A Successful Session

I spent most of the day yesterday at the CLA recording studio, observing a very successful recording session. My official duty was to take pictures forthe liner notes, but the flash drained the batttery after about five pictures. So I mostly was able to listen to some amazing music, watch how Cambodian musicians work, and learn more about the process of recording. The sessions were remarkably problem-free. Apart from some drilling and other construction work happening next door, there was little to worry about in terms of sonic interference. In addition, there were only a few technical difficulties with the recording equipment. But most of all, the musicians, fifteen in all, played almost flawlessly throughout the day, and only a few takes had to be restarted.



The music and musicians had been organized by the master teacher and professor Yun Theara, a enormously talented multi-instrumentalist who has emerged as one of the leading traditional musicians in Cambodia today. Beau, who was supervising the recording process and training the Cambodian studio engineers in the art of microphone placement and levels, was very happy with the results. Although I know only a little about Cambodian music, what I did hear in the studio was some of the best-recorded and well-performed Cambodian music I have ever heard. It's great to see Cambodia's master musicians recording and playing music together at such high levels again.

As I am writing this at an internet cafe in Phnom Penh, I am sitting between two monks who are chatting online or writing emails. I have been reading about the state of Cambodian Buddhism in the post-Democratic Kampuchea (Khmer Rouge) era. I am curious to learn more about the state of the sangha, the vision of the leadership (if indeed they have a vision), and the way contemporary Cambodian Buddhism relates to the arts in the country (if there is indeed any relation). There is always lots to learn!