Different strings: Micachu, who composed soundtrack to the newly-released movie Under the Skin starring Hollywood celebrity Scarlett Johansson, will open the Hanoi Sound Stuff Festival on Friday. — Photo http://500px.com

HA NOI (VNS)— Several international and Vietnamese electronic and experimental music artists will congregate to offer a musical feast to Ha Noi's audience during the Hanoi Sound Stuff Festival this week.

The seventh season, alike previous ones, aspires to create a unique world of quality electronic and experimental music with boundary-pushing sounds, creative performances, and collaboration between foreign and local artists to spur the interest of the young Vietnamese audience.

As the annual festival also carries a specific social message, this year, the Ha Noi Sound Stuff Festival has collaborated with the iSEE (The Institute for Studies of Society, Economics and Environment) to spread the message of Toi Dong Y (I Do), aiming to support the LGBT community's equal rights to matrimony and family.

Assorted mix of artists

The English electronic pop artist, Mica Levi aka Micachu, who composed the soundtrack of the newly released movie Under the Skin starring Hollywood celebrity Scarlett Johansson, will open the festival's first concert on Friday.

A singer, songwriter, composer, and producer, the multifaceted Micachu is best known for her band Micachu&The Shapes and for her experimental music in a variety of genres. The 27-year-old artist often uses unorthodox instruments, many of which are homemade.

The sit-down concert scheduled to take place in the courtyard of the Viet Nam National Museum of History (1 Pham Ngu Lao Street) will also feature two international artists, Benjamin Schoos (sometimes known by the pseudonym Miam Monster Miam) from Walloni Bruxelles and Joakim from France.

The Belgian-born Schoos is not just a singer, songwriter, and DJ at Belgian online radio Rectangle, but also the head of Freaksville Records, an underground indie label.

With a background in classical music, US and UK indie rock, and jazz, Joakim is one of France's foremost electronic musicians. He runs the Tigersushi label, and has released a wide spectrum of music.

During the concert night, the audience will also be able to enjoy "new sounds" presented by six outstanding students of the Dom Dom (Fire-Fly) Centre, which is the first hub for experimental music and art in Ha Noi.

The festival's second show scheduled on Saturday will be dedicated to DJ dance music, which for the foremost time will focus on the electronic music scene of Germany.

DJ Mijk van Dijk, an avant-garde of electronic music in Berlin, will showcase his magical scratching skills during the night. The show will take place at the Van Ho Exhibition Centre, 2 Hoa Lu Street.

In the 1980s, when electro music was only played in top secret abandoned cellars, the Berlin artist had discovered his passion for synthesisers and drum computers. It was his unique mix of hard beats and emotive melodies that have coined the term "trance", music that presently mesmerises millions of listeners.

He has over recent years revisited his first love, funk music, and now merges his musical prowess into house music, which includes his passion for boogie beats as well as his old school expertise and trademark sounds from a musical career spanning over two decades.

DJ Good Guy Mikesh from Leipzig, who has been dubbed as Leipzig's Timberlake, is a virtuoso of debonair arrogation. He has performed live on several occasions, mostly as One-Man-Pop-Elektro-Soul-Band, but he has also built up a solid discography with his DJ partner, Filburt. From this point, he could have taken his insights into space disco and house and churned out music to entertain crowds on the dance floors every other day.

Joining the German DJs will be the Vietnamese leading music artist and DJ Tri Minh, who will mix electronic and traditional music genre ca tru (ceremonial singing).

Vietnamese DJ Dee.F from Ha Noi Rock City is another key performer of the night.

Alongside DJ music, the event will also feature a series of short experimental films created by C3 Viet Nam, Ginger Works, The Onion Cellar, Ha Noi DocLab, Ha Noi Future Shorts, and Almaz.

According to musician Tri Minh, who is also the festival's initiator, the screening has been held to offer the local audiences a new experience, which combines cinema and music.

Sideline activities

Prior to their performances, DJs from the UK, Germany, and Viet Nam will on Thursday team up to conduct some classes on electronic music at the Hanoi Rock City, the Military College of Culture and Arts, and the Viet Nam Academy of Music.

On the same day, in the evening, the artists will hold an exchange programme with the audiences at the Goethe Institute.

All the artists will join the biennial Hue Festival by staging an electronic night on Sunday in the former royal city of Hue.

The tickets for the Friday and Saturday shows are available at the Goethe Institute, 56-58 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street; British Council, 20 Thuy Khue Street; L'espace, 24 Trang Tien Street; Mazi Art Space, 14 Phan Huy Ich Street; and Most Wanted Cafe, 4 Tho Nhuom Street. — VNS