Lê Cát Trọng Lý is a notable indie artist with many quality products. Photo nld.com.vn

Indie music refers to independent artists who compose, remix and record their own songs, instead of depending on management companies with certain media strategies. 

Earlier this year, the Vietnamese indie industry witnessed significant growth with a number of indie projects expected to be introduced this year.

YouTube views Cần Gì Hơn (I Don't Need Anything More Than You), which marked the first collaboration of two hot artists Tiên Tiên and Justatee, has been a hit on many online music channels. 

Since the song is a blend of R&B and American-style old school genres, it has stood out from the crowd and gained three million views, making it into the top three YouTube trending after a few days.

Meanwhile, Có Em Đời Bỗng Vui (I'm Happier with You) by Chillies band has a romantic theme with gentle pop and ballad rhythm.

As the band wants to emphasise the feel rather than the “look” of their songs, Chillies has skipped making music videos for their products, such as Who? and Và Thế Là Hết (That's the End).

With their latest piece, Có Em Đời Bỗng Vui, Chillies created a simple, one-background video and the band, again, did not disappoint viewers. 

Con Dế Mèn Hát Vào Mùa Hè (Crickets Sing in Summer), created by musician Nguyễn Bảo Tùng and his friend called Trang, has also caught public attention. 

Though coming from a design and architecture background, Tùng has successfully told his stories via music.While Tùng rapped and reviewed his past love in which listeners could find themselves, Trang sang and brought elements of poetry to Con Dế Mèn Hát Vào Mùa Hè. 

Nguyễn Minh Kha, who is usually referred to as a “romantic indie guy”, recently brought out Em Có Nghe (Can You Hear?), a bright piece with addictive tunes.

His audience agrees that Kha has become more mature and bold in his way of doing music.

Local scene

HCM City was expecting two grand indie music festivals this year, including Thơm music festival and another one organised by HCM City Pop Music Centre, with participation of many famous indie vocalists.

However, the two events have been postponed given the current situation with COVID-19.

Many artists have continued to work on their individual project, such as Lê Cát Trọng Lý.

Thirteen years after her debut, Lý has finally introduced the teaser for her first music video Tám Chữ Có (There Were).  

The teaser for her music video opens with majestic scenery in Africa where Lý holds a guitar and is one with nature.

Though Tám Chữ Có is no stranger to viewers, the official music video has an English version and was done in collaboration with the Kenyan Boys Choir. 

The song is part of Lý’s album, which will be released at the end of this year.

If indie artists once lived in their own world that was separate from the mass market, this is the time for this music to thrive and make a significant impression on the public. 

Especially now when indie artists have invested more in their products, their quality music videos and performances have made the local music scene more vibrant.

Though this genre has elements of freedom, how a piece is carefully thought out determines whether or not the public loves it, musician Phạm Toàn Thắng said. VNS