After the runaway success of the inaugural event last August, Cambodia’s second Tiger Translate festival will be held at the Phnom Penh Railway Station this coming Friday, featuring renowned musicians and artists from across the globe.

Australian hip-hop and reggae outfit Astronomy Class will be performing for the first time in Asia after six years on the scene in their home country.

Singer Shannon Kennedy, known in Australia for his work with the immensely popular hip-hop band The Herd, is eager to be appearing.

“From what I've seen there are some exciting things happening in Phnom Penh,” Kennedy says. “We're really keen to make some connections there. We're hoping to connect with the hip-hop scene there and take in as much live music as we can. We are incredibly excited to be performing a collaboration with [Cambodian pop singer] Preap Sovath at the event.”

Will Rendle, the frontman of the genre-defying UK band Will and the People, was similarly pleased to be asked to appear at Tiger Translate on the back of a crowd-pleasing tour through Singapore and Vietnam. Rendle says that his band’s time in Asia has been invaluable in helping the band branch out beyond their musical roots.

“We’re fascinated by East Asian music, the scales of it in particular,” Rendle says. “We’ve got a new album we’re making at the moment. Wherever we’ve been, it’s just left a little musical mark on us and that’ll be seen on the album. Some of the melodies and the sounds they make out here are just incredible.”

Also participating are the Broken Fingaz Crew, a street art and graffiti collective based in the Israeli town of Haifa. Tiger Translate marks Broken Fingaz’ return to Asia after two extended tours of China in the last two years.

“We painted some walls, showed our art around Beijing, and we worked with local artists in Guangzhou and other places,” says Unga, a member of Broken Fingaz.

“The public liked it, really got into it. Everyone was really curious about it. We went to small villages that never saw anything like [our work]. People looked at us like aliens! We’d never felt anything like the reaction we got.”

Unga alludes to Broken Fingaz’ full schedule during their stay in Phnom Penh. “We are painting a big wall in the city and doing a couple of other events. We’ll be collaborating with local artists to do some projects while we’re there as well.”

With such an impressive roster of acts, the festival is shaping up to be the capital’s social event of the month.

“Last year’s event was a huge success,” says Tanya Wilson, one of the organisers of the event, which is sponsored by Tiger Beer. “With over 20 local and international artists and musicians, we’re expecting this year to be even bigger and better.”

Tiger Translate will commence at 7pm on Friday, February 24th at the Phnom Penh Railway Station.