Creator
Laura Mam
ឡូរ៉ា ទេវរី ម៉ម
Laura Mam is a Cambodian American singer-songwriter and producer who founded Baramey Production in Cambodia.
Laura Mam (ឡូរ៉ា ទេវរី ម៉ម, Laura Tevary Mam) is a Cambodian American singer, songwriter and music producer who co-founded Baramey Production.[1][2] She has been releasing music since 2008, and Baramey Production counts her among the first singer-songwriters to win nationwide popularity with original music in Khmer.[3][1]
Early career
Mam grew up in San Jose, California, and graduated in anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley, where Cambodia was her area of study. She studied Khmer in college and had planned to go to Cambodia as an archaeologist.[2][4] She began posting music on YouTube in April 2008.[5] With Thida Buth, who wrote the Khmer lyrics, she wrote her first song, "Pka Proheam Rik Popreay" ("the morning flower is beautifully blossoming"). The music video, uploaded to YouTube, became an overnight sensation in Cambodia.[6][7][1] Mam has said the response showed that people wanted original Cambodian music.[6] The two kept writing together, pairing her melodies with Khmer lyrics and a more traditional poetic sense.[6]
After graduating, Mam formed the all-female band The Like Me's in Cambodia, and in late 2013 she released her first solo album, Meet Me in the Rain.[4] She moved to Cambodia in 2013 by her own account; CBS gives the year as 2014, and NPR as early 2015.[2][7][6] To get around the karaoke production houses, Mam and other original artists used Facebook and YouTube to take their music straight to fans.[6][2] Mam has said the market was then dominated by karaoke-style covers and pirated music.[8]
Music
Mam writes original Khmer-language songs that combine pop, dance and hip hop with Khmer instrumentation.[3] She plays guitar, and also some piano, bass, drums and tro, a Khmer fiddle, which she learned while living in Phnom Penh.[5] Her songs include "Just Like You" with VannDa, "Fate" (ព្រហ្មលិខិត) with VannDa and Medha, "Srey Saart" (ស្រីស្អាត) with Sok Pisey, "Coming Home" and "Looking for Love" with Oun.[1][9] She has performed at the 1River Music Festival during the Water Festival, the Smart Mega Concert and the Anchor New Year's Eve concert of 2020.[9]
She has served as a brand ambassador for Smart, Sony, Vivo, Porsche, Adidas, iflix and Pepsi.[3][9] She has also owned restaurants.[2]
Baramey Production
In 2016 Mam and Thida Buth founded Baramey Production to support original Cambodian talent. Baramey is the Khmer word for "sacred power."[1][6][8] Its first signing was the hip-hop duo Kmeng Khmer.[1][6] The company manages artists and produces music, film, events and marketing for Cambodian and international audiences. Its artists work in hip-hop, rock, psychedelic music and traditional Khmer styles.[2][1] As chief executive, Mam represented the full-time artists VannDa, Vanthan, Sophia Kao, Polarix and Khmer1Jivit as of 2024.[8] Baramey released VannDa's "Time To Rise," a rap song about artists pursuing their dreams.[7]
In 2021 Baramey signed with ADA, the Asian division of Warner Music. Mam has said it was the first Cambodian label to do so, and that the deal lets its artists' copyrights be distributed and protected worldwide.[1][7][2] Baramey also took part in Warner Music Group's deal with TikTok.[2] Mam has pressed for stronger protection and enforcement of intellectual property in Cambodia's music industry. She has named the lack of publishing and royalty systems as a major challenge.[1][2] As of 2024 she had put her own artistic career on hold to focus on Baramey's growth.[2][8]
Recognition
- Arts and Culture prize, Women of the Future Awards South East Asia, Singapore (2018)[3][2]
- Goodwill ambassador of Cambodia to Japan, appointed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts (2023)[2]
Works
- The Like Me's (Music release)
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Laura Mam, Wikipedia
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 Focus Cambodia, Making a mark in the Khmer global music business (February 16, 2024)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Baramey Production, Laura Mam
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Phnom Penh Post, 7 Questions with Laura Mam (December 20, 2013)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Tharum, How Laura Mam is using music to reconnect with her Cambodian roots (May 12, 2010)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 NPR, Across Languages And Generations, One Family Is Reviving Cambodian Original Music (February 29, 2020)
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 CBS San Francisco, Bay Area mother and daughter help lead music resurgence in Cambodia (May 17, 2022)
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Focus Cambodia, 6 to know (May 15, 2024)
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 AXEAN Festival, Laura Mam artist profile