Entering the music scene with the rigorous classical genres, surrounded by iron-clad rules, Vũ Nhật Tân found himself a path less travelled named Contemporary and Experimental music. Decades later, he is still ardently treading the same path to fulfill his need for individual creative expressions ….

Vũ Nhật Tân and Contemporary and Experimental music

Meeting Son Tinh at an old tucked-away café, in a small alley right next to the Hanoi Music Academy, Vũ Nhật Tân had on flip flops, khakis and a simple indigo tee, his kind but stern gaze standing out on a dauntless visage.
Underneath this simple appearance stands a fearless musician who challenged people’s knowledge of classical music and its soothing melodies, by infusing noises from the roaring streets, of pots and pans, of motor engines, and even ear-splitting constructions.
“The basics, you can learn anywhere really. It doesn’t matter if your school is here or abroad. When you begin to have a firm grip on it, however, is when you’re free to create as you wish to. I value creativity, and of course to discover you need to break away from rules,” explained Tân, regarding Contemporary and Experimental music.
 “I value creativity, and of course to discover you need to break away from rules”
The price he had to pay for breaking away from rules was to take quite a detour to find an audience.
Surprisingly, his rebellious works such as Bứng, Vạc, Cổm, Xốm (which are, in reality, traditional Vietnamese names of villages and communes) were popular with audiences abroad, while no one would release them domestically.
Seeing that his works were not well-received by the Vietnamese public nor supported by the domestic market, Tân was forced to look to foreign lands to introduce his music. He relentlessly performed here and there until his so-called “messy” or “dissonant” sounds made it to popular music festivals such as the Roaring Hoofs Festival in Ulaanbaatar (2000), the Louisiana Festival of Contemporary Music in Baton Rouge (2002), the Totally Huge New Music Festival in Perth (2003), the Asian Music Festival in Tokyo (2004).
Only then was his music starting to gain recognition domestically, and he began appearing in large music shows all over Vietnam.
 
“Contemporary/Experimental music is a world where an artist is most free to discover and express themselves through these products”
 
 
Tân admitted: “It is your point of view on art that matters. Even in other Asian countries like Japan, South Korea, Singapore… when people see something creative and different, they will always be open to it and give it a chance. This is a completely different mindset from most Vietnamese people’s strong reactions to things that go against their habits. The openness to receive new materials helped those countries create a strong foundation for rapid development.”
A fearless pioneer
Fearless artists like Tân share a mindset in which finance is not a priority, meaning they accepted to trade off a lot for their art. In return, they are free to walk their own creative direction, fulfilling a passion that only artistic souls can understand.
Vũ Nhật Tân was frank: “I don’t care about the mass-market music that we call pop. It is a part of the entertainment industry, rather than art, and its value is measured by revenues.”
To him, “Every musical piece is a creative product. Contemporary/Experimental music is a world where an artist is most free to discover and express themselves through these products.”
“Every musical piece is a creative product. Contemporary/Experimental music is a world where an artist is most free to discover and express themselves through these products”
It has been over ten years since Tân’s noise music project, in which he directly recorded and mixed various sounds such as vehicle horns, traffic jams, loud engines, drills and water pumps, to create a “cocktail” of sounds that is, to him, heavier than heavy metal.
When we asked about his audience, his eyes sparkled with joy. “This genre is starting to attract more of an audience. We recently founded the Hanoi New Music Ensemble to play Vietnamese and Asian contemporary music. The ensemble itself found some success and has gained its own audience.”
The genre that Vũ Nhật Tân had chosen to pursue is beginning to attract the attention it deserves. Now, he is accompanied by friends and artists who share his hardships and determination to popularise contemporary music in Vietnam. They are still tirelessly working on their endeavor, fuelled by a never-ending passion.
Editor’s note: Sponsored by Son Tinh, the “Vietnam’s Most Inspired” series of articles is a salute to people who embody the spirit of ruou. These are the people who relentlessly pursue their passions, who dare to do what they want, no matter how “different” or “strange” they are regarded to be, or how many obstacles stand in their way. These are the people who are most inspired, and thus, most inspiring.
   


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