20 January | 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Concert Under the Canopy: MeDha x Smomid
7pm – 9pm Saturday, 20 January 2024
At Friends Futures Factory
Entry fee by donation – pay what you feel
For Under the Canopy, we have invited artists to activate the space in creative ways. Our first event is a concert that features MeDha, Cambodia’s first female drum group, and Nick Demopoulos, an experimental electronic musician, who will collaborate for a one-of-a-kind live music event.
This concert will bring together MeDha’s empowering drum music, performed on traditional instruments, combined with an improvised performance and multi-sensory experience created by Nick Demopoulos as Smomid.
Expect a fusion of rhythms, melodies, cultures, and technologies, as the powerful drumbeats meet electronic music and projections, against the backdrop of the visually compelling canopy. Join us for a unique experience that celebrates cross-cultural collaboration!
About the artists:
MeDha is the first female drum group in Cambodia, established in 2017. We use traditional Khmer instruments to create new music, along with a story that reflects the realities of Cambodian society. Through our music we demand change and express the potential and ability of women in society and the arts. We want to encourage other women to stand up and do what they love and be able to achieve their dreams. MeDha is sponsored and created by Cambodia Living Arts (CLA). We have performed and participated in many art festivals in Cambodia.
Smomid is a project by Nick Demopoulos, who is a performer, musician and instrument builder. As Smomid, he uses instruments and software he created to enable digitally interactive performance and multi-sensory experiences. Smomid instruments create sound, video projections and emit light. As a guitarist he worked with NEA jazz master Chico Hamilton, with whom he recorded on four albums. He worked as a cultural diplomat for the U.S. State Department, performing in Bahrain, Yemen, Oman, U.A.E and Kuwait. Smomid has performed at Lincoln Center, and featured on Discovery Channel, Guitar World, Create Digital Music and BOMB magazine.
***
Under the Canopy is a Creative Generation project at F3 (Friends Futures Factory). It is an architectural intervention that emphasizes principles of sustainability and contemporary design-thinking. It is made possible thanks to the support of our partner organization Friends-International.
Special thanks for the generous support provided by Debra Fram + Eric Schwartz and the U.S. Embassy in Cambodia.