Cellist Ha Mien has made her debut with Romance in Hanoi, an album of Vietnamese and foreign music. The production includes four works by Dutch composer Ad Van Dongen known as AvD, and two Vietnamese works based on folk songs celebrating women and love. (Photo courtesy of the producer)

By Thu Anh 

HCM CITY— Love, youth and women are themes in new albums by female artists Phung Khanh Linh and Ha Mien whose music celebrates the upcoming Tết (Lunar New Year) holiday which begins in February.  

Singer and songwriter Linh’s MV, Chỉ Còn Lại Hai Ta (Dance in the City), features melodies in synth-pop/future house, which emerged in the 2010s in the UK. 

The single is the theme track on the singer’s first album Yesteryear, released in December. The album includes 13 songs, composed by Linh, portraying love and women. More than 1,000 copies of the album were sold within two weeks after its release. 

 

Singer and songwriter Phung Khanh Linh performs on her MV, Chỉ Còn Lại Hai Ta (Dance in the City), a work featuring melodies in synth-pop/future house. The single is the theme track on the singer’s first album Yesteryear of 13 songs, composed by Linh, portraying love and women. (Photo courtesy of the producer)

 Linh was nominated for the year’s Best Album and the year’s Composer at 2021 Devotion Awards, a leading music awards event presented by Thể Thao & Văn Hoa (Sport & Culture) newspaper.

Linh wrote the theme song Chỉ Còn Lại Hai Ta after seeing Dance in the City, a famous painting by French artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir. 

Linh spent more than VNĐ500 million (US$21,000) on recording and shooting the MV Chỉ Còn Lại Hai Ta. 

“The lyrics of Chỉ Còn Lại Hai Ta infused a passion in me,” said Nguyễn Tuấn Kiet, a fan of HCM City. “I love music by Linh, a woman of love. Hearing her voice, I was moved.”

Cellist Ha Mien made her debut with Romance in Hanoi, an album of Vietnamese and foreign music. The album includes four works by Dutch composer Ad Van Dongen known as AvD, and two Vietnamese works based on folk songs celebrating women and love. 

Mien worked with her producer, AvD, to mix and record the album in six days in Amsterdam. 

"I hope listeners will feel the inner power of myself when listening to my album, Romance in Hanoi," said Mien, a graduate of the Viet Nam Music Institute.

Chỉ Còn Lại Hai Ta and Romance in Hanoi are available on YouTube and Spotify. — VNS