MANCHESTER: Hey! Manchester @ Band on the Wall

Thursday 1st October, 2015

7:30pm

Event information

Plunging headlong into their second decade as a band, Dengue Fever present a new album, The Deepest Lake, their fifth full-length of all-new material, at a critical juncture in the bands career. In 2013, after forming their own label Tuk Tuk Records, the band crossed over into a brave new world as both artist and record label owners. Today they find themselves able to wear two hats – as creative musicians with no boundaries as well as label owners who make their own decisions on where, when and how to fabricate their career.

The net result is the aforementioned The Deepest Lake, a record with more musical diversions than the Mekong River itself. Released in early 2015, the ten tracks on The Deepest Lake will satiate longtime fans as well as newcomers looking for something altogether different. Widely recognised for their trademark blend of 60s Cambodian pop and psychedelic rock, Dengue Fever’s latest release expands their musical palette to include Khmer rap, Latin grooves, Afro percussion, layered Stax-like horns and more.

From the keyboard and percussion heavy opening track, Tokay, lead singer Chhom Nimol’s unmistakable bird-like Khmer vocals lead the band on a evolutionary musical journey on The Deepest Lake. Be it the John Doe & Exene boy/girl vocals on Rom Say Sok that gets your indie grooves on or the six plus minute psychedelic jam on Cardboard Castles, it’s pretty evident that this is a band looking to take chances and not play it safe. By following their instincts on this record and letting many of the final tracks come out of extended jams when demoing the album, the band played to their musical strengths. No longer was there a need to ‘find’ a song, the songs on The Deepest Lake came to them.

The band’s newly established independence as both label owner and artist marks yet another chapter in the continual evolution of a group unlike many other bands in the Los Angeles music scene. It all began in 2002 when Dengue Fever formed and released their eponymous debut (2003). Packed chock full of ‘lost’ Khmer covers, the band paid homage to Khmer rock, a hybrid of Vietnam War era surf, psych and classic rock performed by Cambodian giants like Ros Sereysothea, Pan Ron and Sinn Sisamouth.

The band’s sophomore release, critically acclaimed sophomore follow-up, Escape from Dragon House (2005) found them writing and performing original material in earnest. Amazon.com named Dragon House the #1 international release for 2005, and Mojo magazine named it in their Top 10 World Music releases of 2006.

In 2008, their third release Venus on Earth became the band’s best selling album. It garnered praise from both critics and fans the world over. In fact, Venus on Earth found support from iconic musicians such as Peter Gabriel, Metallica’s Kirk Hammett and Ray Davies who each made mention of the band in the press.

Dengue Fever’s fourth release, Cannibal Courtship (Fantasy Records/Concord Music Group), was released in April 2011 and found the band expanding beyond their usual comfort zone and experimenting with new sounds.

‘A danceable, delightfully mutated mix of American surf, garage-rock psychedelia and the emotive, snaky crooning of Khmer folk music‘ – LA Weekly

25 Swan Street
Manchester
M4 5JZ

www.heymanchester.com