In Denmark most people know Karl Bille as a film and tv actor, but in Cambodia where they don't see many Danish films, he is known as the 'tall man with the guitar' – a guitar he uses as a cultural weapon aimed against violations of basic human rights, and a man who has written songs to draw attention to the problem.
On his new album, "Love and Eviction", the language is changed and the focus is turned outward toward the world, with 13 new songs with English lyrics. The title is carefully chosen to telegraph the nature of the things Karl experienced and the people he met on his first trip to Cambodia in January 2008 to document infringements of people's rights for the Cambodian human rights organization LICADHO.
LICADHO's focus is on the worldwide, but unfortunately little known, problem called 'eviction' or 'land grabbing'. In Denmark as in other western countries, strict laws govern evictions. But in the poor countries of the world, poor farmers, fisherman and artisans and people without means can be thrown out of their houses or off their land in the name of development. Land is money. So wealthy people around the world grab land, especially the land poor people live on and derive sustenance from. The land is bought through corrupt governments and their even more corrupt officials, and then the new owners are given the right to evict everyone living there, tear down their houses and sell the land to investors when the price is right. LICADHO uses its resources to help the people who lose everything they own. They provide legal aid and document all the infringements of their human rights. It was this work of documentation that brought Karl to Cambodia in 2008.
Cambodia is especially hard hit by this phenomenon. Ten thousands of people have already been forced onto the street or dumped onto a site without water or sewers or electricity, and right now more than 150,000 Cambodians are threatened with eviction. With his video camera, Karl was ready from the day he arrived to film everything of relevance www.licadhocanada.com
Karl is the kind of person who makes friends wherever he goes. In Dey Krahorm, a neighbourhood in the inner city of Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh, he made friends with the local people and met the traditional culture that still binds them together. He saw at first hand how they worked to make their daily lives function normally, in spite of poverty and the problems they stood in up to their necks.
The songs seemed to come of themselves. The stories Karl heard during the intense work as human rights activist in Dey Krahorm filled his head, and in the brief periods of calm, he began to write songs about the events and people that now filled his days. When he returned to Denmark after two months, he had a whole guitar case full of songs – ready to be recorded. They are now the 13 songs on the new album, songs full of exciting stories that are not only about hunger, sickness, evil rich men and eviction problems, but also about the people of Dey Krahorm and their lives.
The things he witnessed at first hand made him indignant, but he doesn't use trite slogans. He tells small stories, like the semi-acoustic "Got to Get Ready" about the young husband who pleads with his wife, the sad "Off the Agenda", the spoken-word story, "Stranger" or the song about the 'fat man' in "Cold and Callous". There are also songs about life in Cambodia: the light and rhythmic "Human Phone Booth", about one of the alternative ways of earning a living, and "Dancing Flower" about the special lives of Cambodian girl dancers, and the ugly face of the paedophile in "Nasty Evil Song".
The music stems from Karl's intense little pop songs, like those we heard on his debut album, but this time extra ingredients have been added from other genres – folk music, calypso, reggae, jazz and harmonies Karl brought home from Cambodia. All very beautifully arranged with a broad selection of instruments, and support from many good musical friends in Denmark.
Karl shifted to his second mother tongue, English, since an important goal of the project is to inform the world about the injustices going on with the economic support of rich countries like Denmark. Karl had special plans for the release of this album – to release it first where it all began, in Dey Krahorm. He returned there on December 27, 2008, both to continue his work with LICADHO, and also to celebrate the release of "Love and Eviction" together with his musician friends who live there. It is perhaps due to the many well-known Kmer musicians who live in Dey Krahorm and their high status in society, that the neighbourhood could resist eviction for four years. The release of the album was to be followed in February 2009 with a concert tour throughout Cambodia with Karl and musical friends from both Denmark and Cambodia. But this was not to happen. Bulldozers and construction workers armed with clubs and crowbars levelled Dey Krahorm, with support of the police. Tear gas and water cannons were used against the unarmed, peaceful residents, and they lost everything they owned. It was all documented and can be seen on the internet on www.licadocanada.com.
-> Tracklist:
01. Got to Get Ready
02. Off the Agenda
03. Nasty Evil Song
04. Human Phone Booth
05. Wonder
06. Stranger
07. Dancing Flower
08. Cold & Callous
09. Side of the Road
10. Staring Right Back
11. Too Late
12. Black into White
13. Not Goodbye
