Where does inspiration come from? Sometimes it can be something lofty and grand or deep and meaningful. Sometimes it can be just the slightest thing that makes you feel good about yourself and happy with how things are. This song invites you to think about what it is that gets you going and be relaxed about what makes it happen. It also suggests that a small gesture of kindness can sometimes have a substantial and happy outcome.
Anything At All - PlanB’s tour of Cambodia in early 2020 was always intended to be about more than simply returning to perform at venues across the country. Members wanted to contribute something, in a tangible way, to the people in a country that had welcomed the band’s music so enthusiastically over several tours. The initial plan was to produce music film clips during the “Som Chop Tini” tour of the country. The intention was to capture and incorporate live footage of the band as part of the videos and, as the storyline developed, ideas began to focus on filming acts of ‘random kindness’ amongst the Cambodian community.
Enter John Connel, an expat from the UK who had arrived in Siem Reap a few years’ earlier. John worked energetically with the band to create and shape a blueprint for action. This would result in PlanB working in close co-ordination with the Angkor Hospital for Children (AHC) to develop a music film clip and raise funds and awareness of the tremendous work done by the AHC. The hospital was certainly an organisation that encompassed the ideal of what PlanB was seeking to showcase and support. The project quickly gained momentum, with John being instrumental in contacting the AHC to enlist first their interest and subsequently their support for the video, as well as for a range of associated fund-raising efforts during PlanB’s tour. PlanB members were invited to visit the hospital and witness first-hand the work being undertaken there. The hospital is run solely on donations and every child receives free treatment. It was an inspiring visit and served to bolster the band’s desire to provide some form of help and support. As well as raising money at shows at Phnom Penh’s Hard Rock Café and Here Be Dragons in Battambang, it was hoped that the band could raise some additional funds for the hospital by staging a benefit performance in one of the cities where tour performances were scheduled. The Cambo Beach performance in Siem Reap was chosen as the most suitable venue for the fund-raiser. It is a great outdoor venue, is regularly attended by tourists and locals, and it is close enough to the hospital that staff and supporters could come along without any difficulty.
Footage from the concert would also feature in the Anything At All music video. Anything At All would also show the inspirational work done at the hospital. The plan for the video had progressed from a ‘random acts of kindness’ focus to a more ‘do good, receive good’ orientation, with the AHC’s ‘Tree of Sharing’ forming the basis for examples of ‘doing good’. The final version of the video incorporates live band footage interspersed with the storyline of a young couple who attend the performance and purchase gift cards which equate to various forms of healthcare provided to children from across Cambodia by the AHC. The fund-raising efforts and the music video were well-received by the hospital and all those who supported the initiatives, and band members were happy to have been able to help out in this small way.
PlanB would like to acknowledge and extend their immense gratitude to the following people for their investment of time and skills in making the production of this video possible: Angkor Hospital for Children PR Director - Arun Sinketh Assistant to PR Director & Visitor's Centre Manager - Chantho Dam Communications Manager - Rorth Then Cambo Beach Club GM - Daan van Reenen PlanB Support Act - Giuliano Turello/Sokunthea Duk Audio Equipment and Sound at Cambo Beach - Mikhail Rebrov Young Couple 'Doing Good' - Chloe & Jonny Clarke Cameras - Kalem Saras/Ian Bruce/Chris Leonard/John Connel/Sokhom Chea Local liaison and fundraising - Sophat Soeung GM Hard Rock Café Siem Reap - Benoit Dufour Children's Improvement Organisation - Sitha & Sreymon Producer - John Connel Director/Editor - Patrick Stapleton
Anything At All (AAA) was recorded in Adelaide's Sodypop Studio under the watchful eye of engineer/producer Brett Sody, as part of an initial grouping of four songs earmarked for inclusion in the band's third studio album, tentatively titled 'Dance Floor'. PlanB had been road testing the four songs for several months in their live sets to extremely favourable reactions from fans and were looking to Brett to again capture the infectiously danceable rhythms and live appeal in the studio.
Opening track on PlanB's vinyl EP "Four On The Floor"