After the 'North Bling' fever, travel music is on the rise?

Dzung is a veteran rocker in the Vietnamese music scene. He has been active in many famous rock/metal bands for many years and has won many major awards. However, only when he went solo did Dzung have the opportunity to freely choose interesting and unique materials.

Dzung's 2021 album Dzanca can be considered a breakthrough in redefining the world music genre in Vietnamese music, when Dzung incorporated many different materials on the basis of familiar folk songs, known by heart by millions of Vietnamese people such as Trong com, Co la, Di cach ,... As an independent artist, Dzung soon broke out of the genre's framework to build his own unique sounds that did not overlap with anyone else.

The direction of combining folk elements was pushed to a new level by Dzung in the EP Dzanca Dzanvu , especially in the single Mua Sap Xoe Hoa , when he brought a modern and traditional orchestra to the big stage, handling all the elements while still ensuring both listening and performance quality.

Dzung continued to stick to his direction when he released the album Hay khong hay la , however he showed strong creativity when he hardly repeated the sounds that the audience had heard in Dzanca or Mua sap xoe hoa , but rather very different combinations.

Clear idea

Good or not, it is still a combination of traditional sounds and modern materials, the direction that Dzung has been pursuing over the years. However, this time, he did not collect folk songs that are too familiar to Vietnamese people to develop musical arrangements on them, but he created a separate concept with completely new compositions.

Good or not so good continues to affirm Dzung's steadfast musical direction.

The album opens with the song Con Tau , signaling the main theme of the entire album: a journey across the country and discovering different beauties throughout the country. Dzung also shared that the idea for this Hay Khong Hay train came from his first trip at the age of 2 by train from Hanoi to his mother's hometown Nha Trang. After that, the train continued to accompany him on the trip from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City to start a career. The train has remained with Dzung ever since, and he continues to collect it to use as material for his music.

This tourism concept can be clearly seen through the content of each song, when Wind Power Forest (inspired by the wind power plant in Bac Lieu), Nghinh Ong Thuy Tuong (inspired by the Nghinh Ong festival of the residents of the Central and Southern coastal regions), Dua Sai Trai (inspired by the cry of the coconut seller in An Giang) or Phao (inspired by the Dien Bien Phu battle) all exploit very typical images of Vietnamese provinces and cities from North to South.

But not only in terms of content, Dzung also exploits diversity in terms of music when using many different genres from disco, funky to folk tunes such as Le Thuy's folk songs to combine with his guitar to create a unique, separate sound world, breaking down barriers between genres. Dzung himself does not establish a fixed, clear genre but calls his album lyrical homeland music. That softness, ease of listening, and familiarity is what makes Hay khong hay very good, although still using folk materials as well as Dzung's steely guitar as the main character, but still creates a clear difference from the male rocker's previous products.

The “Ca” part is the highlight.

The most obvious difference that needs to be mentioned in this album of Dzung is that he added singing in the second half of the album. It's still the same works, still the same sounds, but while in the first half with the "Dun" part, Dzung followed his previous direction of arranging instrumental music, in the second half with the "Singing" part, he changed his style by inviting Pham Anh Khoa to sing in 5 songs, and zither artist Hai Phuong to contribute her voice in 2 songs.

The combination of Dzung and Pham Anh Khoa brings positive effects to the album.

If artist Hai Phuong is already a familiar name in Dzung's music when appearing in both the album Dzanca as well as the single Mua Sap Xoe Hoa , then Pham Anh Khoa is a new addition. And even more surprising is that listeners no longer see the boldness and roughness in this rapper's singing, but a bright, positive spirit, Pham Anh Khoa even sang in the song Nghinh Ong Thuy Tuong - reminiscent of his performance Ra Khoi at Sao Mai Diem Hen 2006 .

In addition to Pham Anh Khoa, the appearance of actor Le Hoang Phi with the stage name Uncle 13 is also an interesting contribution to the song Dua sai trai . Hoang Phi's "rao" dua part in the song brings a very interesting vocal sample, creating one of the most "pop" and catchy moments of the whole album.

Dzung's compositions are also of quite good quality. Although in his products Dzung mainly demonstrates his production ability and guitar technique, when he steps into the field of composition, he also builds songs that are easy to listen to and have clear stories. Each of his songs has a different source of inspiration, showing a rich and mature life experience.

Will travel music be a trend?

In early March this year, Hoa Minzy released the single Bac Bling and immediately became the biggest hit of Vpop since the beginning of the year. The song has good quality, but the fact that a music product with strong regional colors can be popular nationwide is still quite a surprise.

Coincidentally, in mid-March, Dzung released the album "Hay khong hay thap" which also contained quite typical elements of some Vietnamese provinces (Bac Lieu, An Giang, Dien Bien Phu), showing a very coincidental similarity with Hoa Minzy.

Or is it a sign of a new trend in Vietnamese music?

Folk music has been continuously exploited by Vietnamese artists in recent years, but through the outstanding new products in early 2025, listeners can notice a shift in trend: no longer are the materials general and universal, but artists delve into the culture, history, and landscapes of each specific place and location and highlight it with distinct characteristics, clearly introducing the land they want to convey to listeners.

Bac Ninh with Lim festivals, Ba Chua temple, or Bac Lieu with wind power plants, An Giang with coconut gardens full of fruit, Dien Bien Phu with heroic feats,... are conveyed through music smoothly and interestingly with the products of Hoa Minzy and Dzung, signaling a trend that may blossom in Vpop in the near future.

Dzung's "Hay Khong Thai" is a commendable creation when exploiting traditional materials in a new, unconventional way and bringing a bright and positive spirit. The musical journey in the album is built by Dzung with a unified idea even though it does not need to follow a specific genre, making the listening experience both new and still attractive.