Giang Son: 'The 7X generation of musicians are afraid of being criticized, not like now'

Giang Son 'opened' the year of the Snake with a live concert celebrating 40 years of his career. At the beginning of the year, the musician talked about his quiet but not without overwhelming success in his musical career.

Musician Giang Son on a spring outing - Photo: NVCC

Giang Son's live concert Sol's Dream will take place on the evening of February 15 (January 18) in Hanoi, with the participation of Thanh Lam, Tung Duong, Ha Tran, Khanh Linh, Ha Linh, Hoang Dung and Thuy Chi.

Giang Son is not afraid of handsome brothers and sisters.

* This concert was supposed to take place in October or late last year but was moved to early this year. Was it to avoid the "big brother" concerts that were hot at that time?

- Giang Son is a musician so he only knows how to compose. The rest is up to the producer to decide. Personally, I'm not afraid of handsome guys or pretty girls. Just like singers, each musician has their own audience.

For example, Duc Tri and Do Bao, their author concerts are still as crowded as usual. Good songs will not be affected by audience factors or trends...

* Out there people are following trends like crazy. Have you ever been swayed?

- I feel like I belong to showbiz, but not really. That is, when I release a product or do a show, I hold a press conference. Otherwise, I'm too normal and quiet.

There was a time when everyone was almost crazy about electronic music or really into bolero. Giang Son tried listening to it but realized it wasn't for him so he stopped.

Not everything that is hot has to be followed. If so, it's too tiring. Artists should still understand what they want and what they want to do, otherwise all the fluctuations in the music market won't make a difference.

* The 7X generation of musicians, including Giang Son, left an impression that they were people who made clean, meticulous, serious, and even quite "dignified" music...

- We, the 7X generation of musicians, are very afraid of being known. Those who studied together, graduated together and have been making music together until now are mostly similar in that they are all serious, serious, and methodical. This may be a little different from some musicians today.

Live concert Sol Dream celebrates Giang Son's 40th career anniversary

They may not know a single note, cannot write a song, cannot sing, but they buy beats, even get free beats online and then sit at the computer to make music, still make a lot of money and are very loved and sought after.

You can take a shortcut and get early success by buying beats - the best parts of other people's creations, the hottest music trends in the world - but you won't be able to go long term with that.

We couldn't do that. In our time, everyone had to start from the basics, from music theory, and then study a major at the same time.

* But that kind of music doesn't just become popular. There must be something good about it, right?

- There is nothing wrong with updating trends and bringing them back to Vietnam. What Giang Son wants to say is that the nature of a creative person, if you want to go far, you must have a foundation.

There are also young people who make Giang Son very respectful. They are civilized, creating music that has the breath of the times, new arrangements, very good.

* What do you think about someone who calls himself a musician but can't write good music?

- That's funny. Producing a song is so easy now, there are many supporting technologies. Even AI can produce songs with different themes in 1-2 minutes.

But if it is called a machine, it will follow the same patterns and formulas and the songs will be similar, lacking creativity. People like us can tell right away that it is a machine made song, not a human composer.

It's the same with any profession, not just music. You need a solid foundation and professionalism to go far and for a long time.

Musician GIANG SON

Everyone wants more young audiences.

* After the Sol Dream concert, which wrapped up 40 years of career, do you plan to "renew" yourself to create a fresher musical space?

- When I was 20 or 30, I liked to experiment with deep, hidden, dark or a bit "heavy" music. But after going through many events, now I like things that are more gentle, emotional and cheerful.

Giang Son hopes to make an album full of optimism and energy, more community-oriented.

* Giang Son has many songs known to the public. Which song do you like the most?

- Probably Thu Can because it is associated with my most painful memories. The first person to sing it was Nguyen Thao. Thao sang it very well, so the song went viral and became a hit.

* The song Hanoi 12 seasons of flowers has the line "Returning to childhood with xoan flowers in August" causing controversy because people think that there are no xoan flowers in August?

- People wondered a lot. So much so that Nguyen Vinh Tien once told Giang Son to change "hoa xoan" to "hoa ngau" to avoid confusion and noise. Because he doesn't like noise, Giang Son changed it, but singers and audiences still sing "hoa xoan".

Musician Giang Son is the author of many hits such as Thu Can, Giac Mo Nao, Bong Toi Jazz, Ha Noi 12 Mua Hoa ... - Photo: NVCC

For Son, anyone can sing any song they want. Once a song is written, it no longer belongs to me but to everyone else.

Regarding the controversy, Son personally thinks that artists are not agricultural engineers; they have their own dreams and spiritual worlds. Sometimes they are timeless and even spaceless.

Moreover, now, the flower seasons of Hanoi are intertwined a lot. So the song should be received more openly.

* Recently, Tung Duong, Hong Nhung... have all chosen to collaborate with Gen Z artists. What about Giang Son?

- Tung Duong or Hong Nhung working with young people is completely reasonable. Everyone wants to have more audiences, especially young people. Giang Son is no exception. I am also planning to work with my own niece (Madihu), but because you are busy with your own project, you haven't started yet.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/giang-son-the-he-nhac-si-7x-so-mang-tieng-lam-khong-nhu-gio-20250203085950865.htm