CAMBODIA: Danish pop group Michael Learns to Rock makes Cambodian history by being the first international group to perform in the improvershed nation

Danish pop group, Michael Learns to Rock, made Cambodian rock history by being the first international group to perform in the impoverished Southeast Asian country on Wednesday (October 19). Some 700 fans crammed into the Cambodian Television Network studios in capital Phnom Penh to hear band members Jascha Richter, Kare Wanscher, Mikkel Lentz and Soren Madsen rock out in a performance that was broadcast live across the nation. The group, which has previously toured neighbouring Thailand and Vietnam, has sold more than 10 million albums worldwide and has a strong following in Cambodia with many fans enthusiastically singing along to songs and dancing. Among their hits from their six-album career is "Take Me To Your Heart", which registered on billboard charts around the world. Young fans in Cambodia said they had never experienced anything like a western rock concert and are eager for more international acts to follow suit. "I'm very happy with the concert and I hope they will come back again," said Michael Learns to Rock fan, Kim Chanvibol, 24. "I want the band to come back again but next time I want it to be 10 times bigger than this," said 24-year-old Prak Kimchhun. The band members themselves said they are trying to promote a live music scene in the country help people overcome their daily hardships. Cambodia is one of the world's poorest countries and is struggling to recover from nearly three decades of conflict, including the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime. Pol Pot's Communist regime killed an estimated 1.7 million people, or one third of the population, in their pursuit of a peasant utopia in the 70s, a legacy the country is still trying to overcome both economically and socially. Kare Wanscher, the band's drummer, said he hopes their music can help the country reach its full potential. "The kind of music that we do, singing about love, peace, really helps Cambodia to build, to keep building a country with stability and peace which they are working so hard on," he said.

ITN Source | October 26, 2005

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