Before the Vietnam War and Cambodian genocide of the late 1970s, Cambodians were living in a Golden Age of art and music. One of its most iconic voices belonged to Ros Serey Sothea, a country girl from Battambang who grew up on a farm with her siblings, selling sea snails in the village market. After winning a regional singing contest, she gained attention and was invited to sing in Phnom Penh where her music took off. She sang every genre; romantic ballads emerged as her most popular works.

During the Khmer Rouge, creativity in any form was viewed as decadence and too influential against the government. Artists and musicians were rounded up and sent into the killing fields. Sothea disappeared during this time and her exact fate has never been confirmed, but her legacy certainly remains.

To learn more, I highly recommend watching the documentary, Don't Think I've Forgotten: Cambodia’s Lost Rock and Roll.