Project's Details

1. Motivation and Inspiration

I was introduced to many forms of Vietnamese traditional folk music at a very young age when i was attending primary school. Each form has their own beauty and distinctive characteristics because they were created to express the strongly marked cultural differences among regions of the country and the preferences of rural people to live in the villages of their ancestors. However,i have always been fascinated by "Xẩm",which is one of the oldest Vietnamese folk music forms and originated in the Northern region where i was born. With this individual project i have decided to make use of modern remixing techniques,which specifically are remixing and sampling, to produce a new piece that based on some well-known Xẩm songs.
There are a some music engineers and DJs who are interested in the beauty of traditional music and use it as their main influences for their creative work. One of them is Arnaud Bernard, better known by his stage name Onra, is a French hip hop beatmaker based in Paris. I first knew of Arnaud through a random search at a CD shop in Sai Gon. Being intrigued by a French born artist whose one of the parents were claimed to have Vietnamese ancestry,I decided to by his Studio Album Chinoiseries. Arnaud has become my favorite artist ever since. Though I have listened to all of Arnaud's albums that he has released, I consider Chinoiseries is my most loved one and it is this album from which i found the inspiration for this individual project.

2. Brief introduction of Xẩm singing

Hát Xẩm,or Xam singing can be loosely understand as "the songs of the blind artists", has existed since the Tran Dynasty (13th Century). The music form was invented by Dinh Quoc Tran,a prince whose eyes were pierced by his brother because of jealousy (hence the name "the songs of the blind artists"). Dinh created a simple musical instrument constituted principally of a cord made of rattan and other creepers which gave out a deep and sorrowful sound, alike to a reproach accompanying his singing voice.

3. Characteristics
The beauty of the “Xam” song is expressed in the rhythms and tones of the music. Its attractive and lively drum rhythms and numerous rules of song applications make it an interesting spectacle. The “Xam” song tells of the fate or unhappiness of the poor. Besides theses common themes, there are funny songs with satirical implications about wrong doings, the condemnation of outdated customs, the crimes of rulers, and the deeds of heroes. These stories are well loved by many people.

4. Performance and musical Instrument
The instruments traditionally used for the “Xam” song are a two-stringed violin, bamboo castanets, and two “Xam” drums. People used to walk in a group of 2 to 5 and sing, mainly in residential areas such as a parking lot, a ferry-landing, or a market gate.