soundawakener
Nhung Nguyen
Nhung Nguyen is an emerging Vietnamese sound artist currently based in Hanoi, experimenting across a range of left-field aesthetics and expressions – ambient drone, electro acoustic, noise music, musique concrete, amongst others.
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Last Seen Blogs
whimsical-sonic
category 5 autism event
dramarising-replacement
Salt Mines Reborn
juna-ann
Doin' stuff
shayafury
Shaya Fury
sissy-safe
Sissy safe
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I designed the sound for this audio play by Tell Me Something Studios. Stay tuned for more info!
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I create some of the music and sound design for this short for Lazy Owl Animation Studio. Check this out!
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Dust and Metal Trailer - Sheffield DocFest 2022
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The Lost Tapes: Artistic Approaches to Microhistories - Workshop @ Sàn Art
▸Date: Sunday, 23.10.2022, 10:00-14:00
▸Location: Sàn Art
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗧𝗮𝗽𝗲𝘀: 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗿𝗼𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀
Called the “science of real life” by historians Carlo Ginzburg and Carlo Poni, “𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗿𝗼𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆” describes an approach to 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 that employs what we could think of as a 𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰 𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘀, focusing on seemingly irrelevant details, habits and routines, and underlying mentalities. Such studies can serve as “histories from below,” 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀.This workshop, conducted by artist-scholars 𝗝𝗮𝗰𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝗮̀𝗻𝗴 𝗡𝗴𝘂𝘆𝗲̂̃𝗻 and 𝗠𝗮𝗴𝗻𝘂𝘀 𝗕𝗮̈𝗿𝘁𝗮̊𝘀, invites participants to understand the methodology surrounding microhistories and develop their own prepared stories into a microhistory practice.The first part of the workshop will feature filmmaker 𝗘𝘀𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗻, sound artist 𝗡𝗵𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗡𝗴𝘂𝘆𝗲̂̃𝗻, and historian 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘄 𝗦𝘄𝗲𝗲𝘁 who will discuss their sound project Liberation Radio - an investigation into a group of American military deserters who went to the North Vietnamese mission in Stockholm in 1968 - developed into a film and sound installation exhibited at Manzi. After recapping the presentations and reading materials, Nhung, Jacqueline, and Magnus will guide different group discussions.
Photo documentation:
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I designed the sound for this short by Kim Hyun Suk. Check this out!
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“Looking for you” - Premiere schedule
Happy to take part as the composer/sound designer of "Looking for you". a film by Anna Nguyen and Kristine Landon Smith.
Looking For You | Tìm Hiểu is a bilingual poignant and insightful short film that weaves a rich tapestry of intergenerational stories through unfiltered conversations that examine the mother-daughter relationship in Vietnamese culture. Set in a cinematic metaphorical setting of “home”, the film evokes this sacred space where the discussion ranges from survival, shame, sacrifice, and the language of love: food.
The film invites the audience to engage with these stories through the unique technique of headphone verbatim which gathers testimonies from living people. Anna Nguyen & Kristine Landon Smith worked with Vietnamese researchers in Hanoi, London, Manchester, Paris and Sydney to conduct interviews that lay the foundations of the content of the film. Universal themes emerge through the specific stories of each mother-daughter relationship, and all expose the common need to understand the past.
Dates and Venues are as below:
Saturday 10th September | 13:30
Deptford Lounge
9 Giffin Street
London SE8 4RJ
BOOKING LINK: https://bit.ly/LFYLondon
Saturday 10th September | 15:00
The Bankstown Arts Centre
5 Olympic Parade
Bankstown, Australia NSW 2200
BOOKING LINK: https://bit.ly/bankstownLFY
Thursday 15th September | 20:00
MANZI ART SPACE
14 P. Phan Huy Ích
Nguyễn Trung Trực
Ba Đình, Hà Nội, Vietnam
BOOKING LINK: https://vi.manziart.space/event-details/tim-hieu-looking-for-you/
Saturday 24th September | 13:30
HOME
2 Tony Wilson Place
Manchester M15 4FN
BOOKING LINK: homemcr.org/LFY
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“Dust & Metal”: Premiere at Sheffield Docfest 2022
Dust & Metal will receive its world premiere at this year’s Sheffield DocFest with a live soundtrack performance at Sheffield’s City Hall. The film will screen in the form of a “cine-concert” with the film’s new electronic score performed live by Vietnamese artist Xo Xinh.
I’m happy to contribute sound design to this project.
More info here:
https://www.sheffdocfest.com/film/dust-metal
https://www.dustandmetal.com/world-premiere
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Hồi Sóng
7th December - 18th December 2021
Sàn Art
Event dates: 7th December - 18th December 2021
Opening hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 11am-6pm
Location: Sàn Art, Units, B6.16-B6.17, Block B (Office), Millennium Masteri, 132 Ben Van Don (Nguyen Huu Hao entrance), Ward 6, District 4, Ho Chi Minh City.
Registration: forms.gle/rWNpmLvwDPdVpENn8
Art project “Hồi Sóng'', consisting of archival study and sound installation by two Vietnam-based artists Nhung Nguyễn and Zach Sch, is available in both digital form at hoisong.art and physical form at Sàn Art - an art space based in Saigon, Vietnam – from 7th December to 18th December, 2021.
From the original intent of exploring the intangible cultural heritage, specifically the oral history documented in the historical archives, the artist duo adopts sound installation as their medium to explore the relationships between archived information and sound arts. Originally and spanning from the topics centered around the lives of soldiers and workers imported from French colonies in Africa and Vietnam, the project extends to historical brushstrokes of the peoples from Egypt, Algeria, Mali, Martinique and Indochina (composed of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia) and their wartime assignments, living conditions, their feelings and memories reminisced 60 years after the end of World War II.
Accordingly, the installation work aims to juxtapose the archival materials from the said topics with music and sound designs. The artist duo assesses archives’ respective socio-cultural contexts and their attached literary and musical materials to architect the recordings. While Nhung focuses on the oral recordings, Zach places greater emphasis on sound experiments.
IMPORTANT NOTICE:
While a few mp3 and headphone sets will be available at the gallery, we encourage our guests to bring their own listening devices to enjoy the compositions prepared by the artists in addition to the installation.
We will also limit the number of attendees to 5 guests per visit. Please use the registration link at the top of the event page to select your preferred time of visit or send us an email at [email protected] to book an appointment. To ensure everyone’s safety we will require guests to present their Green pass, submit a health declaration and keep their masks upon entrance. Thank you immensely for your understanding, and see you soon at the gallery!
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This project is supported by:
Sàn Art
Humboldt University of Berlin
Goethe-Institut Ho Chi Minh City
Japan Foundation Center for Cultural Exchange in Vietnam
Nguyen Thien Dao Foundation
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'On Wonders and Things Unseen’ is the first collaborative effort between Nhung Nguyen (www.soundawakener.com), Giulio Aldinucci (www.giulioaldinucci.com) and Offthesky (www.noise.offthesky.com).
Together these artist weave a rich sonic tapestry that explores the micro and macro through their soundscapes. Deep pulsating drones undulate throughout a bed of field recordings as soft piano melodies slowly drift in and out of the listeners peripherals. Scattered fragments of vocals shimmer across a rich web of synthesis and textures as the listener is slowly drawn into a deep current of harmonic content, gently exploring the natural dynamics of the environmental sounds within. The album is a stark exploration of the things unseen, the beauty of the world around us and the wonders of the everyday.
Streaming here: https://elmrecords.bandcamp.com/album/on-wonders-and-things-unseen
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“Listening to what’s left…and more to come”
“Listening to what’s left…and more to come”
Electronic music concert
5th July, 2021, 7pm
Online event, live-streaming at: https://www.facebook.com/events/396527821716899/
Cedrik Fermont (Germany) and Nhung Nguyen (Vietnam). In collaboration with audio contributors and translators.
Both artists met in Hanoi in 2019. Already in 2016 Nhung Nguyen was featured in Cedrik Fermont and Dimitri della Faille’s book, “Not your world music: Noise in South East Asia”.
This new project is a joint effort between the two artists in order to explore the possibilities of virtual collaboration, diversity of soundscapes, and people’s experience around the world. The two artists are interested in soundscapes in cultural context as well in electro-acoustic music and sound art. For this project, they will utilize their personal field recording archives recorded during the pandemic-lockdown periods in both countries and use them as a starting point for both the research and the production of the performance. The research project will include a series of interviews with people in Germany and Vietnam about their personal experience with the soundscapes around them, especially during the pandemic period and how to cope with the current lockdown situation. The approach will be either live or online interviews in Vietnam and Germany in order to collect short voice notes. The responses will be translated and used as a reference and audio material for the performance.
Watch full performance here:
youtube
Watch behind-the-scene video here:
youtube
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FAMLAB Open session: Liberation Radio - Beyond Vietnam
taking place on:
SATURDAY 12 June 2021
20:00 - 22:00 VN time ⭑ 14:00 - 16:00 BST
LIBERATION RADIO: BEYOND VIETNAM is an live online event linking Hanoi, Stockholm and the UK with discussions and a live performance exploring a little-known story from the war in Vietnam - the story of US military deserters who put down their weapons and took to the airwaves.
This online event will discuss the LIBERATION RADIO audio-visual installation by artist/filmmaker Esther Johnson, sound artist Nhung Nguyễn, and historian Matthew Sweet currently on display at the Manzi Exhibition Space in Hanoi, and will allow audience members across the globe to experience the film component of the installation, hear a live performance developed from elements of the project audio, and participate in a Q&A with one of the US military deserters whose experiences in the 1960s and ’70s were the inspiration for the work.
You can register for the event here: shorturl.at/cmEJZ
You can make an appointment to visit the LIBERATION RADIO audio-visual installation here: https://www.manziart.space/event-details/liberation-radio/form
Manzi Exhibition Space
2 Ngõ Hàng Bún
Ba Đình, Hà Nội
www.manziart.space
The exhibition and event are funded by FAMLAB (Film, Archives and Music Lab) Fund as part of the British Council’s Heritage of Future Past project in Vietnam.
Further information:
https://blanchepictures.com/liberation-radio
https://www.instagram.com/liberationradio
https://www.facebook.com/liberationradioproject
https://twitter.com/libradioproject
Watch documentation video here:
youtube
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Liberation Radio - an audio-visual installation
(English below)
28/5-13/6, 12h-18h từ Thứ 3 đến Chủ nhật
28th May - 13th June, 12pm-6pm, from Tuesday to Sunday
Địa điểm | Location:
Manzi Exhibition Space
Số 2 Ngõ Hàng Bún, quận Ba Đình, Hà Nội | 2 Ngo Hang Bun, Ba Dinh district, Hanoi
Sự kiện chỉ mở theo đăng ký trước. Vui lòng đăng ký qua link: https://vi.manziart.space/event-details/liberation-radio/form
Event is open by appointment only. Please register via this link: https://vi.manziart.space/event-details/liberation-radio/form
Năm 1968, một nhóm lính Mỹ đào ngũ đã đi đến phái bộ của chính phủ Bắc Việt Nam tại Stockholm với một mục tiêu duy nhất: Để gia nhập hàng ngũ quân đội mà trước đây họ có nghĩa vụ phải chiến đấu. Nhưng thay vì nhập ngũ, họ được tuyển dụng cho công cuộc tuyên truyền - sử dụng băng từ, nhạc 'pop' và các bài hùng biện để thuyết phục quân lính Mỹ khác đào ngũ. Các bản ghi âm của họ được vận chuyển từ Thụy Điển về Việt Nam trong túi ngoại giao, và được phát sóng từ các máy phát trên các nóc nhà ở Hà Nội và các căn cứ cách mạng ở nông thôn.
Tác phẩm sắp đặt này, của nghệ sĩ kiêm nhà làm phim Esther Johnson, nghệ sĩ âm thanh Nhung Nguyễn và nhà sử học Matthew Sweet, sẽ làm sống lại những mạch sóng đó 50 năm sau. Nó cũng tái hiện bầu không khí hoang mang vào những năm 1970, khi những mối lo ngại về tuyên truyền, tẩy não và chiến tranh đã tạo ra những bộ phim như The Parallax View của đạo diễn Alan J Pakula (1974) (tạm dịch: Góc nhìn Thị sai).
Với sự đóng góp của một số lính đào ngũ Mỹ còn sống, các nhà hoạt động phản chiến Thụy Điển và các nhà báo Việt Nam thời kỳ đó, tác phẩm Liberation Radio sẽ cất tiếng.
LƯU Ý:
Để đảm bảo an toàn cho tác phẩm và để có được trải nghiệm tác phẩm một cách trọn vẹn, chúng tôi xin phép giới hạn số người xem là 5 người/1 lượt
Để đảm bảo an toàn trong thời gian này, vui lòng rửa tay và đeo khẩu trang trước khi vào không gian trưng bày.
Lời cảm ơn đặc biệt đến:
Hội đồng Anh tại Việt Nam
Manzi Art Space
Viện Goethe
cùng các cá nhân:
Klara Blomgren, Lisa Bowerman, Marilyn Phạm Dacusin, Hồ Trâm Anh, Huyền Thanh, Nguyễn Ban Ga, Nguyễn Hằng, Phạm Thế Vũ, Maja Sten, Vincent Strollo, Tô Minh Sơn, Triệu Đức Trọng, Peter Walsh, David Warner, Christopher Wilson
Dự án này được tài trợ bởi:
Quỹ FAMLAB (Quỹ phim, nhạc và lưu trữ) thuộc dự án Di sản Kết nối của Hội đồng Anh Việt Nam.
thêm thông tin:
Instagram: @liberationradio
Twitter: @libradioproject
Facebook: @liberationradioproject
In 1968, a group of American military deserters went to the North Vietnamese mission in Stockholm with one object in mind – to join the army they had been drafted to fight. Instead, they were recruited for the propaganda war – to use magnetic tape, pop music and political rhetoric to persuade other American servicemen to desert. Their recordings were transported from Sweden to Vietnam by diplomatic bag, and broadcast from transmitters on the rooftops of Hanoi, and revolutionary bases in the countryside.
This installation work by artist and filmmaker Esther Johnson, sound artist Nhung Nguyễn, and historian Matthew Sweet revives that circuit of communication, five decades later. It also transmits something of the atmosphere of paranoia in the 1970s, when anxieties about propaganda, brainwashing and war produced films such as Alan J Pakula’s The Parallax View (1974).
With contributions from some of the surviving American deserters, Swedish anti-war activists and Vietnamese journalists of the period, the voice of Liberation Radio speaks again.
Notes for visitors:
- Due to the fragility of the installation and the complexity of the set up, we can only accommodate 5 people for each slot.
- In light of the current COVID-19 developments, please wear a mask when visiting and use the hand sanitizer provided at the entrance.
Special thanks to
British Council Vietnam
Manzi Art Space
Goethe Institut
and the following contributors and collaborators….
Klara Blomgren, Lisa Bowerman, Marilyn Phạm Dacusin, Hồ Trâm Anh, Huyền Thanh, Nguyễn Ban Ga, Nguyễn Hằng, Phạm Thế Vũ, Maja Sten, Vincent Strollo, Tô Minh Sơn, Triệu Đức Trọng, Peter Walsh, David Warner, Christopher Wilson
This project is funded by:
FAMLAB (Film, Archives and Music Lab) Fund as part of the British Council’s Heritage of Future Past project in Việt Nam
Further information:
Instagram: @liberationradio
Twitter: @libradioproject
Facebook: @liberationradioproject
Watch đocumentation video here:
youtube
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Phiêu bạt - Nương náu /Adrift - Sheltered - A cine-concert
“Adrift/Sheltered” - A cine-concert
8:00 pm - 15/04/2021
Studio 1, Department D, Hanoi Academy of Theatre and Cinema, 76 Mai Dich street
Phiêu bạt / Nương náu" (“Adrift/Sheltered”) is a cine-concert combining screenings of black-and-white films from the 1930s backwards and live music performance. It revolves around the themes and concepts of "home", “shelter”, "family" or overall a “comfort zone”.
As human beings, we are bound to our families, and it is especially the case in the Eastern culture, where "family" or "home" is often the top priority and a sacred connection. However, being separate individuals, we always want to set ourselves free from the shadow of such protection and shelter – the "comfort zone" that has always embraced us and provided us with security.
The movies to be screened in this project are from the Asian and European film industries, namely documentaries, and archives of movies with expired copyrights. The live music will bring a breath of fresh air to these vintage motion pictures, with electronic soundscapes, spatially evocative compositions as well as sounds that compliment the movies with novel nuances in the journey to rediscover the meaning of “home”.
“Phiêu bạt/Nương náu" (“Adrift/Sheltered”) is developed and curated by Marilyn Phạm Dacusin, the Head Organizer of Empathy Museum Vietnam, alongside with the artists.
The project receives support from British Council Vietnam, Embassy of Italy in Vietnam and L'espace.
“Adrift/Sheltered" is a part of IN PROGRESS (a series that is initiated and supported by British Council Vietnam)
Documentation photos can be found here.
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Grab a physical copy at: www.normanrecords.com/records/184804-dalot-sound-awakener-departures
Digital copies can be found at: https://soundawakener.bandcamp.com/album/departures
Departures is the second joint release between Greek sound artist Maria Papadomanolaki aka Dalot and Vietnamese composer Nhung Nguyen aka Sound Awakener. Following on from their 2018 release on Fluid Audio titled Little Things, Departures dives deeper into the exploration of place through migration and the feelings of impermanence it embodies; migrating from one place to another, treading lines, crossing borders and facing challenges.
More info on the Fluid Radio’s website
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Workshop and training: (Re)imagined Chorography
More info from Sàn Art’s website
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“Natural Habitat”, an audio visual performance
8pm, 7th December, 2020
At Goethe Institut Hanoi
This event is a part of the Culture Lab program, organized by Goethe Institut Hanoi.
More info here.
Music: NHUNG NGUYEN (Sound Awakener) & NGẦM
Live-Visuals: BREAD N 'TEA
“Natural Habitat” is an audio-visual performance jointly envisioned and delivered by Nhung Nguyen, and the four-member electronic group Ng��m - in cooperation with Bread n’ tea. "Natural Habitat” was conceived in the context of the ongoing pandemic and social isolation, which have changed the previous methods and practices of artistic work by musicians. At the same time, alternative forms of expression have emerged that react to the transformations of urban life and fit the requirements of social distancing. The performance reflects literal physical isolation, involuntary emotional alienation, and the risks and insecurities of the unknown. It wants to make the audience reflect think and it demonstrates how art can survive and assert itself despite existing challenges.
Documentation:
youtube
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“Hồ Nước”
An installation by Chi L. Nguyen, with sound design by me
A part of the Citizen Earth project, curated by Six Space
27th - 29th Nov, 2020 at the National University of Sciene, Hanoi, Vietnam.
More info here
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