrative, except the author dives deeper and brings the people to life. This book felt like I was taking the journey with her and time traveling to the Golden Age of Cambodia. I felt like you could trust Dee Peyok in her journalistic integrity and her skills in seeing people authentically. The way she talks about Cambodia is beautiful and true and reminded me of how I first fell in love with my ancestral homeland.

I highly recommend this book for anyone planning to visit Cambodia. Besides the powerful personal stories, there’s also a great review of modern Cambodian history. Some historical facts mentioned are ones I heard for the first time, like the U.S still training Khmer Rouge soldiers even after the genocide regime ended.

As a Khmer person, I know how hard it is to get stories from Khmer people about their devastating past. Thank you, Dee Peyok, for writing this book with the utmost care and love.

[Collin Valentine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve always been so fascinated by Cambodian Rock, it’s like a lightning in a bottle moment of musical history. The book finds the cross section of politics and music, as told through firsthand accounts of those who lived during the era. The book felt very personal and genuine which I liked a lot.

It is one thing to hear the music, but it’s another thing to read stories of artists falling in love with music, rising in their respective scenes, what kind of recording conditions they worked with, and most importantly what music means to these people. I feel very lucky to have read these stories.

It made me realize how we often take our musical institutions for granted. It made me ask “is it possible for an artist to exist separate from their political context?” (I think the answer is no)

[rosica · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I've ever read, explains clearly and well Cambodian Rock and its Golden Age.

[Citizen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy reading about music history in Cambodia - first hand talks with surviving superstars handled in a respectful manner.

[Rosie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Away from Beloved Lover is an important contribution to Cambodian cultural history. That said, I think you'd have to be an existing fan of the music to get through all 300+ pages, even though the author injects some color narrating her experiences in Cambodia that might broaden interest for some readers. I enjoyed the chapter about Ros Sereysothea best (my favorite singer of this era), which was helped greatly by the collaboration with Sothea's sister Saboeun. Peyok does a good job of weaving in changing political contexts as she collects oral histories from some of the most famous figures of this tumultuous era. A thread running through is the tension between political influence in popular music and the pursuit of personal freedom of expression. I do wish there was more about Pen Ram or other girl groups. The writing respectfully and sensitively frames a tragic but vibrant history, and captures essential stories that otherwise would be lost.