Dengue Fever

The unmistakable sound of this band from L.A. is the result of a trip to Cambodia by singer Zac Holtzman. While his travel companion fell ill with dengue fever, Holtzman fell for the raw sweetness of the local 1970s pop music. He and his brother Ethan, who simultaneously contracted the same musical bug in San Francisco, founded the band in an act of transpacific bridge-building. The group was completed by female singer Chhom Nimol, who while still in Cambodia had sung for the country’s king and queen. Over ten years, Dengue Fever has expanded its original repertoire of Khmer pop covers into a portfolio that includes their own catchy compositions. Describing the music on the band’s new album, Cannibal Courtship, Holtzman says: “Before it was partly Cambodian and partly indie rock. Now it’s 100 percent both.”