There's an issue when rich, white musicians venture into foreign lands, uncover cultural gems and return. Something like an ugly, distant echo of Rudyard Kipling. Anthony Bourdain has made a career of broadcasting that echo, so hearing Bourdain's voice at the opening of Mekong Delta Sunrise, Sydney's Astronomy Class' adventure in Cambodia, feels like a portent of doom. Happily, the opposite is true. Ozi Batla, Chasm and Sir Robbo traverse decades-old Khmer pop music with a light touch. Batla's never sounded so complete. The gang has emerged with a cross-cultural experience of rare sensitivity.
