Now that we are fully recovered from Khmer New Year festivities, we at Lift are feeling great about the magazine and even better about our awesome readers! In our first Facebook discussion, we had fantastic participation from readers who had intelligent and interesting ideas about the role of religion in Cambodia. You can see some of the highlights in this week’s magazine, and the whole thing on our Facebook site (search for Lift Cambodia), which now has more than 400 fans. This week we will be hosting a discussion on music in Cambodia. Please join in!

Our music issue is not only about the songs and artists that are popular today; it is about how you can become a star in the future. We review options and advice for youth who want to become musicians and make songs that will let them share their ideas with the world. We also have a profile of a Khmer-American who has already used her musical talent, along with the internet, to make her voice heard around the world.

In a country where literacy is quite low, music is not only important to keep Cambodian culture alive, but also to communicate with the population. We investigate the role of music in Cambodian politics, as well as the ways in which traditional Khmer music has lasted through the decades. The tools that the we use to get and listen to music are also changing, and Lift reviews the modern music scene and how it is experienced by young people. Last but not least, our queen of cool, Simila Pan, shares her knowledge of what is on the cutting edge of music.