Saigon Soul Revival) from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, is on a mission to bring back the raw, live sound of 1960s and 70s Vietnamese rock and soul music. The aim is to please your ears with some sweet grooves while uncovering a beautiful part of the country's culture and history that has remained dormant for so long. New album "Mối Lương Duyên" (2024, Saigon Supersound.
Mit knackigen Grooves, psychedelischen Texturen und einem kraftvollen, einzigartigen Sound haben SSR unzählige Auftritte an verschiedenen Orten in Vietnam absolviert, darunter große Veranstaltungen wie das Quest Festival, Vibe Nation und Mui Ne Music & Art Festivals. 2017 nahmen sie auch an dem landesweit bekannten TV-Format „Ban Nhạc Việt“ (im Westen als „The Band“ bekannt) teil und begleiteten live die beiden Release-Touren zu den Saigon Supersound Compilation-Veröffentlichungen in Vietnam. Seit 2023 spielen sie International. [...] Ihre Musik konzentriert sich auf Kompositionen, die vietnamesische Texte und Klänge mit Einflüssen von westlichem Rock, Soul, Bolero, Tango und anderen populären Genres dieser Zeit verbinden, von denen die meisten nach dem Krieg verboten wurden. Mit diesem Projekt soll dieses wunderschöne musikalische Erbe (Süd-) Vietnams, das eine wichtige kulturelle Brücke zwischen Ost und West darstellt, wiederbelebt werden.
Gefördert von der Beauftragten der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien ("BKM") und der Initiative Musik.
Saigon Soul Revival
Ho Chi Minh City based band Saigon Soul Revival has been bringing alternative pre 1975 music from Saigon back to the stage since 2016 with their live performances. Honouring the original composers, singers and the golden era from which this music (Nhạc Vàng) came while applying new arrangements and interpretations of old Vietnamese songs. The (core) band includes 5 members consisting of Nguyễn Anh Minh (vocals), Indy Jeremy Vinh Laville (guitar & Đàn Nguyệt ), Nguyễn Hương Bảo Hiếu (drums), Gabriel Kaouros (bass/perc.) and Đăng Nguyễn Khoa (keys). With tight grooves, psychedelic textures and a powerful unique sound, SSR has performed countless shows at a variety of venues across Vietnam, including major events like Quest Festival, Vibe Nation and Mui Ne Music & Art festivals. In 2017 they also took part in the nationally known „Ban Nhạc Việt“ (known in the west as „The Band“) TV format and and accompanied live the two release tours to the Saigon Supersound Compilation releases in Vietnam. In 2023 and 2024 they went on international tours with concerts in United Kingdom, Germany, France and Portugal.
With support from British Council’s FAMLAB Fund initiative they started to create own compositions in the same vein for their debut album “Họa Âm Xưa“ that was produce by Jan Hagenkötter and released in 2019 on the Saigon Supersound Imprint. The album was recorded in Vietnam with additional guests like the famous (pre 1975) Vietnamese singer Mai Lệ Huyền and the current popular Saigonese rapper “Blacka” (the 2022 finalist of Vietnam's most successful TV show “Rap Việt”), in order to combine the old sound with the new sound of Saigon.
Some compositions include traditional Vietnamese instruments like the Đàn Nguyệt played by Indy Laville or the đàn tranh & đàn bầu which is played by famous traditionally-trained musician Thị Hải Phượng on the album and also often at the live shows as special guest. This fusion distinguishes it from the original recordings of the 60s and 70s and has resulted in a unique and contemporary sound.
Their debut album “Hoa Am Xua” gained international success. Among many other media features It was nominated for the SONGLINES MUSIC AWARDS 2021 in the UK ! and received massive radio airplay and rotations on Radio FIP in France or Iggy Pop in his BBC radio show and Radio Cosmo (WDR) in Germany.
In 2024 the title ĐÁM CƯỚI NHÀ EM from their second studio album “Mối Lương Duyên” is featured in the HBO Mini-Serie „The Symphatizer“ (directed by Par Chan-Wook (Oldboy) / Robert Downey Junior producer and actor), which is based on the novel of the same name (Pulitzer Prize 2016) by Viet Thanh Nguyen. Mối Lương Duyên, roughly translated to “destiny”, is a journey through eight original compositions and three soul-stirring reinterpretations of Saigonese nhạc vàng or golden music.
All members of the band are of Vietnamese background or have a strong connection to its culture and heritage through loved ones and their time spent in the country. Their music focuses on compositions that fuse Vietnamese lyrics and sounds with influences of western rock, soul, bolero, tango and other popular genres of this time period, most of which was banned after the war. This project strives to revive this beautiful musical heritage of Vietnam which represents an important cultural bridge between east and west.
LINE UP: Vocals: Minh Anh Nguyễn, Keyboards: Đăng Nguyễn Khoa, Guitar & Đàn Nguyệt Indy Laville, Bass: Gabriel Kaouros, Drums: Hiếu Nguyễn Hương Bảo, Special guest: Đàn Tranh & Đàn Bầu: Hải Phượng Nguyễn
Special guest Hải Phượng Nguyễn…was introduced to the Đàn Tranh (Vietnamese 16-stringed zither) at the tender age of five and began her formal training on the instrument at the Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory of Music two years later. Hải Phượng won the Silver Medal at Ho Chi Minh City's Festival of Singers, Dancers and Professional Musicians in 1989, and the First Prize at the "National Competition of Đàn Tranh for Young Talents" in 1992. She recorded her first album, Le dan tranh - Musiques d'hier et d'aujourd'hui with Professor Tran Van Khe, one of the greatest masters of traditional Vietnamese music, in 1993 in Paris. Today she also teaches Đàn Tranh at the Ho Chi Minh City Conservatory of Music and also plays the Đàn Bầu. She recorded with the band for their debut album “Họa Âm Xưa” as well as the follow up “Mối Lương Duyên” and add up to the live performances whenever it's possible for her.
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- Ai Thật Lòng Yêu Ai (Who Truely Loves Who? - video)
- full performance live on KEXP)
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