'Queen of Saigon pop music' returns after 15 years

In Love with the Blue Sea, Hong Hanh performed songs that are no longer strange to Vietnamese music lovers: Beside you is the wide sea, Sea of ​​memories, Love story of the sea, Wild life ... with passionate emotions that the audience once knew through the nickname "queen of Saigon pop music in the 1990s".

This CD was produced by musician Vo Thien Thanh. He also took charge of editing, mixing, and orchestrating… It can be said that this is a familiar yet strange album, as the already famous songs about the sea are now given a new, unique, and different look.

The album I Love You, Blue Sea has just been introduced by singer Hong Hanh.

NSCC

In some songs, musician Vo Thien Thanh changed the rhythm and tempo of the melody to... challenge this female singer with nearly 50 years of artistic experience, as well as hoping to bring many emotions to the listeners.

In addition to the new and modern harmony, this producer also cleverly inserted into the background music the sounds of waves, seagulls, the rustling of footsteps on the sand... combined with Hong Hanh's voice to tell human love stories.

The intersection of two artists

The album was born from the intersection of two artists. Accordingly, musician Vo Thien Thanh is a son of La Gi town, while Hong Hanh's father (the late musician Nguyen Huu Thiet) was born and raised in Phan Thiet, so coincidentally, the two artists from Binh Thuan accidentally joined hands to make an album about the sea.

Regarding this collaboration, Hong Hanh said: "I have known Vo Thien Thanh for a long time, from the individual arrangements for CDs or shows that Thanh made for me to record and perform on stage. I really like Thanh's thinking and music making style, but at that time he was surrounded by too many contemporary singers, especially female singers. Thanh was too busy so I didn't dare to propose, but I always told myself that I must definitely make an album with Thanh...".

She continued: "After a while, it was not until 2021 that I officially met Vo Thien Thanh to propose a collaboration and received his consent. Vo Thien Thanh is a meticulous person, investing in creativity, so the process of making the album took 4 years, including interruptions due to the pandemic. It was not until the end of last year that we completed the final stages for the album to be released in early summer this year!"

Vo Thien Thanh said "Hong Hanh still sings very well!"

PHOTO: NSCC

Releasing in the summer is also the suggestion that Vo Thien Thanh gave to Hong Hanh, because as he said: "I think summer is the time when the sea calls us, imagine you are at the sea, day or night, turn on the album Love Me Blue Sea to enjoy with a cocktail, what could be more suitable!".

"Revealing" more about the collaboration process, the musician said: "When Hong Hanh proposed, I thought I had to make a meticulous and elaborate album, worthy of this voice. To be fair, after many years of working, Hong Hanh still sings very well! She is truly a beautiful woman of Vietnamese music after many ups and downs of time. Hong Hanh sings songs about the sea like telling a story, attractive because of her rich experience, sobbing, gentle but also... innocent in a very feminine way".

He shared that even though Hong Hanh was not the first to sing Tinh Xo Mai Doi Ta , he completely conquered him. As for Bien Can, Kiep Da Trang... they were excellent because they were right in his forte.

Keep "Saigon" in the mixes

It is because of his love for the voice of the person who is considered the "queen of Saigon pop music in the 1990s" that Vo Thien Thanh is determined to preserve Hong Hanh's "Saigon quality" no matter how much effort he puts into remixing. Because to him, Hong Hanh is a typical singer in the precious "golden generation" of Saigon music in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Therefore, all 8 songs in the album are covered with full orchestral quality, especially "Bien nho" and " Thuyen va bien" when until now these 2 songs have almost never been arranged in a large space.

On the basis of orchestra, Vo Thien Thanh skillfully incorporated gospel ( Tinh Xo Mai Doi Ta ) and semi-classical ( Thuyen va bien). ), reggae ( Love story of the sea ), smooth jazz style ( By Your Side Is the Wide Sea ) ... In particular, the newly composed song used as the theme of the album Love You Blue Sea is also infused with a unique swing jazz style placed at the end of the disc.

The album was kept by musician Vo Thien Thanh with Hong Hanh's "Saigon quality" through the remixes.

PHOTO: NSCC

Particularly, "Dry Sea" (arranged in chillout style on an orchestral background) was performed at a time when Covid-19 was raging, when the mood of the arranger and singer was filled with anxiety, so the string section was arranged to roll like the ocean, ending with the sound of waves dissolving like the impermanence of life...

Hong Hanh said that she recorded the song while she had a cold, her voice was a bit stuffy but it happened to fit the mix. It was a choked recording and the singer could not hide her own anxiety in her voice before the great losses of real life. After the epidemic, Hong Hanh suggested re-recording it but Vo Thien Thanh did not agree because it was the "imperfect" recording that was truly emotional and suitable for the song's content.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nu-hoang-nhac-nhe-sai-gon-tai-xuat-sau-15-nam-185250421135103693.htm