Starting in the late 1950s , Head of State Norodom Sihanouk , a musician himself , encouraged the development of popular music in Cambodia . Initially , pop records from France and Latin America were imported into the country and became popular , inspiring a flourishing music scene based in Phnom Penh and led by singers like Sinn Sisamouth , Ros Serey Sothea , and Pen Ran . By the late 1960s and early 1970s , the scene was further influenced by Western rock and roll and soul music via U.S. armed forces radio that had been broadcast into nearby South Vietnam . This resulted in a unique sound in which Western pop and rock were combined with Khmer vocal techniques . Many of the most important singers of this era perished during the Khmer Rouge genocide . Western interest in the popular Cambodian music of the 1960s-70s was sparked by the bootleg album '' Cambodian Rocks '' in 1996 , which in turn inspired the 2015 documentary film '' Do n't Think I 've Forgotten . " Classic Cambodian pop music , or modern music , includes slow , crooner-type music exemplified by songs such as Sinn Sisamouth 's ឯណាទៅឋានសួគ ? ( '' Ae Na Tiw Than Suor ? '' ) , as well as dance music . Dance music is classified according to the type of dance signified by the rhythm . The two most common types of Cambodian dance music are ramvong and ramkbach . Ramvong is slow dance music , while ramkbach is closely related to Thai folk music . Recently , a form of music called '' kantrum '' has become popular . Originating among the Khmer Surin in Thailand , kantrum is performed by both Thai and Cambodian stars
Khmer Rouge genocide
Cambodian genocide
Music of Cambodia