Songs Composed in Cambodia Should Reflect Traditions, a Poet Says
- By Song Sotheavy
- April 17, 2023 10:16 AM
PHNOM PENH — Khmer New Year and other songs should be based on Cambodia’s traditions rather than being thoughtless entertainment, said poet Mai Vathana.
Composers should focus less on entertaining when they write songs and work on protecting Cambodian ideals and identity, he said.
Vathana, who has been given the nickname of “country poet” because of his countryside roots, said that, while Khmer New Year celebrations [currently taking place] are held to mark the new year and entertain people, song composers should know the limit of entertainment and, remembering young Cambodians, includes characteristics reflecting Cambodian identity in their work.
Originally from Battambang province, Vathana who is on the board of directors of the Khmer Writers Association, was recently interviewed live in Khmer on the program “New Idea” on ThmeyThmey.com.
As he explained, music is filled with emotions, which enable listeners to connect with the songs composers wrote. On the other hand, he said, songs that lead to violence or reflect pornography have a bad influence on society and especially on young people, and may lead to erasing morality and therefore one’s identity.
“‘In my opinion, compositions should include values for our nation,” Vathana said. “[Writers should] think what traditional games people play, what people usually do [at Khmer New Year] and what are the special characteristics of the old songs.”
Composers should reflect the meaning of such celebrations as viewed in Cambodia and by young people, and should promote the country’s traditional characteristics to the world through their songs, Vathana said.
“I compose songs, and I also contribute [to the country] by composing songs about Khmer traditions and traditional games, which are shown to the public,” he said.
Regarding words in songs, Vathana said that he is always careful because it is an important matter for the listeners, as words have an influence on artists and provide students with knowledge.
Another important element when he composes is the geographic integration of each province, Vathana said. He includes this, which adds values, education, and knowledge in his songs.
“Therefore, I deliver those words via songs to not only entertain but also to provide knowledge to the listener,” he said. “They receive entertainment, dance to the songs, learn about the context of places, play traditional games, and gain knowledge. That is what we have been doing.”
Songs that today pollute Cambodian young people’s mind
Regarding this matter, Vathana stressed that Cambodian songs are currently changing through globalization and also due to some song composers who are inspired by other countries’ trends such as those of Thailand, South Korea, China, and Western countries.
These factors that come into play to shape Cambodian songs these days diminish Cambodian songs’ real beauty, he said.
“As we have seen, there are many songs based on those trends because of our Cambodian composers,” Vathana said. “They consider composing hip-hop kind of songs freedom, but they don’t consider the downsides this has for the future music industry.”
Vathana said that rather than a sudden effect, this may have a gradual impact on Cambodia’s music over the years.
“Lately, songs that contain violent and immoral words are always played,” he said. “This has a negative influence on society, especially on youth, which sooner or later leads to losing one’s identity. For the kids who have limited intelligence, they will no longer know morality after listening to such songs, as they cannot recognize which words are bad or which are good.”
From the 40-year-old country poet’s perspective, some of those songs do not even benefit Cambodian society, but instead lead young people into thoughtless entertainment. Although some people say such songs do not affect people, Vathana argues that their meaning will stay in their heart.
“To the point that they think that part of the song is a trend, while they think of the old songs as outdated, comparing them to those songs based in some other countries,” he said.
Vathana did not deny what is being said, that some Cambodian songs are not up-to-date as young people nowadays want them to be.
Still, he asked music composers and song writers nowadays to consider the effects of those styles of songs on society and young people. As a poet with a nationalist heart, Vathana said, he is warning them to take responsibility for their work by providing only songs of good quality, expressing ideas serving the nation, and providing the next generations with role models.
