Overseas Vietnamese musician Tri Nguyen (Source: VNA) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Walking by overseas Vietnamese musician Tri Nguyen has won inthe World Beat category at the 18th Independent Music Awards (IMA).
The piece was co-produced by Nguyen and Canadian music producer andpercussionist Graeme Drum.
The recognition is an encouragement for an artist,” said Nguyen. “It provesthat my music is favoured and interesting. The most important thing to me isnot to win an international prize, but make something for Vietnamese dan tranh (zither) and Vietnamesemusic as well.
“To me music doesn’t help musicians to build a good reputation. It is notmusic. I make music because I love music. Because I love dan tranh and piano,” he said.
The more than three-minute piece is a soulful journey inspiring listenersabout the constant flow of life including human thought and nature. Everythingis moving forward.
This is the first co-operation between the two artists. Last year, they becamefriends through Facebook because Drum loves Vietnamese dan tranh andwanted to co-operate with a Vietnamese artist.
They worked online. Nguyen recorded his composition for dantranh whilst Drum made accompanying percussion music.
“Drum confessed that he used to think about guzheng (Chinesezither). But he changed his mind after listening to dan tranh,”said Nguyen.
Drum’s skills including percussion, arrangements and songwriting,making him popular in North America and the UK and garnering criticalacclaim from outlets such as One World Music Radio and Arc Music ProductionsInt. Ltd.
Tri Nguyen and I won an IMA VOX/POP World Beat Song: Walking! We are very proudto have won the fan voted award because YOU the fans are what matters most tous,” he wrote on Facebook.
IMA is an annual award in New York and is one of the music important awards inthe world.
The 18th award drew artists from 119 countries competing in 140 categories. Ineach category, the winner beat thousands of nominations and five finalists.
Nguyen got many nominations at the final round. His album Beyond Borders competed in the WorldBeat Album category in 2018 and last year his single TheFourth Hour with Italian Roberto Diana in the Instrumental Songcategory.
He has released three albums including Consonnances in2014; A Journey Between Worlds in2016 and Beyond Borders in2017. The two albums Consonnances and Beyond Borders won the Gold Medal atGlobal Music Awards in 2015 and 2017.
Born in HCM City, Nguyen studied dantranh and piano at age five. After graduating from HCMConservatory of Music he continued to study at Ecole Normale de Musique deParis with professor Jacques Lagarde./.
VNA
