| Name | City of Siem Reap |
|---|---|
| Native name | ក្រុងសៀមរាប |
| Settlement type | City |
| Nickname | Great Gate to Angkor |
| Map caption | Location of Siem Reap, Cambodia |
| Dot x | |dot_y = |
| Pushpin map | Cambodia |
| Pushpin label position | |
| Coordinates region | KH |
| Subdivision type | Country |
| Subdivision name | |
| Subdivision type1 | Province |
| Subdivision name1 | Siem Reap |
| Leader title | District Chief & Governor |
| Leader name | Sou Phirin |
| Leader title1 | Deputy Governor |
| Leader name1 | Kim Chay Hieng |
| Established title | Settled |
| Established date | 802 |
| Established title2 | Official |
| Established date2 | 1907 |
| Established title3 | |
| Unit pref | |
| Area total km2 | |
| Area land km2 | |
| Population as of | 2009 |
| Population total | 171,800 |
| Timezone | Cambodia |
| Utc offset | +7 |
| Elevation footnotes | |
| Postal code type |
The City of Siem Reap is the capital city of Siem Reap Province in northwestern Cambodia, and is the gateway to Angkor.
Siem Reap has colonial and Chinese-style architecture in the Old French Quarter, and around the Old Market. In the city, there are traditional Apsara dance performances, craft shops, silk farms, rice-paddy countryside, fishing villages and a bird sanctuary near the Tonle Sap Lake.
Siem Reap today, being a popular tourist destination, has a large number of hotels and restaurants. Most smaller establishments are concentrated around the Old Market area, while more expensive hotels are located between Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport and the town along National Road 6. There are a variety of mid-range hotels and restaurants along Sivatha, and mid budget to mid-range hotels in the Phsar Leu area.
The name Siem Reap means the 'Defeat of Siam' —today’s Thailand —and refers to a century-old bloodbath, commemorated in stone in the celebrated bas relief carvings of the monuments. The name has also been translated as 'The Brilliance of Siam', as, for nearly 500 years, before the massacre, it was one of the main border crossings from Ancient Cambodia into Siam.
In 1901 the École Française d'Extrême Orient (EFEO) began a long association with Angkor by funding an expedition into Siam to the Bayon. In 1907 Angkor, which had been taken from Siam (Thailand) by force, was assigned to Cambodia. The EFEO took responsibility for clearing and restoring the whole site. In the same year, the first tourists arrived in Angkor - an unprecedented 200 of them in three months. Angkor had been 'rescued' from the jungle and was assuming its place in the modern world.
Siem Reap was little more than a village when the first French explorers re-discovered Angkor in the 19th century. With the acquisition of Angkor by the French, in 1907, Siem Reap began to grow, absorbing the first wave of tourists. The Grand Hotel d'Angkor opened its doors in 1929 and the temples of Angkor remained one of Asia's leading draws until the late 1960s, luring visitors like Charlie Chaplin and Jackie Kennedy. In 1975, the population of Siem Reap, along with that of the rest of the cities and towns in Cambodia, was evacuated by the communist Khmer Rouge and driven into the countryside.
As with the rest of the country, Siem Reap's history (and the memories of its people) is coloured by spectre of the brutal Khmer Rouge Regime, though since Pol Pot's death in 1998, relative stability and a rejuvenated tourist industry have been important steps in an important, if tentative, journey forward to recovery. With the advent of war, Siem Reap entered a long slumber from which it only began to awake in the mid-1990s.
Today, Siem Reap is undoubtedly Cambodia's fastest growing city and serves as a small charming gateway town to the world famous heritage site of the Angkor temples. Thanks to those attractions, Siem Reap has transformed itself into a major tourist hub. Siem Reap nowadays is a vibrant town with modern hotels and architectures. Despite international influences, Siem Reap and its people have conserved much of the town's image, culture and traditions.
The Town is a cluster of small villages along the Siem Reap River. These villages were originally developed around Buddhist pagodas (Wat) which are almost evenly spaced along the river from Wat Preah En Kau Sei in the north to Wat Phnom Krom in the south, where the Siem Reap River meets the great Tonle Sap Lake.
The main town is concentrated around Sivutha Street and the Psar Chas area (Old Market area) where there are old colonial buildings, shopping and commercial districts. The Wat Bo area is now full of guesthouses and restaurants while the Psar Leu area is often crowded with jewellery and handicraft shops, selling from ruby to woodcarving. Other fast developing areas are the airport road and main road to Angkor where a number of large hotels and resorts can be found.
Businesses centered around tourism have flourished thanks to the tourism boom. There is a wide range of hotels, ranging from several 5-star hotels and chic resorts to hundreds of budget guesthouses. A large selection of restaurants offer many kinds of food, including Italian, Indian, French, German, Russian, Thai, Korean, Japanese, and Burmese. Plenty of shopping opportunities exist around the Psar Chas area while the nightlife is often vibrant with a number of western-styled pubs and bars.
Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport in Siem Reap now serves the most tourist passengers to Cambodia. Most tourists come to Siem Reap to visit the Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, (about 6 km north of the city), and other Angkor ruins. While those are still the main attractions, there are plenty of other things to experience, such as a dinner with an Apsara Dance performance, a trip to fishing villages and bird sanctuary, a visit to a craft workshop and silk farm, or a bicycle tour around the rice paddies in the countryside.
The Gecko Environment Center is a floating environment center located in the province of Siem Reap on the Tonle Sap Lake. The goal of the center is to promote environmental awareness among the local community as well as visitors to the great lake. The province of Siem Reap is part of the Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve.
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
| Name | The Streets |
|---|---|
| Background | solo_singer |
| Birth name | Michael Geoffrey Skinner |
| Born | November 27, 1978 |
| Origin | Birmingham, England, United Kingdom |
| Instrument | Vocals, keyboards, guitar| |
| Genre | UK garage Electronica Hip-Hop |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Label | Locked On/679 Recordings (UK)Vice/Atlantic Records (US) (2000–2010) Warner Music (Worldwide) |
| Url |
Michael Geoffrey "Mike" Skinner (born 27 November 1978), more commonly known by his stage name The Streets, is a British rapper, musician and record producer from Birmingham, United Kingdom. Skinner started making songs at the age of fifteen.
He has suffered from epilepsy since he was seven. He later stated in a blog that he was misquoted, and that the album would sound like the city of Berlin, not the album by Reed. He went on, saying that the album will be "ravey".
On 6 August 2008, Skinner stated on his MySpace blog that the title of the final Streets record will be Computers and Blues, and that it will likely not be released for at least two years. He has repeatedly stated that it will be the last Streets album, remarking that he is "fucking sick" of the name and connotations that come along with it. In a Beat Stevie episode where he describes the making of Everything Is Borrowed, Skinner says that the final Streets album will be "one more banger" and will be "dancing music to drink tea to".
The album will be released on 7 February 2011.
The first single from the album will be Going Through Hell, the music video for which is currently playing on music channels.
The album's artwork features student accommodation at University of East Anglia in Norwich.
Up until recently his playing line-up was Mike Skinner, Leo the Lion singing backing vocals, Eddie "The Kid" playing keyboard, Johnny Drum Machine playing drums, and long-time friend Morgan Nicholls playing bass and guitar. Morgan has since left the band to focus on playing with rock band Muse, playing a variety of instruments as part of their live show.
His current live line-up consists of Kevin Mark Trail on backing vocals, Wayne Vibes on guitar and bass, Chris Brown on keyboards, Magic Mike on samplers and Johnny Drum Machine as drummer and musical director. Skinner has credited Johnny Drum Machine as the only other member of The Streets to have appeared on all the albums.
Performance trademarks include crowd controlling "Go Low" (the whole audience drops to the floor) and "Go Moses" (audience parts down the middle, Skinner runs to the back and crowd surfs back to the stage) with variable success.
In one of the episodes, Mike and Ted get trained by pickup artist and dating coach 5.0 of Love Systems on how to approach and talk to women.
In December 2010, it was revealed that Skinner had had relationships with both Rachel Stevens and Cheryl Cole (then Tweedy) circa. 2004.
Category:1978 births Category:Living people Category:English male singers Category:English electronic music groups Category:Music from Birmingham, West Midlands Category:Grime artists Category:People with epilepsy Category:BRIT Award winners Category:Ivor Novello Award winners Category:People from Barnet Category:UK garage musicians
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
| Name | Sinn Si Samouth (Surname: Sinn) |
|---|---|
| Background | solo_singer |
| Born | 1935 (estimated)Stung Treng, Cambodia |
| Died | May 18, 1975Koh Thom, Kandal Province, Cambodia |
| Instrument | Mandolin |
| Genre | Psychedelic rockGarage rockTraditional Khmer music RomvongSaravan Jazz Bosanova Twist Jerk Latin Blues Cha Cha Cha Madizon Hala Hala AgogoFilm Music |
| Occupation | Singer, composer, bandleader, producer |
| Years active | 1957–1975 |
| Label | Independent |
| Associated acts | Ros Sereysothea, Pan Ron, So Savoeun, Houy Meas, Haim Sovann |
| Notable instruments | Mandolin |
Sinn Sisamouth () (1932–1975) was a famous and highly prolific Cambodian singer-songwriter in the 1950s to the 1970s.
Widely considered the "King of Khmer music", Sisamouth, along with Ros Sereysothea, Pan Ron, and other artists, was part of a thriving pop music scene in Phnom Penh that blended elements of Khmer traditional music with the sounds of rhythm and blues and rock and roll to make a Westernized sound akin to psychedelic or garage rock. Sisamouth is believed to have been killed under the Khmer Rouge regime.
He was the youngest of four siblings, with one brother and two sisters. His father was a prison warden in Battambang Province and was then a soldier during the Colonial Cambodia period. His father died of disease and his mother remarried, and the union resulted in two more children.
Sisamouth attended Central Province of Stung Treng Elementary School when he was five. At the age of six or seven, he started to show interest in the guitar, and he would be asked to perform at school functions. He was also interested in Buddhist scripture and other books, as well as playing soccer and flying kites.
Around 1951, he passed elementary school and intended to study medicine in Phnom Penh, but continued working at becoming a singer and writing songs. Just as he had in elementary school, he became well known in his school for his music, and was asked to sing at school ceremonies.
By the time Cambodia was granted independence from France in 1953, Sisamouth's fine singing voice landed him a spot on national radio as a regular singer. He also continued his studies, working at Preah Ketomealea Hospital.
He possessed a clear crooning voice which, combined with his own compositions about the pleasures and pains of romance, made him an idol. He sang many ballads, as well uptempo rock numbers that featured prominent, distortion-laden guitar, pumping organ and loud, driving drums. Other arrangements were more Latin jazz-sounding, featuring woodwinds, brass, and auxiliary percussion.
In the early 1950s he became a protege of Queen Kossomak Nearyrath. He was selected into the Vong Phleng Preah Reach Troap (classical ensemble of the Royal Treasury) where together with Sos Matt, he performed at royal receptions and state functions. A number of songs he wrote subsequently bore the unmistakable melancholic melodies of traditional Khmer music he performed in those formative years. In the mid-1950s a romantic ballad "Violon Sneha", composed by violinist Hass Salan, catapulted Sisamouth into stardom. In recent years the song has been re-issued by a large number of modern performers, including Song Seng Horn, who comes from Rhode Island, Mol Kamach (a singer and guitarist of the 1960s who escaped the Khmer Rouge rule and is now living in France), Nay Sieng (a Khmer based in France), and Him Sivonn (a female vocalist from Phnom Penh).
Most of Sisamouth's tape recordings from this period did not survive the years of social upheaval however, although now and then some of Sisamouth's 1950s and early 1960s hits are rerecorded successfully. One such hit, "Srey Sros Khmeng", re-emerged from oblivion with Suong Chantha's 2002 faithful rendition. Sisamouth's other hits of the same period include "Anussavry Phnom Kravanh", "(Chett Srey doch) Chong Srol", "Thngay Dob Pee Thnou", "Thngay Muoy Kakkda", "Teuk Keb", "Stung Pursat", and "Prek Eng Oss Sangkhim".
Beginning in around 1963, Sisamouth started recording on the Vat Phnom label. His "Champa Batdambang" won immediate acclaim across the country. In a 1971 Phnom Penh television show, Sisamouth's interviewer recalled that "Champa Batdambang" was the first song sung on the inauguration of the station in 1965.
What captured Sisamouth's audience was the use of a four-piece, rock and roll band instrumentation with guitars and percussion, a departure from a backing band of wind instruments. He also experimented with Latin music, an infatuation that may have started with Prince Norodom Sihanouk's compositions such as "Reatry Del Ban Chuop Pheak" and "Phnom Penh".
Sisamouth's popularity nevertheless did not eclipse the work of other recording artists, notably those who sang at the National Radio such as Eum Song Seurm and Huoy Meas. Meas Hok Seng, a voice artist at the Phnom Penh University of Arts ("Sala Rachna") also achieved celebrity status in 1966 with "Lolok Nhi Chmaul". Hits by these artists often came from the pen of lyricist Ma Lao Pi, a talented poet and broadcaster now living in California, whose masterpieces include "Day Samot Trapaing Roung" and "Lolok Nhi Chmaul". Despite occasional hits such as "Akassyean", Sos Matt on the other hand appeared to have been unfairly sidelined in the commercialisation of music that took place with the arrival of recording productions such as Vat Phnom and Chan Chaya.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Sisamouth sang the soundtrack songs to a number of popular films, such as Orn Euy Srey Orn, Tep Sodachan, and Thavory Meas Bong. In "Peou Chhouk Sar", a 1967 success directed by Tea Lim Kaing, Sisamouth captured the poignant breakup of lead actors Dy Saveth and Chea Yuthan with his "Neavea Chivit". Over his long career, Samuth recorded many duets with female singing partners including, in the early 1960s, Mao Sareth, Keo Settha, Chhunn Vanna, Huoy Meas, Ros Sereysothea, and Penn Ron. Penn Ron began recording with Sisamouth in 1966. Ros Sereysothea started her career in around 1967 with the hit "Stung Khieu". Her high, crisp voice nicely balanced the deeper-toned voice of Sisamouth. Nevertheless the quality of Sisamouth's songs deteriorated rapidly in the 1970s, save for a few notable examples written by lyricist Voy Ho who had been a long standing colleague. Over that same period Samuth adapted a number of Thai songs into his repertoire.
From 1972 to 1973 music publisher Kruorch Bunlyhe issued A Collection of Sentimental Songs, which contained 500 of Sinn Sisamouth's songs. It is estimated that he wrote thousands of songs, possibly at least one for each day he was famous, his son Sinn Chaya has said.
Along with his original works, Sisamouth also introduced many Western pop tunes to Cambodia, simply writing new verses in Khmer language. Examples include "The House of the Rising Sun" as "I'm Still Waiting for You" (a particularly good showcase of his sustained phrasing and baritone voice), "Black Magic Woman" (drawing influence from the Santana version) under the title "I Love Petite Women", and "Quando My Love".
By this time he had remarried, to a dancer in the royal ballet, who was pregnant at the time with the couple's second child.
The circumstances of his death in the Killing Fields are unknown, but he had connections with the old government, was highly educated, and was an artist — all trappings of a society that Pol Pot sought to eradicate. One apocryphal story is that before he was to be executed, Sisamouth asked he be allowed to sing a song for the cadre, but the cold-hearted soldiers were unmoved and after he finished singing, and killed him anyhow.
Although all the master tapes of his studio recordings are thought to have been destroyed by the Khmer Rouge, his work lives on in recordings created from cassettes and LPs that have subsequently been transferred to CD, and are often heard on Cambodian radio stations.
Sisamouth, his frequent duet partner Ros Sereysothea. and other Cambodian singers of the era, including Meas Samoun, Chan Chaya, Choun Malai, and Pan Ron, are featured on the soundtrack to Matt Dillon's film City of Ghosts. Tracks by Sisamouth are "Mou Pei Na" and "Ne Te Fache Pas".
Sisamouth, Sinn Sisamouth, Sinn Sisamouth, Sinn Category:1975 deaths
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
Category:Cambodian musicians Category:Cambodian singers Category:Khmer female singers Category:Missing people
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
