Dengue Fever is anything but your average indie-rock combo. Based in Los Angeles, the exotic six-piece outfit is fronted by Chhom Nimol, who sings in her native Cambodian dialect, backed by guitarist Zac Holtzman, his brother Ethan (keyboards), Senon Williams (bass), David Ralicke (horns) and Paul Smith (drums). Some photos of the boys in the band from their three previous albums look like they’ve come from Homeland Security’s no-fly list. In reality, Dengue Fever may be the best U.S. cultural ambassadors to Southeast Asia since the glory days of jazz stars Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and John Coltrane 50 years ago. The band’s “new” album, Dengue Fever Presents Electric Cambodia (Minky), spotlights vintage performances by its favorite Cambodian artists from the late ’60s/early ’70s. Dengue Fever will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our Q&A with them.
Ethan Holtzman: I like freediving in the ocean beneath the kelp beds or jumping off a boat 11 miles out in the Sea of Cortez next to some tiny island covered with bird shit. It took me forever to learn how to hold my breath and relax and forget about sharks. When you learn to spit your snorkel out to prevent bubbles while diving down into the sea or make sure not to knock your fins into one another, you know you are becoming a good silent hunter. It’s nice to just see the fish, but every once in a while I’ll cross paths with a white sea bass, a school of yellow tail or a halibut and send a spear through their body. It is kind of brutal, and I don’t do it very often, especially now that the fish are full of mercury.
Video after the jump.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doOlFgLH-Mk
