Dengue Fever (band)

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This article is about a rock band. For information about the disease, see Dengue fever.

Dengue Fever

Background information
Origin	Los Angeles, California
Genre(s)	Cambodian rock, Rock, psychedelic, surf, indie
Years active	2001-present
Label(s)	M80 Music, Birdman
Website	www.denguefevermusic.com
Members
Chhom Nimol Zac Holtzman Ethan Holtzman Senon Williams David Ralicke Paul Smith

Dengue Fever is a six-member band from Los Angeles who combine Cambodian pop music and lyrics with psychedelic rock. They were formed in 2001 by Ethan Holtzman and his brother Zac after Ethan was inspired by a trip to Cambodia. Lead singer Chhom Nimol was discovered performing at a night club in the Little Phnom Penh area of Long Beach as Ethan and Zac were searching for a vocalist to sing in Khmer. Zac performs vocals and guitar, while Ethan plays the Farfisa organ. Rounding out the band are bassist Senon Williams (who also plays in Radar Bros), drummer Paul Smith, and David Ralicke on brass.

Their self-titled debut album was released in 2003. All lyrics on the earlier albums are sung in Khmer, whilst the third album introduces some songs in English. Many of the songs are covers of 1960s Cambodian rock tunes by such artists as Sinn Sisamouth and Ros Sereysothea, but some are originals, first written in English by the Holtzmans before being translated. Their second album, Escape from Dragon House, was released in 2005, and contained more original songs.

Escape from Dragon House was one of Amazon.com's Top 100 Editor's Picks of 2005.

"Ethanopium", a cover of a song by Ethiopian jazz musician Mulatu Astatke, was included in the soundtrack of Jim Jarmusch's 2005 film, Broken Flowers.

"One Thousand Tears of a Tarantula" was included on the soundtrack for the second season of the Showtime series "Weeds"

"Both Sides Now", a Joni Mitchell cover, was included on the soundtrack of Matt Dillon's 2002 film, City of Ghosts.

The band is the subject of the documentary film, Sleepwalking Through the Mekong, chronicling its visit to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, during the Bon Om Thook water festival in 2005.