When Tran Huu Tuan Bach decided to embark on his DJ career at the beginning of this decade, he had already established himself as a film composer in Vietnam.
From creating jingles for television commercials to scoring feature films, he already had vast knowledge in music production and when electronic music steamrolled its way into Saigon, music production just seemed like a natural course of action, so he decided to create the moniker B.A.X.
Tham Huy Truong was around 17 and a huge fan of J-Rock and the visual kei movement. Like most teenagers, he needed an outlet to express himself and in his case, it was music. There wasn’t much of a J-Rock scene in Vietnam back then, so he kept searching for alternatives and the opportunity finally presented itself to him when he was given a mixtape full of EDM songs by his friend to check out. “It was strange,” he said. “But I actually liked it.”
Tran Thi Kim Duyen was a pharmacology student at university when her then-boyfriend suggested she try her hand at DJ-ing. She had always considered music to be in her soul and it took her just over 24 hours, practicing with a CDJ set and a player hooked up to a mixer to master beat-matching. However, nightlife wasn’t her thing, she wasn’t even sure if it was a sustainable career option but with her ex-boyfriend’s support, she decided to throw caution to the wind. That was when Saigon witnessed the birth of Max Cleo.
After shows in Fukuoka, Japan and Moscow, Russia, Max Cleo is now currently on the roster at Haustek Agency. She wants to travel the world to showcase her music. Huy Truong, who spent the last four years exploring genres from dub-step to psytrance, has decided that techno suits him best. B.A.X, recently broke new ground by becoming the first Vietnamese DJ/Producer to sign to Dutch techno label, Manual Music, and is currently serving as a mentor to young and upcoming DJs on his HRBR label.
With the efforts of Pioneer DJ Center Vietnam and underground music promoters across Saigon, there are many young upcoming local DJs, as well as foreign-born, Vietnam-based DJs such as Nina Nova, Tien, Cattadose, Vynnibal, RVST, Hillusion and Zoey, among many others who are starting to make waves in the scene locally and across the region. In fact, it won’t be long before we see a surge of familiar names making a splash globally – from behind the decks.
Have a look at the second episode of Saigon Electronica below (English and Vietnamese subtitles are available):
