Viet Kieu Making VietnameseMusic Transnational

Political and Cultural Changes

As part of expressive culture, music is a mirror that migrationstudies have yet to hold up to the refugee experience, and forcedmigration is a key that ethnomusicology has yet to turn to gainentry into another world that music inhabits.¹⁰

Refugees and immigrants coming from Viet Nam since 1975were initially concerned with adapting to their new home. Thiswas also true of musicians. However, it did not take long beforeVietnamese music spread throughout the burgeoning Vietnamese American communities. Music, besides its entertainment value,also served to connect refugees and exiles to the homeland theythought they had lost.

In the initial 1975 refugee flight, unanticipated departure meant most refugees were left with little more than their clothes.Few thought of bringing music with them. Thus, in the early years, the few with music items such as records and tapesexchanged them with others. During the late 1970s and early1980s, those with previous experience in the music industry inViet Nam re-established their trade in the U.S.

During this period, Thuy Nga Productions, a pre-1975 musichouse, continued their craft in France. Mr. To Van Lai, ownerof Thuy Nga Productions, helped to rebuild the company. Witha keen sense of the diasporic market, Lai created a division ofThuy Nga called “Paris by Night.” Lai found the life of refugees in Paris alienating—including his own—and wanted to find a solution. “After working all day, they [Viet Kieu] want to beabletosing,dance,whateverintheevening. ‘ParisByNight’ is based on the desire for this type of leisure distraction.”¹¹

Although Thuy Nga Productions produced outside the Viet Kieu music center of southern and northern California, the company hoped for a global Vietnamese music invasion. In additionto records, they began producing music videos in 1989, the mostprofitable and influential direction Thuy Nga has taken to date. Within a few years, Lai had moved their headquarters to OrangeCounty, California. PBN has been operating from that locationsince December 29, 1995.¹² Though capitalizing on the new video technology, contents of early PBN recordings still focusedon Vietnamese songs written before 1975.

The population of Vietnamese outside Viet Nam numberedapproximately 500,000 in 1975. This number increased to aboutone million in 1990 and two million in 2000. Because the Vietnamese market has always been relatively small, Vietnameseoverseas music sales were minute compared to the mainstreamrecording industry. The ethnic minority industry considered a15,000-unit seller a success. However modest the market, profits in the millions gave employment to a large number of Vietnamese performers, composers, and producers. By 1995, overthirty music-related companies occupied the four-square-milearea of Westmin-ster and Garden Grove of southern California known as “Little Saigon.”¹³

In the first decade after the fall of Sai Gon, pre-1975 music wasthestapleoftheVietnameseAmericancommunity. Sopopular was this genre of maudlin ballads from the wartime yearsthat it has invoked some to call Vietnamese American popularmusic “culture in a bubble.” Indeed, for over a decade after1975, the same songs—be it western or Vietnamese that werepopular in the nightclubs of Sai Gon during the Viet Nam war—were still being heard in coffee shops and nightclubs and soldin music stores.

The “nostalgia” of a homeland before communism remainsstrong, especially for first-generation Viet Kieus. This might explain why the musical taste of many remains with the familiar.Music that evolved nostalgic sentiments was soon accompaniedby lyrics that had themes of a lost nation, patriotism, and therefugee experience. The songs, nationalistic in nature, carriedimages of a glorious past and a hope of returning to the homeland. Among the more popular tunes in this genre were PhamDuy’s “1954 Cha Bo Que-1975 Con Bo Nuoc” [The Exiles ofa Father and His Son]. The song speaks of how a father hadto leave the communist-controlled north in 1954 for the south;twenty years later his son had to flee Viet Nam altogether for the same reasons.

Adelaida Reyes observed an abundance of what she termed“love” and “sad” songs.¹⁴ She attributed the popularity of thesesongs in the exiled VietnameseAmerican community to two factors: desire to preserve a culture they perceived the CommunistParty had destroyed, and as an act of resistance since such songswere prohibited in the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam.¹⁵

What comforts the community in exile may be the very thingthat keeps artists from creating new sounds. The dependence onthe pre-1975 songs in musical repertoires persists to this day,and few venture to write and sing new songs. Anti-communistpressures also prevent individuals from creating pieces outsidethe demarcated culturally and politically correct lines. Such factors threaten the future of Vietnamese American music production or the bursting of the “cultural bubble.”

Thien Do, a long-time musician in the VietnameseAmericancommunity, offers his understanding of this phenomenon: “Innovation is not considered a virtue in the creation process. Most people strive to copy their teachers as best they can, not createtheir own works.” Historically, Vietnamese music had composers and singers, and they were two separate groups. But with the rise of modern popular music, composers performed theirown works. Artists like Pham Duy and Trinh Cong Son begantheir careers by performing their own compositions. New singers would then only sing songs that they knew the audience approved. “It is not worth it to the singers to take career risks bysinging something new—essentially not giving a new composeropportunities to be heard. So, nothing new gets heard,” Thien explains.¹⁶

Underlying this nostalgia is a strong anti-communist pointof view. This single ideology has been central to every facetof Vietnamese American life, including community institutions,political organizations, and cultural production. In the early years the cultural Viet Kieu gatekeepers tended to adhere to this perspective. If they perceived anyone falling out of line withthese views, they would pressure the individual or group to takea stronger anti-communist stance. Truc Ho, Viet Kieu director of Asia Productions, exemplifies this attitude:

The main purpose of Asia is to gap the bridge between the youngand old generations. We try to promote to the new youth. If theywant to sing about love and human rights for Viet Nam, I willhelp them. But if they want to sing about communism, I will notproduce them.¹⁷

Not everyone in the community or music industry has suchstrong anti-communist perspectives. For them, music on somelevel transcends politics. As long as the music is good and theartists can find an audience, then that music is promoted. For example, Nguyen Thanh, who owns Kim Loi Productions, openly produces and distributes music from Vietnamese artists. Ashis work involves direct relations with Vietnamese artists and officials, he faces constant harassment from anti-communist groups in the U.S. They phone his store and home to threatenhim and protest in front of his store and at the concerts he produces. At one point, they even attempted to burn down his SanJose, California store.¹⁸

Along with exile music, the Vietnamese American community was also interested in music of the West. For example, Viet Kieu also enjoyed the popularity of disco in the 1970s. In the 1980s, European new wave music found a longstanding niche inthe overseas community. One musician speaks of that time:

New wave was so good, and we could handle listening to it andplaying it. It was like CC Kat, Modern Talking, Bad Boy Blueand whole bunch of other bands. We [Vietnamese Americans]grabbed whatever worked and made it our own. I had a band, andwe played this stuff because it was the only way to get to play [fora Vietnamese American audience].¹⁹

Attracted by the heavy synthesized music and easy-to-understand lyrics, Viet Kieu found Eurodisco especially appealing.The European acts that could not find a market in the mainstream American audience were still able to pack 10,000-seatstadiums full of Vietnamese Americans in places like San Joseand Anaheim, California.²⁰

The popularity of Viet Kieu music lasted well into the mid1990s, penetrating the black market in Viet Nam and impacting

the culture of the citizens there. How was this possible when

the Vietnamese government maintained such tight control overcultural production in the country? While Vietnamese Americans were experiencing relative freedom to develop their cultural identity, Vietnamese inhabitants were dealing with the aftermath of the war and the poverty and confusion that followed.The new government found cultural production an importanttool for nation-building. The production itself, however, washeavily dictated and monitored by the socialist regime. Yet, asmuch control as the state had on its people, the Vietnamese stillmanaged to assert their own desires and what they chose to consume.

The new leadership felt sad songs would dampen post-warmorale and believed that songs needed to be lively and to praise

heroes of the revolution and love of the newly reunified nation.

Hence, melancholy love songs that were popular in South VietNam during the war were prohibited after the war.²¹As Philip Taylor documented, music was heavily targetedfor reform:

In the late 1970s, an urgent and sustained attempt was made tounderstand the mysterious hold the “former” way of life continuedto have over the southern population. Many of the unfamiliar attributes of life in the South—such as consumerist lifestyles andpopular music—were subject to exhaustive scrutiny, as they had come to be seen as indexes of the southern Vietnamese people’sdomination by the former enemy. The distinctive characteristics of the popular music associated with “U.S. neocolonial culture”were argued to be part of a plan whose pernicious intent had pur

portedly been to stifle the Vietnamese people’s revolutionary spirit

and their consciousness of being oppressed.²²

Though exerting heavy control, government officials could not monitor all its citizens. As time went on, people found

ways to listen to the music of their choice. Tran Dieu Hanh explains:

[Government restrictions] lasted for five years [since 1975]. In

1982 I began hearing some western music likeABBAbeing playedin public places. We were freer to play western music by the mid1980s. But it was not until late in the 1980s did I hear pre-1975music played in public places. Also, we got some cassettes fromoverseas Vietnamese around 1986 or 1987 and were exposed tonew wave and other new pop styles. Maybe others got it earlier,but I got a hold of these cassettes at this time. Then in 1996 I immigrated to the U.S.²³

When I conducted research in Ha Noi and Sai Gon in 1993,I witnessed the power of the black market and how it allowed

Vietnamese citizens to keep up with consumer trends, including

illegal music acquisitions. Though the Vietnamese governmentattempted to stop black market activities and illegal purchases ofdo hai ngoai (foreign products) through enforcement campaigns,Sai Gon residents listened to and watched music videos openlyin 1993. Paris By Night videos and other tapes and CDs fromthe overseas Vietnamese community could be found openly inthe shops of Sai Gon and covertly in Ha Noi.

Sai Gon residents were captivated by Viet Kieu music, andParis By Night videos were especially popular. Most of my respondents from Sai Gon at that time much preferred the musicof the overseas community, claiming they had the best singersand most professional performance videos. They thought thePBN shows looked glamorous and modern compared to the supposed unsophisticated look of the Vietnamese musical productions. Families could not wait for the next installment of music videos to arrive from the U.S. Sai Gon residents’ musical consumption in many ways mirrored that of the Viet Kieu community in the United States. Like their overseas counterparts, those in Sai Gon also enjoyed live shows with performers singing theold pre-1975 classics—be it nhac tien chien (pre-Indochina warmusic), American pop tunes or Pham Duy songs.

The novelty of Viet Kieu music declined with the growingpopularity of local favorites like Hong Nhung, Thanh Lam, MyLinh and Phuong Thanh. By the mid-1990s, Viet Kieu music seemed stagnant, whereas Vietnamese music was perceived asinnovative. Of course, many still enjoyed tunes from abroad, beit from the Viet Kieu community or elsewhere, but they did nothave the sole appeal of earlier years.²⁴

During my fieldwork in 2002, I observed a rather stark transformation in Sai Gon. Already familiar with the “Vietnamese music invasion”²⁵ phenomena, I was still rather takenback about the new popularity of Viet Kieu singers in Viet Nam.Apparently, with the help of the Committee for Overseas Vietnamese, a handful of Viet Kieu performers were allowed to singregularly in Viet Nam and even be billed side-by-side with Vietnamese singers.²⁶

Doi Moi, Viet Nam’s 1986 open market campaign, supposedly brought about a more relaxed atmosphere for international exposure to and exchange of culture production. However,when the Vietnamese government feels threatened by competingcultural productions, it commonly implements crackdowns onthe creation and dissemination of the products. An example ofthis is the intermittent anti-“social evils” campaigns that wereset up to curb western and Viet Kieu influences in Viet Nam. Such “social evils” include drug abuse, prostitution, gambling,drinking, and having Western consumer values.²⁷

In 2000, the nationwide 09/2000/CT-TTg went into effectwith more campaigns of cultural censorship and control. Examples included inspectors seizing 120,194 tapes, 84,054 CDs, 30 tons of printed matter, 690 video recorders and 16 gamblingmachines, as well as deleting 23,000 square meters of “illegaladvertisement hoarding.”²⁸

The intimidating tactics of anti “social evil” campaigns sentout a message: Viet Nam is a socialist state and consuminganything but official government-sanctioned Vietnamese cultural products could be seen as a threat to its fragile national identity.Foreigners had to tread carefully if they wanted to continue living and working in Viet Nam. Locals had to be extra careful, or they could lose their livelihood or face imprisonment. As Blumsuggests,

We must judge institutions by the extent to which their policiesenhance or diminish the freedom of all whose lives they affect.The unity of modern music history comes from the universality of

claims to fundamental human rights, which can be realized only

through continual dialogue and argument.²⁹

Within the last five years, however, Viet Nam’s loosening of its rigid censorship rules has allowed for a burgeoning of musical productions from Viet Nam. So great is this phenomenonthat it has extended outside of Viet Nam and has been given thename “Viet Nam music invasion.”

Production, Distribution, and Technology

In the summer of 1999, I heard the music of one of the most famous Vietnamese singers, Thanh Lam, playing at music stores inSan Jose’s Lion Plaza commercial center in the heart of the Vietnamese American community in the Silicon Valley. Vietnamesemusic was appearing in the most unlikely places like weddings.At the 2000 VNHELP’s (Viet Kieu humanitarian relief organization) fundraiser in San Jose, California, nearly half of the songsplayed came from post-1975 Vietnamese composers, yet no one

as much as flinched in the audience.

By 1999, while browsing through music stores of Phuc LocTho shopping center, the largest Vietnamese American shoppingarea in Orange County, I discovered that music from Viet Namoccupied nearly the same number of stalls as their Viet Kieu counterparts. By 2001 when I visited music shops, Viet Kieu and Vietnamese music products, from CDs to videos to karaokediscs, were displayed next to each other. The lines are marred more everyday as to what is music coming from Viet Nam andwhat comes from the Vietnamese American community. This slow takeover of the overseas market by Vietnamese music fromViet Nam has been a fascinating phenomenon. What is the sudden appeal of music from a country that many of its exiles stillmistrust?

Many believe that having over seventy million people globally accounts for a larger talent pool. Others feel that the growing Vietnamese music industry has in part to do with the lack ofcreativity by artists and poor management by Viet Kieu produc-ers that resulted in low-quality Viet Kieu music. Others consider that the soul of music lives most strongly in Viet Nam and thatthe Vietnamese people have more leisure time than their VietKieu counterparts to produce new sounds. Whatever the case for the widespread popularity of Vietnamese music from VietNam, the year 2000 marked the undisputed moment when we

could witness its dominance beyond Viet Nam. For the first

time since 1975, Viet Kieu music no longer reigned within or outside Viet Nam. An L.A. Times survey in 2000 of more than

twenty-five Vietnamese American music stores found that sales

of Vietnamese music increased from 30 percent to 70 percentsince its height of popularity in 1995. The survey observed thatViet Kieu music does not sell as well as its Vietnamese competitors.³⁰ Is the music coming from Viet Nam here to stay? Willit contribute to the growth of the Viet Kieu music industry? Ordoes its presence and ascendance signal the end of Viet Kieu music? In 2003, the idea of listening to music produced underthe Socialist Republic of Viet Nam hardly seems that provocative. However, there are still many in the Vietnamese Americancommunity who will never accept music that originated from acommunist Viet Nam. Some of these people take the extremeline of boycotting anything related to Viet Nam, be it refusingto return to their home country, sending remittances, or evenconsuming Viet Nam-made goods. For these anti-communist groups, even cultural productions are seen as propaganda toolsof the socialist government. As such, they boycott music from

Viet Nam, criticize Vietnamese American singers who work in

Viet Nam, and protest Vietnamese singers when they perform inthe United States. Material cultural products from Viet Nam areseen as a threat to the dominant anti-communist cultural ideology of the exiled Vietnamese American community. It is seen as a social evil that requires some in the community to instigatea de facto “social evils” campaign to stop things from Viet Nam

from infiltrating the Vietnamese American population.

In the area of music, no production house is safe from anticommunist scrutiny. Even the popular PBN suffered underVietnamese American censorship. In celebration of Vietnamesemothers, in 1997, Thuy Nga released “Ca Dao Me” [Mother’sFolk Song], number 40 in the PBN series. Though it was another highly anticipated PBN video, its contents soon proved too controversial for anti-communist groups within the VietnameseAmerican community. The controversy involved clips of theSouth Vietnamese military helicopter in battle followed by cutsof Vietnamese families running from burning villages. Anticommunist groups like “The Front”³¹ claimed this depicted theSouth Vietnamese military as perpetrators of pain and suffering. They and others carried out a full campaign to demand anapology and a recall of all forty PBN videos. Viet Nam Insight,The Front’s newspaper, posted letters of protest all over the Internet:

Paris By Night 40’s mistakes, especially the portion that portrayeda one-sided story about the Vietnam War in which it presented thepeople’s sufferings and casualties as caused by the U.S.-backedSouth Vietnam’s military action without any showing of the communist North Vietnam’s atrocities, have aroused anger among theanti-communist Vietnamese community overseas.³²

Bowing to community pressures, PBN wrote a public apology and re-edited the offensive sections of its video for trade.The lesson was clear: de facto censorship within the VietnameseAmerican community does not allow for the creation of musicthat is seen as threatening to the core ideology of anti-communism. Inadvertent images shown in beloved video productionslike PBN can come under fire, so artists and producers are careful not to cross the line. This line could be in the form of lyricsbut also in their private lives.

Control of music production extends to controlling Viet Kieu artists’ livelihood. For example, due to the general curiosityabout the home country, improved conditions for work in VietNam, and the additional competition of the “Viet Nam musicinvasion,” a handful of Viet Kieu artists have opted to perform inViet Nam. They do so with heavy criticism from the anti-communist groups in the U.S. One of the first Viet Kieu to return to Viet Nam was Elvis Phuong in 1996. Under the direction ofKim Loi Inc., he created the personal homecoming music video,Ta On Doi, Ta On Nguoi [Thanking Life Thanking Humanity]Kim Loi #8 that same year. For this effort, eleven of his showswere cancelled when he returned to the United States.³³ The point of the protest is that cultural collaborations with Viet Namare not acceptable.

Though artists wishing to perform in Viet Nam face ostra-

Vietnamese performers Cam Van and husband Khac Trieu taking a bow at the Long Beach Convention Center concert in 2001.

cism from anti-communist factions in the community, more artists are choosing to work in or visit Viet Nam every year. Additional artists who have returned home to perform have included:Hoai Linh, Ngoc Anh, Thanh Ha and Anh Tu. Some have also decided to make Viet Nam their full-time home or at least for about half of the year. They include: Elvis Phuong, Trisie Phuong Trinh, and Huong Lan. One push factor in the U.S. is the shrinking market. Overexposure in the Vietnamese American

community also means artists cannot find work as they once

did. This leaves the pull factors in Viet Nam more appealing.There, Viet Kieu singers are still a novelty and at the same timeare already known to the general population through various pirated CDs and videos. Additionally, some of these entertainershave successfully maintained a strong fan base from pre-1975.As long as artists can move beyond harassment tactics such asthreatening phone calls, slanderous statements, and boycotts oftheir products, they are free to work in Viet Nam. Another incentive to overlook the critics is the fan base in Viet Nam. Most of the music industry that I spoke to agreed that musicians justwant to perform and do not care who or where their audience isas long as they can put on a show for their fans.

Until 2000, attempts to have Vietnamese singers performin the U.S. were met with heavy anti-communist objections. It was not until 2000 that a Vietnamese singer had the courage toperform publicly in the United States. Sponsored by Kim Loi,over three hundred gathered at the opulent Athletic Club in SanJose to watch Cam Van perform. Most heard of the show byword of mouth, but radio stations also announced the event. I coaxed my rather reluctant aunt and grandmother to attend theshow with me. They relayed that though they would love to seeCam Van, due to my grandmother’s age and health problems,they did not want to deal with the possibility of violent protestors. Still, we all attended the show where familiar faces fromSan Jose’s Vietnamese American community gathered. From young to old, community members sat hearing the diva belt out

her tunes. Nguyen Thanh, the organizer of the event, thought

the night was a success but for not the reasons expected:

She [Cam Van] was so lucky no one protested her. She was crying

for joy that she was able to perform in the U.S. She was the first

Vietnamese to perform in the U.S. [if you do not consider ThanhLan in 1994]. We promoted her concert on Vietnamese radio andin the San Jose Mercury News. Tickets were going for $50, whichis cheap compared to the $100 we were going to charge for theEast Coast concert. Lots of radio and newspaper reporters were there that night.³⁴

On the heels of a series of successful 2000 and early 2001concerts with Vietnamese singers from Viet Nam, Nguyen Thanhof Kim Loi promoted another concert in August 2001. I attended this historical production featuring Lam Truong and CamVan from Viet Nam, as well as Yvonne from the United States.Held at the Sun Theater in Anaheim, the 2,000 or so protestorsmatched the number of those in attendance. But, unlike otherevents that were protested, this one had security clearly present for the protection of the attendees. Attendees had to drive through streets lined with protesters, but they were protected andshielded within their cars. The drive through the mob lastedless than ten seconds, and at the end the attendees emerged toa fleet of riot tanks and police cars. When the concert ended, guests were escorted through the back of the theater and led outof the parking lot, half a mile away from the protesters. Some in the community actually condone censoring culture productsfrom Viet Nam, or what I have called Viet Kieu community “social evils” campaign. But, when it comes to music, the trend istoward freedom of choice.

Transnational Strategies of Viet Kieu andVietnamese Producers, Singers, and Musicians

Only since 1996 have Viet Kieu returned to openly perform in

Viet Nam. Vietnamese citizens attempted to perform in the U.S.

at the same time, but anti-communist protestors made it an impossible task. Only in 2000 have we seen Vietnamese performing in the United States.³⁵ Even before the exchange of performers, however, producers and artists shared songs, technology,and ideas.

Among many in the Vietnamese American community, aclear distinction exists between Vietnamese diasporic music andVietnamese music. Just the opposite is true, in my opinion, asbeing Vietnamese American also means having fluid connections with Viet Nam.³⁶ One prominent Viet Kieu music producerrelayed to me that he is very cautious of limiting his contactwith Viet Nam, but out of necessity for new materials, he finds ways to diversify his company’s musical repertoire. He explainshow he is able to avoid criticism from the community though heworks with composers in Viet Nam:

The community does not complain because they cannot differentiate which song comes from a Vietnamese composer and which one

from an overseas Vietnamese composer. Singers will be criticized because you can see their faces, but songs are harder to figure out

because you can’t see the face of the composer.³⁷

Producers from both sides of the ocean are anxious to find ways to keep the Vietnamese and Vietnamese American musicindustry strong. They do so by studying the advantages anddisadvantages of both places. Currently, Viet Nam has a largernumber of strong vocalists and composers. Additionally, laborto produce the music from staging to video direction is muchcheaper in Viet Nam than in the U.S.

In the United States, Vietnamese Americans still dominatein the area of technology and style. Even Vietnamese Americanmusicians just starting out can have an affordable mini-studio intheir own home. They can lay tracks and create music at their leisure. Viet Nam’s music industry has very limited access tosuch equipment and training.

Many Vietnamese singers are aware of these discrepancies.After a successful concert with two leading Vietnamese divas,My Linh and Tran Thu Ha, sponsored by VNHELP, Tran ThuHa noted the perks of working with Viet Kieu musicians:

I had these preconceived ideas about Viet Kieu. I thought they were basically losers because of the few that came back to VietNam and created a bad reputation for the others. But, when I arrived here, my hosts were very kind and the audience was veryreceptive. Now I’m meeting with local Viet Kieu and maintream musicians and producers to work on collaborative projects. I’m thoroughly impressed with what I’ve seen. I’m so proud of the Viet Kieu community for what they have created in the UnitedStates in such a short time. My views have totally changed.³⁸

The United States also dominates in “style,” although thisis a subjective attribute. Some of the most widely known popmusic comes from mainstream U.S. Vietnamese singers, youngand old, like to imitate this kind of music. In the area of Vietnamese language songs, Vietnamese from the new generationgrew up watching PBN and the glamour that went with eachshow. The organizers of PBN spared no expense to create and maintain a stylistic, high-end look. Owner To Van Lai explainsa portion of the cost that goes into making a video production:“Each song of the video has its own background that costs a lot.Just background alone costs $70,000 to $80,000 and the lightingcosts $100,000.”

Music production can get quite costly, especially in theUnited States. For this reason, many Vietnamese Americanshave opted to produce their videos or music in Viet Nam. Thereare numerous benefits for making a music video in Viet Nam. The location is exotic and can evoke nostalgia. The VietnameseAmerican community is fascinated with things from the homecountry. They bring a fresh look to the videos, and local Vietnamese work for a fraction of the cost of Viet Kieu directors. Additionally, Viet Kieu and Vietnamese singers now have theoption of performing in opposite sides of the Pacific and hence broadening the market and their fan base.

The shortcomings of both sides have motivated musiciansto compensate by using ideas and resources from the other. Viet Kieu and Vietnamese in the music industry have known to dothis for some time, despite anti-communist zealots in the U.S. community. Similarly, though the Vietnamese governmentwould like to regulate all cultural productions, it cannot stopcollaborations. Hence, the music industry has continually created cultural bridges between Viet Nam and the Vietnamese diasporic communities despite obstacles.

Collaboration will inevitably bring creative changes and

help revitalize the Vietnamese and Viet Nam music industries.

Many musicians lamented the dearth of original compositions,arrangements, and performances. Vietnamese Americans who

have ventured to create their own music cannot find a market in

Vietnamese American communities. Nguyen Phu, a musicianwho composes and sings his own work, is a rarity in the community. His struggles for acceptance have to do with growingup with hybrid cultural influences. “I didn’t appreciate Vietnamese music until I was fifteen or sixteen. I used to listen

to American music. When I hung around with the Vietnamesewas when I learned to appreciate the lyrics.” His compositionsare most unique for his blatant Saigonese pronunciations of hissongs. LiketheEnglishandIrishwhoprefertheAmericanEnglish pronunciations, Vietnamese pop standards prefer the northern Vietnamese accent. Phu takes chances, and his band Phuongattempts to play an edgier style of rock and roll. For these rea

sons, they cannot find a large enough market in the community.

Bands like Phu’s rarely get support from the major Vietnamese American production houses. Duy Tran, a sound engineerand musician, complained, “I’ve lost faith in Asia and PBN because they have the power to make change but they won’t do it.”In reaction to this lack of support for young bands, Duy Tranand others formed B-Flat.

PBN has brainwashed the Viet Kieu community here to understandwhat is good. As a result, we musicians have no chance to haveour original works accepted. Our 17^th Parallel band was reallyhated by the community, and that had a lasting imprint on me. So,my work with B-Flat is to support artists. Artists are very vain,and I know this. I always push the artists because it’s the onlyway to help them pursue their art. In my compilation work withB-Flat, there are a lot of bands that have broken up, but I want tohelp them feel inspired to take up music again.³⁹

B-Flat’s first compilation, “What the Pho,” includes eclectic Vietnamese American music ranging from new wave to hardrock. Duy claims B-Flat’s new compilation, No MSG, has twopurposes: “have good music and to promote any upcoming musicians. I want to see how far these groups can go. I know SYG, ESL, Phu, Y Nhi and my band, Superseed, are good andvery serious.” Both compilations contain all original works of the musicians. Writing and performing one’s own material isstill very rare because the number of people actually creatingnew music in Viet Nam and in diaspora is so low. Duy still hopes for a rock-and-roll scene.

Securing the future of popular Vietnamese music, be it in thecountry or abroad, requires several factors:

1) An easing up of (overseas) community and (Viet Nam) govern

mental pressures to produce politically correct songs.

2) More open collaborations between artists and producers from

both countries—the U.S. and Viet Nam.

3) Training the audience to accept new sounds.

4) Shedding ideas of new music or innovation as being bad.

5) Finding confidence in one’s work.

6) Established music production houses promoting young singersand composers who have a different sound.

These factors require a joint transnational effort. Even if individuals and groups succeed in developing a unique Vietnamesepopular style, there are still many external forces to deal with—the major one being copyright infringement laws. “The lives ofmusicians are simultaneously based in economics and aesthetics,and their production is both symbolic and concrete.”⁴⁰ In reality, artists’ works are not protected even when strict copyright lawsare in place. Artist after artist lamented that the demise of theVietnamese music industry will be due to copyright infringements.

Conclusion

Without the empowerment gained through music, it is impossible

to keep the past alive in the present, or to recognize and respond to

the realities that are transforming the present into the future.⁴¹

Modern Vietnamese music has survived and evolved through the years. Though the U.S. policies strictly regulated contact between the Vietnamese Americans and those in Viet Nam, in theearly years following the war, transnational music flows continued. Music culture transcends nation-state boundaries primarilybecause musicians want to create music and those within and

outside Viet Nam want to consume it. Viet Nam’s influence runs

very much the same way. To protect the communist ideology,

the Vietnamese government from 1975 on made every attemptto block pre-1975 music, labeling it “foreign” or “foreign influenced.” Government restrictions continued after reunification

but so did people’s desire to listen to the kinds of music theywanted, including music from the Viet Kieu communities.

The Vietnamese American community appears to need tomaintain a culture of anti-communism and hold on to memories of a glorious past. These two factors above all affected Viet Kieu music. The anti-communist ideology not only added to the“culture in a bubble” phenomena, but it also delayed open collaborations between musicians in Viet Nam and those overseas. Still, as much as Vietnamese Americans complied with the dictates of the anti-communist groups and its ideology, they werealso curious about music being created in Viet Nam. Business people also saw opportunities for expanding musical productsfor the Viet Kieu market in the U.S. and brought music from abroad. Increased travel and connections with the new culture productions in Viet Nam also exposed the Viet Kieu to the musical changes.

These cultural flows across national borders help to obliterate the distinction between Viet Kieu and Vietnamese music. The survival and development of music in both places requirescontinued collaboration and support to create a new kind of music blend. Furthermore, as a reaction to the sometimes staticand formulaic productions of Viet Kieu music, other individualsin the Vietnamese diaspora have formed networks to share theircreations outside the old Viet Kieu groups. Networks of artists such as those represented by B-Flat offers an alternative spacefor original creations. Different regions and styles of musicwill provide more choices for the Vietnamese consumer. Thesechoices are possible due to the clever thinking and actions ofartists and producers alike. While resisting forces threaten music makers from expanding their craft, they have successfullyemerged to create the future of Vietnamese transnational soundsby incorporating creative processes from Viet Nam and in diaspora.

Notes

1. I choose to use the term Viet Kieu to mean the: 1) overseas Vietnamese population; 2) Vietnamese living outside of Viet Nam whohave received most of their formal education abroad and continue to work outside Viet Nam; and 3) Vietnamese who have adopted another

citizenship but who live, study, work or visit Viet Nam. In using Viet Kieu, I do not intend to disrespect parties that take special offenseto the term. I respect their choice to not apply this term to mean the

overseas Vietnamese population, but I find it linguistically correct

and useful for my work.

1. Stephen Blum, Philip V. Bolman, and Daniel M. Neumen, eds., Ethnomusciology and Modern Music History (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1991), 1.
2. Jason Gibbs, “Nhac Tien Chien: The Origins of Vietnamese PopularSongs,” Destination Vietnam. Things Asian: Explore the Cultures of Asia (June/July 1998); http://www.thingsasian.com/goto_ar-ticle/ article. 801.html (June 2001).
3. Ibid., “AMusical Instrument Workshop in Hanoi,” Experimental Musical Instruments, 12:1 (1996).
4. Chanson is defined as a French song—usually secular, such as a satirical cabaret song of the twentieth century.
5. Thanh Tuyen, Vietnamese music, female producer, interview by KieuLinh Caroline Valverde, Sai Gon, Viet Nam, February 9, 2001. Vietnamese popular music has a number of informal categories. Thoughwidely used by music makers and consumers alike, there is no consensus on the true definitions of each. I identify the following categories:

1. nhac sang: Music created by trained composers and singers. It

tends to sound like jazz.

1. nhac sen: Easy listening songs with simplistic lyrics and soft melodies.
2. nhac que huong, nhac binh dan: Songs with a folk/country appeal.
3. nhac tre: Pop songs mostly targeted to youth.
4. nhac quay, nhac rock: Fast-paced rock-and-roll-inspired music.

1. Frank Gerke and Bui Tuyen, “Popular Music in Vietnam,” http://www.hkn.de/english/culture/1999/Vietnam/Ezine/Popmusik (December 17, 2000).
2. Nguyen Thanh Duc, journalist and cultural critic, interview by KieuLinh Caroline Valverde, Sai Gon, Vietnam, January 31, 2001.
3. Because popular music is a relatively new phenomenon in Viet Nam,many of those who began the movement in Viet Nam are still alivetoday. In fact, because memories of this period are so fresh in theminds of these pioneers, they have successfully continued producingand evolving outside Viet Nam.
4. Adelaida Reyes, “From Urban Area to Refugee Camp: How OneThing Leads to Another,” Journal of the Society for Ethnomuscicology 43:2 (Summer/Spring 1999).
5. To Van Lai, founder of Paris by Night, interview by Kieu Linh Caroline Valverde, Orange County, California, June 16, 2000.

1. Orange County Register, December 29, 1995, “Paris by Night Sells Big.”
2. Richard Marosi, “Vietnam’s Musicial Invasion: The Popularity ofNew Songs from the Homeland Has Widened a Political and CulturalDivide between Young People and Older Generations Who See it asMere Propaganda,” Los Angeles Times, August 8, 2000.
3. Adelaida Reyes, Songs of the Caged, Songs of the Free, Music and the Vietnamese Refugees Experience (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1999).
4. Adelaida Reyes, Songs of the Caged, Songs of the Free, Music and the Vietnamese Refugee Experience, 212-216. For the younger Viet Kieu generation—those who were mainly raised or born in theU.S.—listening to melancholy music is not so appealing. They, likeother young people, are attracted to popular music heard in the mainstream or renditions of that music in the VietnameseAmerican music scene.
5. Do Chi Thien, musician and writer, interview by Kieu Linh CarolineValverde, Oakland, California, August 15, 2001.
6. HoTruc,directorofAsiaTrungTam,musicproductionhouse,phoneinterview by Kieu Linh Caroline Valverde, Orange County, California, June 27, 2001.
7. Nguyen Thanh, founder and owner of Kim Loi Music Productions,interview by Kieu Linh Caroline Valverde, San Jose, California, December 9, 2000.
8. Nguyen Phu, musician, phone interview by Kieu Linh Caroline Valverde, Orange County, California, November 18, 2000.
9. James Lull and Roger Wallis, “The Best of West Vietnam,” in JamesLull, ed., Popular Music and Communication (Newbury Park, California: Sage, 1992), 217-231. In the 1990s, mainstream ballads andrap joined the list of favorites. Even though popular music performances included covering popular western songs, the specific favorites of the community along with Vietnamese standards and somenewly composed songs still gave Vietnamese American music a dis

tinctive flair.

1. Marosi; Nguyen Thanh Duc, interview by Kieu Linh Caroline Valverde, Sai Gon, Vietnam, January 31, 2001.
2. Philip Taylor, “Music as a ‘neocolonial poison’ in post-war Southern Vietnam,” Crossroads, An Interdisciplinary Journal of Southeast Asian Studies 14:1 (2000), 99-131.
3. Tran Dieu Hanh, U.S. immigrant, interview by Kieu Linh CarolineValverde, Sai Gon, Vietnam, April 5, 1993, and San Jose, California,February 29, 2001.
4. For many Viet Kieu musicians, the turning point where they beganto take post-1975 Vietnamese music seriously began with the releaseof My Linh’s CD Tieng Hat My Linh [The Voice of My Linh]. Onesong in particular stuck out, “Tren Dinh Phu Van” [On Phu Van

Peak]. This song was unique because it took a lot of the traditionalelements—the instrumentation and vocal styling—and put them ina modern context. Viet Kieu musicians had not yet attempted thisfusion with such wondrous results.

1. Richard Marosi may be credited for having referred to the new popularity of Vietnamese music in the VietnameseAmerican communities as “Vietnam’s musical invasion.” This saying appeared in his article,“Vietnam’s Musical Invasion,” Los Angeles Times, August 8, 2000.
2. Thanh Thuy, Vietnamese female producer, interview by Kieu LinhCaroline Valverde, Sai Gon, Vietnam, February 9, 2001.

27. Cameron W. Barr, “Vietnam’s New War: ‘Social Evils,’” Christian Science Monitor, Wednesday Edition, September 24, 1997. For example, the government decrees 87/CP and 88/CP of 1995 were enacted to regulate “the business and circulation of films, video tapes/discs, audio tapes/discs, and sales and rentals of publications; culturalactivities and services in public areas; advertising, writing and installation of sign boards.”

1. VNS, August 20, 2000.
2. Blum, et al., 3.
3. Marosi.
4. The National Front for the Liberation of Viet Nam (NFLVN), or alsoknown as Mat Tran Quoc Gia Thong Nhat Giai Phong Viet Nam or The Front, is an anti-communist group created after the Viet NamWar by Vietnamese exiled individuals (most from the former SouthViet Nam military) with the expressed purpose to retake Viet Namby force or any other means.
5. Tran Chan, Vietnam Insight editor (The Front), phone interview byKieu Linh Caroline Valverde, Oakland to San Jose, California, March11, 2000.
6. Elvis Phuong, male singer, intereview by Kieu Linh Caroline Valverde, Sai Gon, Vietnam, June 2, 2002.
7. Nguyen Thanh, owner of Kim Loi Music Productions, interviewby Kieu Linh Caroline Valverde, San Jose, California, December 9,2000.
8. Though performing in the U.S. eludes entertainers coming from VietNam until 2000, they were able to perform in other countries such asGermany and Australia years before.
9. For example, a musician who works in the music industry in Southern California disclosed to me the collaborations that have gone into