Kong Nay: Preserving Cambodia’s Musical Heritage Through Adversity

Soeung Chetra, a teenager from rural Cambodia, is mastering an ancient art form: performing improvised ballads accompanied by the chapei dang veng, a traditional Cambodian lute.

Inspired by the late Kong Nay, a revered master who passed away last year at age 80, Soeung aspires to achieve similar recognition. “I hope to become as well-known as him,” said the 16-year-old outside his family’s stilt house.

Few Cambodian artists of Kong Nay’s generation survived the brutal Khmer Rouge regime, which governed from 1975 to 1979 and was responsible for widespread forced labor camps and the deaths of up to a quarter of the population. Even fewer managed to cultivate a lasting cultural legacy.

Despite being blind, Kong Nay elevated the profile of the chapei dang veng by mentoring young musicians and performing poignant ballads both domestically and internationally. One of his final collaborations, featuring a Cambodian rapper, helped introduce traditional Cambodian music to younger audiences.

“Some compare him to Ray Charles, though not everyone agrees with that comparison,” said Song Seng, a nonprofit leader who helped connect Kong Nay with some of his earliest students.

Supporters often refer to Ray Charles as the American counterpart to Kong Nay.