From Northwest to Kinh Bac
On June 26, two musicians - producers Quoc Trung and Nguyen Xinh Xo released the double album The Field of Heritage - Canh dong di han on digital music platforms. This is a project that was introduced at the Monsoon Music Festival 2023 before, but it was only completed and officially released to the audience until now.
Musicians Nguyen Xinh Xo (2nd from left) and Quoc Trung during the performance of the Heritage Field project at Monsoon 2023
PHOTO: MONSOON Organizing Committee
These can be considered two contrasting but harmonious musical slices, telling the story of the journey from the mountains to the city of young people in the Northwest. In which, Quoc Trung takes on the part of Life on High, recreating the magical, rustic beauty of the mountains and forests through 4 songs, while Nguyen Xinh Xo takes the audience to the urban area with bustling, noisy streets but still reminiscent of the highlands in City Life .
Sharing with Thanh Nien , Nguyen Xinh Xo said: "The big challenge for me is that I have never set foot in the Northwest and have almost no background in highland music due to my classical training, so I have to rely on my imagination, subconscious emotions and personal sensitivity to create these 7 music tracks". The journey of young people leaving the village, going down the mountain, into the city accidentally reflects the process of him coming to a new environment, so it can be said that this empathy evoked a lot of emotions in the creative process.
Returning after 2 decades with a complete product since the world music album Duong xa van dam , Quoc Trung continues to be expected to bring unique fusions. In the new product, he chose to recreate the highland scenery with many sounds reminiscent of the Northwest region. For example, in the track Misty Twilight , the musician "re-created" the gong sound and only used 4 notes in the gong style of the Muong people throughout the recording. This song also has a section singing Ha Leu by 2 Nung artists in Cao Bang, creating a mysterious, magical space. Meanwhile, in On Mother's Back, you can also hear the sound of the mouth harp.
From left to right: Musician Quoc Trung, Nguyen Xinh Xo and Ngo Hong Quang
PHOTO: NSCC
Also in June, musician Ngo Hong Quang and the Thien Thanh group released the album Ve Kinh Bac . Including 11 songs typical of this cultural region such as Bac Ninh folk songs, Xam..., the music tracks are mostly performed in the form of musical instruments such as the pipa, moon lute, flute, drum, two-stringed fiddle, zither, zither, three-stringed zither, monochord... To bring in a new color, Ngo Hong Quang also performed his voice and collaborated with guests such as beatboxer Trung Bao and American cellist Bryan Charles Wilson.
New electronic "game"
With the two products within the framework of the Heritage Field , it can be said that music has gone beyond its original purpose of just listening to it, but is also a journey that brings listeners back to memories, heritage, culture and questions surrounding origins and times. Many people share that when listening to the duo of CDs, they feel like they are traveling to the Northwest region in their minds, where clouds, mountains, forests, vast fields... appear with characteristic sounds and interesting associations. The notable highlight of the two CDs is also the creativity of the musicians and producers with electronic elements. Accordingly, instead of using real instruments or available samples, all tracks use electronic elements to recreate that sound. With Nguyen Xinh Xo, he created sounds similar to a cat flute by using continuous electrical signals to create and process sound instead of digital signals through analog modular. Musician Quoc Trung also uses this formula with unique elements. He said that all the sounds of the mouth harp, gong, and đàn tính in the recordings are "manufactured" using a modular synth system similar to the one above. The musician shared that he did not try to make it similar, but rather created emotional nuances and sounds, hoping to create a space that stimulates the listener's imagination.
"When materials such as Quan Ho, Ca Tru or traditional musical instruments are brought into a contemporary musical space, even without words, they still bring a feeling of both familiarity and uniqueness, novelty. However, the problem is not whether or not to combine, but how we do it. If we just stop at bringing traditional elements in as a decorative shell, it will be difficult to reach the depth of emotions. Therefore, it is necessary to understand, respect and handle them delicately so that those cultural values can truly revive, not just be a temporary trend", musician Nguyen Xinh Xo
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/trai-nghiem-am-nhac-moi-tren-canh-dong-di-san-185250702214756073.htm
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