Vietnamese veteran composer Quoc Trung, along with several local and foreign artists will co-operate to introduce traditional music from Vietnam and around the world at a show titled “Khoi Nguon” or The Beginning, which will take place on September 1 at the Hanoi Opera House.

Quoc Trung and Thanh Lam

This is set to be the first in the long-running ‘Nguon Coi’ or The Roots project.

The local celebrity Thanh Lam, young singer Kieu Anh, the Vietnamese-French jazz artist Nguyen Le, Tunisian composer, singer and oud player Dhafer Youssef and Moroccan-German percussionist Rhani Krija will gather to work with Quoc Trung for the largest project in his career, which will run through next year.

According to the producer, who gained fame for his accomplishments in world music with ‘Duong xa van dam’ or The road to forever project ten years ago, Nguon Coi will also introduce both traditional and experimental Vietnamese music, jazz, electronic and many other types of music from around the globe.

“Nguyen Le, Dhafer, Rhani, Thanh Lam, and Kieu Anh are all in tune with the trends in world music, but still hold a special love for the traditional folk music of their individual countries,” Trung said. “For this reason I decided to invite them onto my project, which will feature the roots of each artist's nationality along with modern tinges of adaptation. Along side traditional Vietnamese musical instruments and melodies, the show will feature music from other places, such as the Middle East and Africa."

The composer also said that ‘The Beginning’ will be divided into three parts. The first part will feature Nguyen Le and Dhafer, with introductions to works, including some Vietnamese folk songs which Nguyen Le has remixed. The second part will be Trung’s latest works and some old songs in Duong xa van dam but, also remixed and performed by new artists. The third portion of the show will be Thanh Lam, who will perform her songs in a mixed world music style, along with some other songs from her latest album, produced by Nguyen Le.

He added that the young singer, Kieu Anh, who performed traditional ca tru in his Duong xa may trang show last year with great appreciation from the audience, will join Nguon Coi on this occasion.

Tickets are available at the Opera House at No.1 Trang Tien Street and on website www.vntic.vn. Prices are from VND500,000 to VND2.5million.

The Roots Project hopes to produce two albums in addition to the show, by Quoc Trung and Thanh Lam.

Trung said that he hopes the albums would be an example in international collaboration and plans to introduce them at various international music festivals.