After the Khmer Rouge regime under Pol Pot gained power in 1975, so began the eradication of Western influence in Cambodian culture. As a result, the music industry was completely annihilated. 90% of the artists, singers, musicians, composers, and industry professionals were murdered; studios, master recordings, equipment, contracts and legal documents were lost or destroyed.

The Cambodian Vintage Music Archive (CVMA) project was founded in 2010 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. It is now a US registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization led by its three co-founders: Rotanak Oum, Nate Hun and Maya Oum. Oro, Nate, and Maya became acquainted in 2009 during their work on the film “Golden Slumbers” (2011), a documentary about Cambodian cinema pre-1975. Their passion for locating the original recordings of Cambodian music to preserve and share for the next generation ultimately brought them together to form CVMA.