The album Krom: Songs from the Noir was released last week on CD Baby, iTunes and Amazon, and will be played at select venues in Phnom Penh this week.

Advance copies have drawn rave reviews from Bangkok to Hollywood.

“These are gut-twisting songs connected to something profound, night-time whispers, raw and real,” director Roland Joffé told 7Days in an email from South Africa where he filming his latest movie.

“Under their elegant sound is something that comes from deep inside [Chris] Minko and Sophea Chamroeun and that emotional charge will reach deep inside you. Whether they’re singing in English or Khmer, the effect is the same: they draw you in and make you want to listen closer.”

Best-selling Author Christopher G Moore describes Sophea’s voice as “clean, liquid and clear”.

In a review of Krom: Songs from the Noir, he told 7Days: “These are folk tales as black as night. Sophea Chamroeun’s voice rings clean, liquid and clear like a troubadour, and [Chris] Minko’s voice brings a haunting, elegant and soulful depth. Their interpretation of the lyrics transport you straight into the heartland of noir. She’s singing from the noir hymnbook: there is no way out. No escape. No hero who rides to the rescue.”

Krom will perform live in September at the launch of Phnom Penh Noir, a collection of short stories selected by Christopher G Moore.

A collectors’ edition of the CD will be released in September internationally as well.

To see their latest videos, visit here on YouTube and also here on YouTube