The Gong
A centre of performing arts where Cambodia’s living traditions meet a world-class stage and studio.
Where a single voice fills the whole circle.
A 100-seat auditorium built for acoustic truth — no amplification needed.
Record it the way you hear it.
Two acoustically-treated rooms, analogue warmth, and engineers who know Khmer instruments.
It is time to make a sound again.
Like no other country in Southeast Asia, Cambodia carries the after-effects of a uniquely turbulent past — felt most deeply in its culture.
The Gong gives that culture a home: where old traditions live on and are honoured, while something new is given room to emerge.
Visit The Gong, and become part of the story being written here.
Building with light, air and water
A circular building raised on a platform above the floodplain — its round shape receiving the wind, letting it glide along the facade without resistance.
An atmosphere shaped by nature
During the rainy season, water is directed from the roof to the centre of the building, collected like an impluvium and channelled to a reservoir for the farms in the dry season. Falling rain becomes a dynamic water sculpture; sunlight through the roof opening forms a cone of light. The space evolves with the season and the time of day.
A roof like a great hat
Above a continuous polished-concrete floor, the roof sits like a large hat on 36 columns. Its steel truss spans 14 metres and repeats across 18 axes to unfold the circular shape — painted red, in dialogue with the colour of the bricks. Concrete, steel and brick: simple materials, suited to Cambodia's hot, humid climate, durable and easy to maintain.
Studios, stage and a welcome
Functions follow the building's orientation. To the north it opens under the great roof to welcome visitors, with a reception and café. To the west the recording studios nest within an introverted curve, their acoustic walls crafted from local rubber wood by Smiling Gecko's own carpentry workshop. To the east an auditorium of around 100 seats unfolds within curved brick walls, the stage set toward the centre.
See what's been made here.
Performances, films and sessions — the full record lives next door.
Explore the productions →Make your next record where culture comes alive.
Book studio time, reserve the stage, or shoot a music video against a backdrop unlike anywhere else.
Find The Gong
Kampong Chhnang Province, Cambodia