Dengue Fever

Dengue Fever formed in Los Angeles in 2001, started by brothers Ethan and Zac Holtzman. They were drawn to Cambodian rock music from the 1960s and 1970s, a sound that wasn't widely known in the U.S. at the time. Finding Cambodian musicians in L.A. proved difficult, so they built a band with players from different backgrounds, eventually bringing in Chhom Nimol as their vocalist. Her voice, singing in Khmer, became central to their sound.

Their first album came out in 2003, simply called "Dengue Fever." It mixed those Cambodian melodies with psychedelic and surf rock elements, a combination they kept exploring on later records like "Escape from Dragon House" and "Venus on Earth." Songs like "Made Of Steam" and "Sober Driver" show how they layered dreamy, reverb-heavy guitars around Nimol's vocals. They've worked with Cambodian musicians from that earlier era, including Sinn Sisamouth and Meas Soksophea.

As they gained listeners, some critics questioned whether the band was appropriating Cambodian culture rather than honoring it. They kept making music through that, sticking to their blend of styles without trying to smooth over the questions. Their music doesn't sound like a revivalist project or a purely nostalgic one; it's its own thing, built from specific influences and the practical reality of who was in the room in early-2000s Los Angeles.