The largest city in Vietnam, "Ho Chi Minh City" overwhelms old norms on its final descent. Skyscrapers loom over manic roads through the largest city, which is spread over a wide area in an untidy and erratic way, countless lights beckoning in every direction. Things are even more intensified once on the ground. That is half of Ho Chi Minh City's fun. It is home to almost nine million people, where traditional temples, as well as high rises, coexist. Calm green oasis is divided into eight motorcycle lanes and modernization slams head-first into what might be left of the old customs.
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HOIAN VIETNAM |
The transition towards modern music didn’t happen overnight, as musicians retained the essence of their music and incorporated them into ballads or emotionally-driven slow numbers. However, when radio and television started to reach more households and networks bought into the age of music videos, it also heralded the beginning of mainstream music in Vietnam. Vietnam did not have an official music chart, nor did it had any digital sales figures, therefore the definition of the mainstream here reflects artists who enjoy airplay on radio or music video channels. The quirk here is that the songs are based on a “favourites” list, instead of “what’s new”. Therefore, evergreen tunes from decades ago can sometimes end up at a top spot on the list. Vietnam a country that did not understand the western genre with no music-market viability, no monetization, no fans. However, this didn’t discourage artists from releasing new pieces. Vietnamese musicians, influenced by Westernized music, together with the fashion styles of Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan, created what is now known as V-Pop.
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Hoang Touliver
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Hoang Touliver, now a sought-after DJ and music producer, began his professional career from the ground "minus zero" and has been an intense battle to attain where he is today. Historically, Vietnam was one of the hardest countries to succeed in playing original music. This is not because it is a competitive industry, rather the opposite, the commercial demand for songs is for musicians to perform the very same classic song again and again. From a very early age, Touliver has begun his battle to make music. His interest in music was disregarded by his family, as conservative values and professional lives were the norms of most Vietnamese families. But he was determined and thus continued persuading his family, and after a great deal of oppression, he was given the opportunity to get classically trained on the piano. After learning the piano, he moved off-track, conversely falling in love with modern pop. As a result, in 2011 he formed the Vibrant SpaceSpeakers, a label and creative enterprise he's at the foundation of, providing a residence for musicians, rap artists, DJ's as well as producers.
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Electronic music production
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Video directors within SpaceSpeakers provided another dimension of self-sufficiency such that tracks can be composed, organized and visualized with no need to search further than the organization. It's a forum that helped cultivate urban sounds, granting Touliver artistic independence to create remixes for the likes of V-pop singer Tiên. Tiên, in particular, at that time was introducing herself in a modern club-driven scene. Until the creation of SpaceSpeakers, the underground musician had almost no crowd to perform to, however, after the birth of SpaceSpeakers. Touliver and 'the crew' transformed people's perspective through their various properties.
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Westlife in Hanoi |
Touliver has been one of the biggest names in the Vietnamese music industry, contributing critically to the Vietnamese music scene through his innovative thought in producing and performing music. He risks bringing new phenomena to the local music community and patiently educates the public by insistently launching high-quality music productions. Via SpaceSpeakers, he has always been on the lookout for young musicians, helping them develop their career and educating them on the developments in world music and the development of music that he has fostered through international collaboration and collaborating with diverse artistic influences, opening his mind and imagination to his work, in turn cultivating the next wave of Vietnamese artists.
Through their associations with European underground labels such as Dekmantel, Token and many others, they have been able to invite DJs to Saigon who has played at famous underground concerts, festivals and venues such as Berlin's Berghain. Only in five years, SpaceSpeakers are out with a new sub-label labelled HRBR (Harbour), the crew is still going from strength to strength with shows featuring many foreign celebrity DJ and talented young DJ's. This rise is also reflected within country's trance and psytrance scene with organisers such as Asian Rave Connection and Chillgressive Saigon promoting monthly events, and also venues such as The Lighthouse, La Fenetre Soleil and, quite recently, Shaka, hosting these events. Vietnam really has a vibrant and diversified music scene with incredibly talented artists all around the nation, but it would still continue to take a few more efforts and attention to function beyond enforced social and moral regulations before the full extent of what the country's artists really want to deliver could be seen by the world.
Underground music emerged from the urge of Vietnamese teenagers to articulate their identities, question traditional structures of ideals and customs, and discover a new consumer niche. Underground music stands as a platform for the youthfulness, imagination, bravery, and style of the oppressed to the oppressor, the current to the former, the defiant to the command of the kneel down.
Vietnam’s economy was by far the worst in the globe, and development under its government’s consequent five-year central plans was catastrophic. By the early 1980s, per capita was trapped between $200 and $300. Today, Vietnam is among the giants of the world for emerging markets. Anything from Nike sportswear to Samsung smartphones is assembled in this Asian country. And how did this phenomenal growth happen? The underground music scene and festivals have single-handedly filled Vietnam's economy by creating a need for investments in various industries. , It has bought capital in the form of foreign direct investment in infrastructure towards the development of new freeways, highways, pathways, transportation system, restaurants, cafes, resorts and clubs for international visitors who have begun to visit different musical properties.
The digital music industry in Vietnam has been developing steadily throughout the last century. Growth opportunities and remarkable developments have resulted in mobile network's advancements, with local telecommunications providers rushing to carry out 5G connections, this has even drawn many international players to Vietnam's digital music industry. In addition to global business giants including such as Apple Music and Spotify, which leap into direct service, have preferred to invest in it.
Over the last several years, Vietnam has been expected to develop and rise as one of the fastest developing economies in the world. In comparison, the Vietnamese dong has remained comparatively stable compared to other currencies such as the INR and the Rupiah, which have regularly experienced substantial declines. 
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