Diverse efforts to innovate

At the end of 2024, male singer The Thien - nephew of the late musician Trinh Cong Son - surprised the audience when he renewed two famous songs, Mot co di ve and Diem xua, in his debut album Tran the . Compared to the "classic" recordings, with electronic colors, this performance helped the song become familiar to young audiences. This path was also successfully implemented by Ha Le in the album O tro , when he put on "new shirts" such as reggae, world music... for the songs. It is also impossible not to mention musician Vo Thien Thanh and the chill-out, new age... arrangements through the voice of Nguyen Thao, which has brought Trinh's music into a very unique realm.

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This new approach has also been persistently implemented by Giang Trang for over 10 years, from albums such as "Lenh dang nho pho" , "Ha huyen" , "Ha huyen 2" and "Trinh cuoi" , the female singer has continuously brought the spirit of semi-classical, contemporary folk to jazz, blues, rock... into her products. In the album "Trinh cuoi ", which concluded her time with Trinh Cong Son's music, she collaborated with young talents in Ho Chi Minh City to bring new colors to the music, thereby recreating the life of this city in the past. This is also a symbiotic creation, so that from the melody and lyrics of the late musician, a new context has emerged.

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Not only young artists, but also veteran singers who have made their mark have not kept their "throne". Going beyond the borders of Vietnam, Cam Van and Hong Nhung have collaborated with international standard teams from France, Germany, and the US to create two vinyl projects , Vet roan tram and Bong la ai?. Both have blues, jazz ballad colors... through this innovation effort, the audience can enjoy songs that are quite familiar but strange. For example, in Bong la ai?, Hong Nhung still sings with a strong "yang" character but combines sophistication and experience.

Cam Van is famous for her "passionate" and "fiery" way of performing Trinh's music, but in the recently released LP after 17 years away from the CD market, she has explored "new lands" in more improvisational genres as well as focusing more on the low and rough range. Through 8 songs that made her name with special sound quality and delicately remixed by musician Nguyen Cong Phuong Nam, the famous singer sang as if speaking, pouring out her heart in the depths that she admitted she had grown up with over time with Trinh Cong Son's music.

From understanding to success

It is not difficult to see that the success of the products comes from understanding and capturing the spirit of Trinh's music. The artists do not put on Trinh's music with an inappropriate coat, but rather go deep to find other tributaries in this flow.

Sharing with Thanh Nien reporter, musician Nguyen Cong Phuong Nam explained that the reason he wanted Cam Van to change her singing style was also based on his feelings about Trinh's music: "To me, Trinh's music is like a gentle confession, a sharing of feelings like Bob Dylan's "traveling" style with Americans. In addition, with the vinyl format, the audience is those who want to enjoy sophisticated sounds, so it is even more important to promote the special features of the instruments and voice... At this time, Cam Van's voice is especially thick and warm in the low range, so during the production process, the crew made adjustments to exploit this aspect further."

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And to achieve success, this effort is not easy. Famous singer Cam Van said: "I am really nervous, not knowing if the album will be well received, but for me, I can say that this is an extremely interesting project, hoping that through this, the audience will see a newer Cam Van in the way she sings Trinh's music". Musician Nguyen Cong Phuong Nam confided: "Remixing and re-singing Trinh's music is very easy to fall into the rut that many people have done. To find a new way, with a unique mark is not easy. The remixes in Vet Lan Tram aim to make the audience still recognize Cam Van's soulfulness and emotion when listening, but still find it interesting with the new things that only she can bring".

In addition, with specially made projects, the artists and crew not only highlight the vocals, but the musicians and instruments also have their own "stage", turning this into a true dialogue between music and vocals. In Trinh Cuoi , Giang Trang has moments for the brass and sharp guitar to "speak up"; while in Vet Luan Tram , musician Nguyen Cong Phuong Nam also takes full advantage of the superior sound quality of the vinyl format, of the international standard recording studio, so that "the arrangements also lean towards acoustic so that not only the singer's voice but also the musicians have a "stage", thereby fully displaying the beauty of the sound of each instrument". From here, Trinh's music is no longer limited to a song, lyrics, melody but has let itself be co-created in many other dimensions.