by Thuy Hang
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Double Devotion: Tung Duong (left) duos with diva Thanh Lam at a liveshow last year. Duong is the only artist this year to scoop two major Devotion awards, Album of the Year and Singer of the Year. — VNS File Photo |
HA NOI — Singer Tung Duong's newest album, Li Ti (Tiny), earned him the title of Album of the Year at the Cong Hien (Devotion) awards ceremony last week, winning the votes of 100 culture and music critics. The album has also received high praise from audiences.
Released last December, Li Ti combines elements of Western electronic music, classical music and Vietnamese traditional music. Although Duong began nurturing the idea for the album in 2008, he waited until a year later, when he heard an album produced by overseas Vietnamese composer Nguyen Cong Phuong Nam, to begin work on it.
"I suddenly realised that Nam and I could form a good partnership as I found we share common opinions on music," said Duong. "He was the one I needed to turn my musical ideas into reality."
Aiming for an international quality production, Duong decided to record the album in Germany, where Nam lives. Duong can't remember how many times he had to fly back and forth between Viet Nam and Germany to record the album.
Duong's third solo album, Li Ti features six songs written by Luu Ha An, Sa Huynh and Nguyen Xinh Xo, and two instrumentals by Nam. Vietnamese DJ Tri Minh and German DJ Sebastian Parch, as well as members of the Beethoven Orchestra in Bonn, played key roles in creating the unique mix of music for Li Ti.
"We wanted people who would nurture the idea to create a new album that sounds different from any other in Viet Nam, something modern but still presenting distinctly Vietnamese melodies," Duong said.
However, Duong said, his production team had to struggle to realise his vision.
"Distinct Vietnamese melodies and symphony. Our biggest challenge was how to combine such totally different types of music," he said.
However, Duong seems to harvest success with any type of music at which he tries his hand. The album received positive reviews immediately after it was released.
"It's worth listening to the CD, in which Tung Duong is able to show his unique and beautiful voice, accompanied by electronic and traditional Vietnamese instruments," wrote a reviewer in the newspaper Tuoi Tre. "The album is able to evoke the listeners' emotion with its cinematic qualities. It's like a movie soundtrack."
"Unlike his previous albums, which were presented in an over-enthusiastic manner, Li Ti comes across in a smooth way that is able to attract listeners from the first track," said the website VnExpress.
A graduate of the National Academy of Music, Duong is experienced in different types of music, including jazz, folk and pop.
"It doesn't matter what type of music I sing," he said. "I just think that it is a means to diversify my voice."
Duong, a Ha Noi native, shot to fame in 2004, when he won the singing contest Sao Mai Diem Hen (Morning Star – Rendezvous), quickly becoming one of the country's top singers. His album Nhung O Mau Lap Phuong (The Coloured Cubes) won the Devotion award in 2007, and the new CD includes remixes of his hits Con Co (The Stork) and Dong Ho Treo Tuong (Wall Clock), which respectively won the Song of the Year prizes in the Bai Hat Viet (Vietnamese Song) competitions in 2007 and 2008.
Last year, Duong performed in the live show Yeu (Love) with diva Thanh Lam, a mini tour in Germany, the Con Duong Am Nhac (Music Road) programme and several show's celebrating Ha Noi's millennium.
This year, he scooped two major Devotion awards, Album of the Year and Singer of the Year, beating out such big names as Lam, Viet Nam Idol 2010 Uyen Linh, Ha Anh Tuan and Duc Tuan for the latter honour.
At the recent Devotion awards ceremony, Duong was quite emotional and almost couldn't speak after he was announced as the winner of the award because "every single artist hopes to be honoured by this award. My happiness seems to be double as I have won the title for a second time".
But he also acknowledges the pressure he feels. "I will now have to escape from my own shadow", Duong said.
Duong is now in France for a concert tour and will return to Ha Noi for a show featuring Composer of the Year Le Cat Trong Ly later this month. — VNS