ELECTRIC DREAMS - Violinist Hoàng Rob, a pioneer in playing the electric violin in Việt Nam, will released his third album “Mùa Hè Vĩnh Cửu” (Invincible Summer) in HCM City on July 22. Photo courtesy of Hoàng Rob Productions

HCM CITY — Violinist Hoàng Rob, a pioneer in playing the electric violin in Việt Nam, is working on his latest project, “Mùa Hè Vĩnh Cửu” (Invincible Summer), to entertain music lovers in summer.

Hoàng told local media that, “I have invested a lot of time and money into the project. Summer here is not a season or weather, it describes my will and my heart.”

The artist has spent three years preparing for the project, which consists of an album, a live show, and an exhibition.

The album titled “Mùa Hè Vĩnh Cửu” includes 10 songs written by leading Vietnamese music producers Touliver and SlimV of SpaceSpeakers.

SpaceSpeakers, a Vietnamese community for producers and artists founded by Touliver in Hà Nội in 2011, consists of young, passionate artists who believe that they can make significant changes to the Vietnamese music industry. Their music style is rap, hip hop and electronica.

The group has released several music videos like Everyday, Krazy, and Freaky Squad, that have become viral on YouTube, attracting tens of millions of views.

“There are not many choices in making violin music in Việt Nam. I’m happy when working with Touliver and SlimV who help to elevate my music,” said the 31-year-old violinist.

Alongside violin music pieces, the album will also feature the songs Sunday Love sang by vocalist Bùi Lan Hương, Bữa Tiệc Phù Hoa (Fabulous Party) by pop star Hồ Ngọc Hà, and Giấc Mơ Giữa Đại Lộ (Street Dreams) by young singer Hoàng Dũng. All the songs will be accompanied by Hoàng’s violin.

Hoàng will introduce the album, a mini show, and an exhibition titled “Muzik Exhibition” featuring a combination of music and visual art in HCM City on July 22.

HOT LICKS - Violinist Hoàng Rob collaborates with vocalist Bùi Lan Hương in his new MV Sunday Love. Photo courtesy of Hoàng Rob Productions

On July 6, he released the single Sunday Love on YouTube, which has had more than 568,600 views. The song, a blend of contemporary folk and electrical music, is about the illusions of love.

Hoàng Rob, whose real name is Trương Nhật Hoàng, was born and raised in Quảng Bình. He started to learn violin by himself when he was 16 and then recognised it as his passion.

Influenced by the world’s best-selling string quartet Bond, his music is a fusion of pop, contemporary folk, world music and classical instruments.

In 2015, he released a music video playing the song Say You Do by composer Tiên Tiên with Sơn Đoòng Cave in the background to promote tourism in Quảng Ninh Province, which became a hit phenomenon, though critics gave it mixed reviews.

In 2016, he released his first album entitled Hừng Đông (Dawn), consisting of 10 music pieces written by young composer Khắc Hưng.

The album brought Hoàng the award for New Artist of the Year, and Hưng the awards for Composer of the Year and Music Producer of the Year at the 2017 Devotion Music Awards organised by Vietnam News Agency's Thể Thao & Văn Hóa (Sports & Culture) newspaper.

Hoàng released his second album Trò Chuyện (The Chat) in 2019, featuring six songs performed by famous Vietnamese singers with Hoàng Rob on violin.

He has also host four concerts and was invited to national events such as the Huế Festival and APEC Vietnam 2017. — VNS