Vietnamese Music/Music in Vietnam

http://www.ocweekly.com/music/reviving-the-history-of-vietnamese-new-wave-in-oc-6945289

Happy Tet. Wow, never knew about that scene

Not the happiest reason for a revive, but musician Mai Khôi has been in the news for protesting against internet censorship, after her music was virtually banned in her home country.

Mai Khôi has had an unusual career – she started as an acoustic singer-songwriter, most famous for her patriotic song "Việt Nam", and then a Gagaesque ironic trash-pop phase, with the timeless single "Selfie Orgasm". She was getting more interested in social issues and practising Buddhism, and her music became highly politicized when she witnessed police violence against protesters in Vietnam.

She's been threatened and harrassed by the government, and her performances have been shut down by police. When she won the Václav Havel Prize in Norway, the news was censored in Vietnam.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfWpYdjjmcQ

"Em thành của anh rồi" ("I am yours now") features the plucked instrument the dinh goong:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veT96rjZyo8

Her band, Chém Gió, are good too:

"Quyen Thien Dac has been described as Vietnam’s only jazz musician."

.......quite a boast.

And because you need your rap music, HERE IT IS:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4cQcpOLjxE

Suboi was in the news too, come to think of it

- https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/11/vietnam-rap-queen-traditional-society-changing-voice-181120045210675.html

You'll notice the heavy use of English language and translations by both artists in these links, even though their songs are primarily for Vietnamese audiences. You can even read Mai Khôi and Chém Gió's weekly schedule at the Phù Sa Lab in Hanoi, the only venue in Vietnam they can play currently. Maybe it'll report it if they get shut down again! It's a lot easier to get this info than before, when that stuff was unfindable or the response was "I don't think there's a music scene"... But despite the extra accessibility now, it doesn't seem like it's broken down the insular attitudes in a lot of places.

Pop-rap single from Suboi, "Cho Không"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gERJjsDhe0g

"can I be the CEO of your company", her stock is rising, god, financial metaphors are awful

Suboi also did an interview, including about the Vietnamese language, along with a performance on MTV Asia (below). Her key release afaik is her 2014 RUN E.P., which is straight fire, except for the title track which is hilarious and should be used on all TV sport shows

- http://www.mtvasia.com/news/5lqk0p/suboi-on-her-nations-rising-hip-hop-scene-yo-mtv-raps-exclusive-interview

Mai Khôi has just announced some new music, with high praise for her collaborator:
"I am recording a new album with musician Ngoc Dai, he is the most talented musician in Vietnam. This is so exciting!"
Ngọc Đại has had trouble with the government and censorship too. Song titles like "Khuyến mại tình dục" ("Sex promotion"), it's very shocking

“Cho Không" is very good. The lyrics are a lot more interesting than what that “let me be your CEO” interlude would suggest.

this one is sick

https://youtu.be/Z4cQcpOLjxE

Not sure where else to post this but I love this vietnamese track, thought folks here might enjoy.

― Will (kruezer2), Tuesday, 30 July 2019 19:02

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU4s65RAAKQ
Tóc Tiên - "Không Ai Hơn Em Đâu Anh (KAHEDA)" Official Dance Version

Apparently the title means, "No one is better than you (NOIBTY)"

Tóc Tiên is one of the '5 to watch' on your new favourite website, lodyhelp.com:

- https://lodyhelp.com/vietnamese-pop-singers-and-2019-hits

"Toc Tien now is one of the top Vietnamese pop singers who own a huge number of fans in the country."

^ It's all like that

Strange that article doesn't mention Sơn Tùng MTP, who must be the biggest Vietnamese pop singer of the past few years by far. Pulls a lot musically and aesthetically from k-pop, did a song with Snoop Dogg recently. I really like this track of his from a few years ago:

https://youtu.be/Llw9Q6akRo4

Folks on twitter love a Son Tung M-TP song/ video featuring Snoop Dogg

Folks on twitter wouldn't steer us wrong

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knW7-x7Y7RE

xp Vinnie, thanks for posting the other track "Lạc Trôi" :-)

Suboi's new track and video are wonderful

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZfaxFmAdTI

There's now a Mai Khôi movie documentary – Mai Khoi and the Dissidents, it premiered last month at DOC NYC in the States.

The director talks a little about her and the difficulties in filming in Vietnam, but more about the lack of freedom of speech in the country:

DOC/NYC spotlight: Mai Khoi and the Dissidents, Director Joe Piscatella
- https://filmschoolradio.com/november-18-mai-khoi-and-the-dissidents-director-joe-piscatella
-

Not sure if it's just a case of "all I want for Xmas is gentleness", but the Lodyhelp-approved balladeer Vũ Cát Tường sounds pretty good this week. She seems like such a talented musician, even if I don't love all the songs. Her latest album was recorded in Los Angeles, and her Wikipedia page is a hoot:

"At the beginning of August, one of Vũ Cát Tường's songs named "Vết mưa" was accused of plagiarism from a Japanese pianist's music. This created a huge scandal and big arguments between different fan-bases as many anti-fans used this chance to voice their opinions online to bring her down. Vũ Cát Tường hereself however, chosed to stay out of all these fan-wars and staying level-headed despite all the harsh words and criticism sent her way from both the media and the anti-fans."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtdM7A0KzUI

Wow, Suboi is really good huh. “Bet On Me” is fantastic. Love the video too.

Also loving the Sơn Tùng MTPs.

Yeah I'm a fan of Vũ Cát Tường as well. Not every song certainly, but stuff like Mơ https://youtu.be/lrh7Z_yQK2g that isn't just a straightforward piano ballad or kpop rip is nice to hear when going out

https://nypost.com/2020/03/04/coronavirus-spawns-viral-tiktok-dance-about-washing-your-hands/

Vietnamese coronavirus Tim-tok Dance with song

Til-tok

Oh autocorrect

Yes, I saw that on the Newsround website, thx El Tomboto

https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/51792971

"The song was made by singer Khac Hun and Vietnam's National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health and is based on a popular pop song Ghen."

The original tune - this video is pretty F'd up

"Ghen" - KHẮC HƯNG x MIN x ERIK
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vk8_0QaJr3I

^ NONE of this is medically recommended behaviour

Wow

This one’s for forks:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6t-MjBazs3o
Sơn Tùng M-TP • Có chắc yêu là đây (or simply ‘CCYLD’ of course)

(once more, this time without diacritics, in case anyone wants to do a search: Son Tung M-TP • Co chac yeu la day)

Autotuning really wreaks havoc on understanding a tonal language, huh?

Pretty good song. More than autotune, I think singing itself makes tonal languages pretty difficult to understand. Most Vietnamese songs will try to have the tones of the words match the melody - uptone word when the melody goes up, downtone word when the melody goes down - but it's no guarantee, and the other tones don't map onto melody cleanly. I've heard some songs where that was completely ignored and it's the equivalent of Katy Perry singing "unCONdiTIONally". Big pet peeve for my wife

Here's one I've been playing a lot lately, maybe influenced by Jack U. This is one of the more successful pairings of traditional Viet music with modern sounds for me

https://youtu.be/JAhdeizXpaQ

lemme label that:

Hoàng Thuỳ Linh • Để Mị Nói Cho Mà Nghe

and if that doesn't come up in Search:

Hoang Thuy Linh • De Mị Noi Cho Ma Nghe

argh, Mị should have become Mi - all this work for nothing!

But thanks for the effort!

On Facebook I saw a posting on her page encouraging people to vote for Hoàng Thuỳ Linh in the VTv awards

Also a reference to a movie she is in on Netflix

new Son Tung M-TP:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psZ1g9fMfeo
Sơn Tùng M-TP • Chúng ta của hiện tại

...but don't let the movie distract you from the song

(the guy obviously has a budget, so it's possible he hired Kenny G to do the "My, My, My"-like sax)

oh, and I just found out that this, from earlier this year:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kU7u9rhAt94
Pháo ft. Wack • 2 Phút hơn

(or maybe this was the first version?)

...is currently the world's most shazam'ed song in this remixed version:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZGpRd-t7jg
Pháo • 2 Phút hơn (KAIZ remix)

(it's TikTok-related, of course)

a sign of life from Suboi:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AvpUbnDbv0
Rhymastic ft. Suboi • Cả Ngàn Lời Chúc

Sơn Tùng M-TP just released his first English language song, "There's No One at All". The video depicted someone committing suicide, which got him in major trouble with the Ministry of Culture here. They made him delete the video from all platforms, including outside of Vietnam, and gave him a $3,000 fine (lol). I did happen to hear the song before it was removed - not one of his better ones