Los Angeles-based band Dengue Fever's new album, The Deepest Lake, is the latest in the sextet's exploration of Cambodian rock, Afro grooves and psych jams. But the way members tell the story, the group itself nearly never came together.
For days, lead singer Chhom Nimol was reluctant to show up for try-outs with the newly-forming band, wary of unknown musicians playing the music of her homeland. When she turned up, she was pleasantly surprised.
"I told my sister, hey, these guys are good, they can play our Cambodian music," remembered Nimol.
For the rest of the band, Nimol was the missing piece – and the chemistry clicked.
"It just went off the hook, it was almost like some sort of weird explosion happened," said bassist Senon Williams. "And that was that, it was quite simple."
Their music, however, is anything but, with a dynamic sound and wide ranging sonic landscape.
Check out the video for their new song, "No Sudden Moves."
Dengue Fever's "No Sudden Moves"
WHEN: Thursday, Feb. 5
WHERE: @EchoPlex
1822 Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA, US
(213) 413-8200
www.attheecho.com
More about Dengue Fever's 2015 tour here.