For those who still long for the sesh-time playground that was Otres beach, something carved out (sustainably) in the Koh Kong jungle could scratch that seshy itch. Nesat Market will be opening at the end of the year and will be the biggest live music venue in Cambodia. We sit down with one of the main guys behind it. Daniel Gillard discusses fundraising, the quirky dream behind it all and the series of movie nights (including at Tin Hat this Sunday)and live music gigs for the next few months to raise enough cash to make this dream a reality. If it all goes well then Nesat Village will likely be the biggest party in all of Cambodia on December 31st.

What is Nesat Market? 

For people who remember Otres Village, we had a very special live music space called Otres Market. Every week, on a Saturday night usually we would have live bands and music going on. We would have food stands and a coming together of everyone living in the village and all the backpackers and tourists, who were making their way through and having a good time in Otres Village and Otres beach. With that in mind, all these years later we have Nesat village  and Nesat market which will be a little bit of a phoenix from the flames project to bring back live independent music to a village setting in rural Cambodia. We are in Koh Kong Province around about an hour and a half from where Nesat used to be back in the old days. How the market came about was really from a conversation had with myself and a gentleman named Mizza, who is one of the main players in the Nesat Village, in building that new village out in Koh Kong. We were talking and I think that Mizza has had it in mind for a long time- to bring back that market space. So he set aside 3000 squared metres right in the heart of the village, as it is now in Nesat. 

 

We figured now that the village is about 4 years old and it is literally being built from jungle. Now is the time that we have got some things done. When I say we, there’s about 80 villagers.living there at the moment. I live in Phnom Penh, as you know, but I have land there and one day I am going to build a little guest house and a bar. But yeah, we wanted to bring back live music into western Cambodia basically and all the cultural fun that goes with that, all the partying and having a good time basically. 

 

So what we aim to do in Nesat Market is build this 3000 square metre space, with a jungle theme, just like Otres market used to be. But we want this to be the largest live music venue in the country. And that’s what we are starting out on. That’s the project. And Nesat Market will have a  stage which is already being built, all of the facilities that go with a good venue, and dozens of food and merchandise stands. So people can eat, drink, buy some souvenirs, get some t-shirts and have some fun while they are passing through our village. 

What stage of development is Nesat in just now?

 

At the moment, Nesat Market is a flat piece of land. Some landscaping has begun already and the stage is already partially built for the bands to be playing on. 

The future of Nesat market is that we are going to begin at the end of the year. December 31st with our very first Nesat Market festival. The village itself, Nesat Village, has held a couple of small festivals in the recent past. But what this is going to be is the first dedicated Nesat Market Festival that will have a wide range of live music, both Cambodian and foreign bands. We’re really looking forward to it!

On the day/night it’s going to be about 18 hours long stretching from December 31st 2024 to January 1st 2025. We’ve already provisionally asked about a dozen bands to play and to come down to the Village along with a selection of really great DJs. So that’s been really fun to organise between myself and John Ryan at the Tin Hat who Volunteered his time and the Tin Hat as a bit of a Phnom Penh base for Nesat Market. So when people are in the city they can find out what’s going on by dropping into the Tin Hat and speaking to either me or John or whoever’s there.

What does Nesat Market need to get it to where you want it to be?

Nesat Market itself is one hell of a big project and it’s going to cost a lot of money to fund and run so what we’re doing is asking local businesses in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Kampot and beyond us if they will support us. 

We don’t want to go to any of the big national breweries as we don’t want  another yet identical music festival sponsored by ‘insert beer brand name here.’ We want something that is going to reflect the village in a way. We are all, in one way or another, kind of small businesses. There’s so many out there: little bars, little guesthouses, small cafes and nothing with a corporate label on it. 

 

But fund raising must be tough?

As well as asking local businesses to support us which we have started to do and have an overwhelmingly positive response from everybody that we have spoken to so far. We are also asking people and individuals to come down and support us in what will be a series of upcoming events in Phnom Penh. This is starting on Sunday with Transmission 001, which is going to be a fun evening. We are going to watch a movie together- City of Ghosts- which is a 2002 film starring and directed by Mat Dillon who has a real passion for Cambodia alongside James Cann, Gerard Depardieu. It’s a fabulous movie set in Phnom Penh and Kampot. We are screening this at the Tin Hat where I will be there as one of the MCs along either John Ryan. We will be there to answer questions about the Village and if individuals want to get involved, volunteer their time….or volunteer their money (he says with a cheeky chuckle) we will be accepting donations on the night. 

 

Yet Gillard is keen to emphasise that entry is free and there is no obligation to give your cash over. 

But we are aiming to raise around $20,000 over the next 6 months which will fully support the building of Nesat Market into a top class live music venue and again, the largest outdoor live music venue in Cambodia. In exchange for that support, whether it’s financial or non financial we will be offering a range of prizes, free gifts and that kind of thing.

Daniel is still wavering at whether or not the New Years eve bash will be a free event but does promise to make big acknowledgments to those who have supported the project along the way. But he doesn’t want to get too bogged down on the financials-although is keenly aware that the project does need cash to succeed- but Gillard promises not just movie nights but also live music nights, even involving his own band (a Doors tribute act) in the next few months. He also promises some big names to be announced shortly that will be involved from the Cambodian music scene- both local and Barang. 

We want to bring locals and foreigners together just like Otres Village and Otres Market did back in the day. Nesat Village is also a village of locals and foreigners working together in really good harmony. It’s one of the delight of going out to Nesat is seeing how locals and foreigners are working together building an economy that supports a very rural and very poor part of Cambodia. Koh Kong is a sparsely populated region and it’s a tough life out there for many Cambodian families. 

 

What’s the big hope for Nesat’s future?

Not to sound too idealistic, but what we do hope is that in terms of building a tourist village with a live music venue, we can grow the economy and employ local Khmer people. And local Khmer people can start their own businesses alongside us as well. We don’t just want to be the owners and they come work for us. We want a real partnership with people that goes on years and decades. 

We hope that Nesat Market will be one of the jewels that brings people down the highway from Phnom Penh or from Thailand to come see us. 

Transmission 001 takes place on Sunday 30th June at the Tin Hat ( TTP St. 123)  as the first in a long series of events building up to the New Years bash of the year!