{{Short description|Cambodian singer}} '''Kak Channthy''' ({{circa}}1980 – 20 March 2018) was a Cambodian singer and vocalist of the band Cambodian Space Project.<ref name="BBC18" /> She has been described as the "Cambodian Amy Winehouse".<ref name="BBC18" /><ref name="SMH18" /> She died in 2018 in a car accident.
==Biography== Channthy was born the only daughter of army tank driver Reach Lon, and grew up poor in Prey Veng Province, a rural area in Cambodia, before moving to Phnom Penh. While singing in bars in Phnom Penh, an Australian musician named Julien Poulson discovered her—the two would later marry.<ref name="SMH18" /> The pair formed the Cambodian psychedelic rock band "The Cambodian Space Project", released five albums, and toured 24 countries around the world.
Inspired by Cambodian singers of the 1960s and early 1970s, "Cambodia's golden age", Cambodian Space Project led an arts and cultural revival in Cambodia and was one of the few Cambodian rock bands to find success outside of their own country.<ref name="BBC18" /> Channthy collaborated with a range of artists including Dennis Coffey, on their third LP, "Whisky Cambodia". She twice recorded duets with Australian poet laureate Paul Kelly: on "The Boat" in 2013 and a re-working of Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra's song "Summer Wine" in 2017. Channthy was fond of French chanson and collaborated with Bad Seed Mick Harvey on the Serge Gainsbourg track "Contact", as well as covering and regularly performing France Gall's classic "Laisse Tomber Les Filles" in her live set.
Kak Channthy and her then-husband Julien Poulson were the subject of a BBC Storyville documentary ''Rise of a Pop Diva'', a program also released to cinema as the documentary ''The Cambodian Space Project''. She also had several side-projects including Australian Khmer hip hop group Astronomy Class with whom she recorded and released the album "Mekong Delta Sunrise" and in 2016 she formed all Khmer band "Channthy Cha-Cha" in which she experimented with romantic Khmer ballads from artists such as Sinn Sisamouth and Pen Ran, adding a funk twist.<ref name="SL17" />
She died in March 2018 at the age of 38 when the auto rickshaw she was travelling in was hit by a car.<ref name="SMH18" /> The driver who caused the collision was charged with negligent driving causing unintentional injury and death.<ref name="PPP18" />
==Discography== Cambodian Space Project were signed to Australian independent music label FOUR FOUR.<ref name=fourfourhome>{{cite web | title=Home page|website=Four Four | url=https://fourfourmusic.com/ | access-date=10 June 2021}}</ref>
*''2011: A Space Odyssey'' (2011) *''Not Easy Rock & Roll'' (2012) *''Whisky Cambodia'' (2014) *''Radio Cambodia'' (2015) *''Electric Blue Boogaloo'' (2015) *''Spaced-Out in Wonderland'' (2017)
==References== <references>
<ref name="BBC18"> {{cite news |title=Kak Channthy: The Cambodian Space Project and a rock revival |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-43482011 |date=21 March 2018 |accessdate=26 March 2018 }} </ref>
<ref name="SMH18"> {{cite news |title=Kak Channthy, Cambodia's 'Amy Winehouse', dies in car crash at 38 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/kak-channthy-cambodia-s-amy-winehouse-dies-in-car-crash-at-38-20180326-p4z6a6.html |surname=Kelley |first=Sonaiya |date=26 March 2018 |accessdate=26 March 2018 }} </ref>
<ref name="PPP18"> {{cite news |title=Driver charged in crash that killed singer Kak Channthy |work=The Phnom Penh Post |url=https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/driver-charged-crash-killed-singer-kak-channthy |surname=Chheng |first=Niem |date=26 March 2018 |accessdate=26 March 2018 }} </ref>
<ref name="SL17"> {{cite web |title=Sounds Like: Cha-cha-chá with Cambodia's Kak Channthy |work=Straatosphere |url=https://straatosphere.com/sounds-like-kak-channthy-cambodia/ |surname=Kreems |first=Nisa |date=27 March 2018 |accessdate=27 March 2018 }} </ref>
</references>
==External links== *[http://cambodianspaceproject.org/ CambodianSpaceProject.org] - Official site of Cambodian Space Project
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kak, Channthy}} Category:1980s births Category:2018 deaths Category:21st-century Cambodian women singers Category:Road incident deaths in Cambodia Category:People from Prey Veng province Category:Women rock singers Category:Cambodian songwriters